Trump's Son at ETHDenver Roundtable: My Kid is Into Memes, Newbies Shouldn't Overleverage

Original Article Title: "Trump Jr. at ETH Denver 2025: Newcomers Advised to Start Small, Keep Learning DeFi"
Original Article Translation: Odaily Planet Daily

Editor's Note: On February 26, Denver time, Donald Trump Jr., co-founder of World Liberty Finance (WLFI), attended the "DeFi World 2025" conference as part of the ETH Denver side events. He participated in discussions with heavyweight guests from the crypto industry on topics such as crypto regulation, the future of DeFi, and the role of the United States in these areas. His key points were as follows:

The Necessity of Regulatory Framework: The cryptocurrency and DeFi sectors require a clear regulatory framework to define what can and cannot be done. He believes that a lack of clear regulations will force businesses offshore, causing them to miss opportunities. He called for the United States to establish sensible regulations to ensure investor safety and industry development.

The U.S. Should Lead the Financial Future: The United States should take a leadership role in the financial future instead of pushing companies overseas through overregulation. He advocated for the U.S. to lead global development in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology by enacting wise regulations.

Financial Democratization: Through projects like World Liberty Finance, traditional finance is being combined with decentralized finance to provide liquidity, stability, and transparency to more people, thus achieving financial democratization. He criticized the opacity and exclusivity of the current financial system, believing that cryptocurrency and blockchain technology can offer equal financial opportunities to more individuals.

Technology and Innovation: He is confident in the potential of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology to fundamentally transform the financial industry. He particularly emphasized the importance of transparency and on-chain operations, believing that these can eliminate the opacity and corruption present in traditional finance.

Advice for Beginners: He advised beginners to start with small investments, gradually learn about the cryptocurrency field, and avoid over-leveraging. He emphasized the importance of education and participation, stating that true understanding of this rapidly evolving field can only be achieved through active involvement.

Expectations for the Future: He expressed high expectations for the future of World Liberty Finance and its partners, believing that by integrating various technologies and projects, it can bring revolutionary changes to the global financial system, providing financial freedom and opportunities to more people.

Odaily Planet Daily's North America correspondent jk participated in the event and organized the original dialogue as follows~

Question: The United States is a key leader in the cryptocurrency field. What kind of policy do you think is needed?

Trump Jr.: I think right now the most important thing is that everyone needs a regulatory framework to clarify what can and cannot be done. When we entered this world, our family also got involved through projects like WLFI. Surprisingly, even when you can access the world's best lawyers and experts, no one really knows what you can or cannot do. Few are willing to face the overuse of agencies like the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in the cryptocurrency field. So, I believe this is the future of finance. We want to democratize it, but people do need this regulatory framework to move forward and understand what is permissible. If this is not done, companies are forced offshore, and the opportunity cost is enormous. I think this is very absurd. We need to create a regulatory framework that makes people feel secure and ensures they can confidently invest. I have not been in office since noon on January 20, but during the transition period, we spent a lot of time bringing in those who not only understand traditional finance (TradFi) but also truly understand cryptocurrency and decentralized finance (DeFi) to develop a reasonable regulatory framework and laws.

I think the problem we have seen in Washington, D.C. over the past few decades is that those making decisions often have no knowledge of the subject matter they are legislating. They just stay there longer, so they have seniority, perhaps on some committee. After graduating from the Wharton School in 2000, I entered the real estate industry and witnessed the 2007-2008 financial crisis firsthand. I saw members of the financial committees raise seemingly sharp questions, but in reality, they knew nothing about what they were discussing. If you truly understand these topics, you realize, my goodness, these people are making decisions worth trillions of dollars without any foundational understanding. Therefore, we need a regulatory framework guided by people who really know their stuff, whether it's the new SEC chairman or people like Scott from the Treasury Department.

