Trump Jr. Calls Crypto the ‘Future of American Hegemony’ as World Liberty Financial Plans Strategic Reserve

Highlights:

• World Liberty Financial plans to establish a “strategic reserve” with the tokens it buys.
• Donald Trump Jr. champions crypto, calling it the future of American hegemony.
• WLF’s holdings dropped 89%, now valued at $35M from a peak of $325M.

World Liberty Financial (WLF), a DeFi project linked to Donald Trump’s family, plans to create a “strategic reserve” of crypto assets. Co-founder Chase Herro announced this at the Ondo Summit in New York, where Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, strongly supported the digital asset industry.

“We are big builder fans,” Herro said, highlighting ongoing investments in digital assets. Trump Jr. made an unexpected appearance, calling cryptocurrency the “future of American hegemony.” He emphasized its role in sustaining the U.S. economy’s strength. Addressing industry leaders, he discussed crypto’s rising influence and its potential impact on global finance.

“I think it’s perhaps the future of American hegemony, in terms of our economic status, our economic might,” Trump Jr. said. Herro did not disclose the size or purpose of the reserve, as per the report. During the last presidential election, President Trump brought attention to the concept of establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve.

President Donald Trump’s DeFi project, World Liberty Financial, plans on creating a "strategic reserve" with tokens bought https://t.co/zH6O3bMuKu

— Bloomberg Crypto (@crypto) February 6, 2025

World Liberty Financial is a crypto platform offering borrowing and lending services. It was launched In August by the president’s son and has since received public support from Trump. WLF has been steadily expanding its crypto holdings.

WLF Invests $470K in ONDO as Ondo Finance Announces New Plans

On Thursday, it purchased $470,000 worth of ONDO, Ondo Finance’s native token. This follows Ondo Finance’s announcement at its first New York summit to launch a layer-1 blockchain for Wall Street firms to tokenize real-world assets.

1/ Today, we’re thrilled to announce Ondo Chain, our new Layer 1 blockchain purpose-built for institutional-grade RWAs.

Design advisors for the chain include new members of the Ondo Ecosystem: Franklin Templeton, Wellington Management, WisdomTree, Google Cloud, ABN Amro, Aon,… pic.twitter.com/a35GHB7OFW

— Ondo Finance (@OndoFinance) February 6, 2025

The platform also acquired $270,000 in ONDO tokens on Dec. 15 as part of a $45 million token-buying spree, including Ether. ONDO is currently trading at $1.38, with a market cap of $4.28 billion and a trading volume of $701 million.

World Liberty Financial’s Crypto Holdings Crash 89%

The company has also invested in Ethereum (ETH), wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), Tron’s TRX, AAVE, Chainlink’s LINK, and other digital assets. Before Trump’s inauguration, the team purchased over $70 million in digital assets, raising World Liberty Financial’s total holdings to $325 million. However, the portfolio has since plummeted by over 89% and is now valued at around $35 million.

Ondo Summit Unites Crypto Leaders to Tackle Regulation and Tokenization

The Ondo Summit brought together prominent crypto industry and government figures, including House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry and acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham. Key discussions centered on tokenization, regulatory frameworks, and the obstacles to mainstream adoption of digital assets.

Former CFTC Chair J. Christopher Giancarlo discussed the current administration’s stance on crypto regulation. “The promises are being delivered on,” he remarked, referring to Trump’s digital asset policies. He also pointed out that while overturning past regulations is progress, creating new policies still presents challenges.

William Hinman, a senior advisor at Andreessen Horowitz, warned that regulatory changes won’t happen overnight. “There’ll be some improvements, but I think that’s gonna take time,” addressing ongoing legislative efforts to reform crypto regulations.