I have helped bring forward ideas in the cryptocurrency field, such as involving people like David SAS. He truly understands this world. Initially, we only talked about artificial intelligence, but during dinner, I realized he was one of the greatest minds in the tech field, so why not have him also play a role in the cryptocurrency field? Therefore, we assembled a team that truly understands what we are doing, so you don't just get a bunch of regulations and hurdles. This is a very critical opportunity, and we can create what the industry truly needs. I think we have enough people with industry understanding to do this, rather than decisions being made by people without actual knowledge, resulting in solutions worse than the problem itself.

To be honest, I believe that in the past few years of the Biden administration, the SEC and DOJ have set too many obstacles, which have been almost destructive, even predatory, trying to stifle the incredible innovation of cryptocurrency. The same goes for DeFi and other related technologies. Now, I think we have people in place who can set up a framework, understand this space, and can open the gates for those who truly want to develop in the United States. They just want a reasonable environment in the U.S., rather than worrying about being thrown in jail for some nonsense for 25 years. So, I am very excited about the actions the new government will take. I am proud to be a part of the team that is helping to drive this process forward.

My father will ultimately make these decisions himself, but he understands how critical this is for the future of finance. I think this is the future of finance. The U.S. should be at the forefront, not setting up all sorts of obstacles to push these companies overseas. I am very excited about those in the government, and we can properly do this, make it make sense, and dominate this industry in the foreseeable future and perhaps forever.

You launched your own cryptocurrency platform WLFI. Can you tell us what the vision and mission of this platform are? How will it revolutionize the DeFi and TradFi fields?

Trump Jr.: I think the true vision is to bring DeFi and traditional finance together, to merge them. Everyone wants access to liquidity, but not everyone has the opportunity. I learned this through my political experiences over the past few years. A few months ago, I made some remarks online saying that the current financial system feels like a massive Ponzi scheme. The reason why I said that is because when I graduated from the Wharton School and entered the financial world in New York doing real estate and finance, as a Trump family member, I might not have been aware, but I was at the top of this financial pyramid. It was essentially a Ponzi scheme, but at that time, I didn't know because I could pick up the phone and get what I wanted. Because of who we are, because of our balance sheet, everything was easy. But when we entered the political arena, all that access suddenly disappeared.

I realized how undemocratic the financial system is. As long as you do as they say, everything is fine. But if you don't, many Americans, and even people worldwide, are discriminated against. So, I think our idea is to bridge this gap, to provide liquidity for those who have never had the opportunity. I think we can do a lot of amazing things. Currently, the cryptocurrency space does not have bond products or government bond assets, bringing these two worlds together, as I mentioned earlier, we need the right team to do this, which will bring liquidity, more importantly, stability.

The real goal is to democratize finance. I think cryptocurrency has done a great job in this regard, but there are still many pitfalls. This field is still very new, and I believe some people in the room have been in this field for 15 years, so it's not new to them. But I really feel that we are on the edge of a major breakthrough. Therefore, bringing these two worlds together is what we are striving to do, and providing great products that people can use. I feel that many people have been artificially excluded from the traditional financial world, they have not had the opportunity to access these resources because they do not meet certain conditions, or are not considered "sexy" or "cool" enough. So, I am very excited about being able to truly democratize finance. As someone who was once at the top of this artificial Ponzi scheme, I quickly realized what it felt like to be at the bottom of this scam. I realized that the meaning of America does not lie here, nor does the meaning of financial freedom. Therefore, we are very excited to enter this field, grow together with everyone, and help bring all these great products together.

Regarding "World Free Finance," recently it has partnered with many collaborators, from Chile to Tron, and to Ondo Finance. I wanted to ask you, what kind of partnerships is "World Free Finance" looking for?

Trump Jr.: Similar to the first question, we hope to bring together the traditional financial and cryptocurrency worlds. We want to be an integrator, bringing together all great things and not intending to accomplish everything alone. We are looking for partners with various excellent projects. You mentioned some, but there are many more. We need these projects and their wisdom. We must bring together all these great technologies, great minds, and great ideas to once again bridge this gap. I believe that if we can do this, if we can integrate, we can create stability, which is necessary for the take-off of this field. We can simplify some complexities, making it easier for ordinary Americans and people around the world to access. Therefore, we are looking for collaborations with these top projects, so that everyone is working towards the same direction, truly transforming the entire industry.

I think in the coming days, weeks, and months, you will see more powerful announcements. As I said, seeing everyone who understands this contact us and believe that we can be the catalyst to bring these great ideas together is just fantastic. I think this is a very fundamental and most important part.

Blockchain and decentralized finance have brought many solutions to the traditional financial markets. In your opinion, what problems and challenges in traditional finance have they addressed?

Trump Jr.: I think we need to create utility. Many of these ideas are great, but if you have been in this field for a long time, you can interact with the best people and minds. But for ordinary people, we must strive to create utility. I think there are many solutions, and everyone wants to have this kind of liquidity. People need to be able to move in and out of all these areas. So, I think the biggest solution we can try to create is to create this utility, bring all the great partners together, and I believe this will do that. This takes time.

Right now, it feels like all of this is like an "inner game," but ultimately, it's about creating utility. You can create financial democratization, bringing others into this field. As I mentioned earlier, this field used to be an exclusive domain of the wealthy and powerful. If we can create this kind of utility, truly get everyone to use it, make basic transactions simple, bring liquidity to the market, that will be something that truly changes the game. You see others vying for this elsewhere as well.

Earlier, I interviewed the Venezuelan opposition leader, who won over 90% of the vote. She is a strong supporter of cryptocurrency because even after winning over 90% of the vote, they were able to shut her up, shut down her business, cut off her communication channels. I think once you create utility, create electronic signatures, put it on the chain, you have transparency. We can do a lot to create a level playing field for those who don't have the opportunity. I think this is very exciting. I think this is not just changing the game for the industry, but also for the world and freedom itself.

Some people outside might not be satisfied with this answer, but listen, we in the United States have seen what they can do. If you don't buy into their narrative, they will come after you. They did that when my father first became president, even though he was one of the most powerful people in the world, at least on paper, they could cut you off. They can only push one narrative and exploit this bias. Even in the U.S., you would think this is impossible, but you have seen what they have done, seen their attacks on many people, seen their imprisonment of early figures in the cryptocurrency space, like Ross Ulbricht, who paved the way for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. They don't like this; it doesn't matter.

We are moving towards a world independent of power, which is very scary for many authoritarian regimes. I think some of these regimes may be closer to us than we imagine.

The revolution in the DeFi space began in 2020, and since then, it has evolved from staking, restaking, various innovative DEXs to modular DEXs, and more. But this field is still very new, with significant growth opportunities. Many people are still trying to understand the basics. Therefore, starting from your personal experience, what advice would you give to those who are just entering this field? How would you suggest they start and receive feedback?

Trump Jr.: Yes, new things are emerging every day. I think what you need to do is start reading the news. I mean, don't read fake news. You have to have a diverse view of this field. You can't just read one account's content on X; they might be pushing something. I think you need to read all about DeFi, start self-educating, and that will make everything less daunting.

Start small, don't invest too much capital. Don't overexpose yourself. For beginners, you can invest $100 in Bitcoin, or $1000. Once you are truly involved, not just observing from the sidelines, even with a small amount, you will start paying attention to this field. Suddenly, you will find it no longer as mysterious. If you were to explain this to a Baby Boomer, they might be very interested. This field has a lot of mystique, but if you start trying and get involved, even with a small amount, you will start to understand it. I know that when I started investing some real money, suddenly I started paying attention to everything. Once you start paying attention to everything, reading relevant content, you will start to distinguish what is real from what is nonsense. You will realize that some people are promoting something just for their own benefit. In this way, you will become more alert.

I saw my 16-year-old son start playing with some memes. It was truly amazing. You see a kid suddenly take an interest in finance, invest some money, and start talking about liquidity. Suddenly, he is like a banker who has worked at Goldman Sachs for 20 years. Because he invested money, he started paying attention and getting involved. It's truly amazing. I think this is the future of finance for people. So, even if you have been in this field for a while, you are still in the early stages.

As this field evolves, for a young entrepreneur, investing some money and getting involved, you can learn a lot. This is the best way to understand the basics of business and entrepreneurship. I come from a real estate family, and we've been in real estate for a long time. You can't have a 15-year-old kid play with real estate because everything is too slow. We live in an instant gratification world. If you play with meme coins, it's not always instant gratification; sometimes it's quite the opposite. When he starts paying attention and investing money, it's no longer theoretical; he truly understands it. For everyone, whether young or old, entering this field, investing some money, not over-leveraging, not betting the house, but getting involved. When you do this, I think the learning curve will skyrocket like a rocket. For him, it's like that, and for me, it's the same. Just transitioning from an observer to a participant is crucial. We are in a very early stage, and it's amazing.

For him, I started encouraging him to do this because I was so excited to see that the stock market is fine, but you buy some stocks and then sit there for 15 years, it might appreciate, but not so quickly, not so intensely. I think in 18 months, he will learn more this way than what he learns at the Wharton School. It's truly amazing. So I say, get into this field, don't do anything crazy, but start playing with something you are willing to lose, as that may happen. But just as a participant rather than an observer, your senses will become sharper, which is crucial.

Last question. What motivates you? What are you most excited about happening this year?

Trump Jr.: Honestly, I think for me, the most exciting thing is WLFI. Seeing all of this development unfolding is really fascinating. I've been a lifelong "hard asset real estate guy," and I've dabbled in politics over the past few years as well because I truly believe in freedom, and I think freedom was genuinely at risk. Being able to do things in a different way, trying to put everything on chain, is very exciting.

I think people should know that, "Hey, the CEO of the company whose stock you hold is telling you it's great, but the CEO is quietly selling." I think that's an issue. So, I think creating a product that is as transparent as possible, as clear as possible, is crucial. Putting it on chain so people understand that if you're buying and selling, we will talk about this. We will show you what we're doing so it's no longer a game of insiders and outsiders. We're breaking away from the traditional financial model, where I know some bankers make seven figures a year, they have great jobs, but I don't even know what they're doing. We've been talking about what we're doing with the WLFI Strategic Reserve, and we're going to roll out a lot of other great products. Being able to come out of a world of hard asset real estate, enter this space, buy and hold long-term. I think we believe there's tremendous potential in this space.

I've spent a lot of time making sure that my father's government and what we're doing are not related. They are independent, separated from the family business, but we can create that clarity to let others understand, hopefully, that we can run it in a way where others see that transparency. They see what we're doing on chain, which takes away the mystery of these things. We can truly create a democratized financial platform where everyone has a shot, everyone has a chance to thrive, everyone knows what others are up to.

Eliminating some of the opaqueness that exists in the world. So, I'm very excited about that. For those who haven't been paying attention, please check out the X account for WLFI. Everyone is trying to do one thing, saying they're doing something else. Unless you hear it directly from me, my brother, or other outstanding members of the team, please get your information from there. I'm very excited about this project, along with the exceptional talent we've assembled, not just the people on the team but other partners and outstanding entrepreneurs. As you mentioned earlier, and others who are about to join, it seems like they're reaching out to us every day.

I think we really have the ability to bring together all these great minds, ideas, and technologies to fight for what we believe in. When we get that across, I think these things will take off when we achieve that. More people will get involved, no longer standing on the sidelines because they will genuinely see what's going on.

I am extremely excited about this. Every day we talk about this project, some people may do wrong things, but there is so much more to come in the future. So, I'm very excited to be part of this industry and truly take on the responsibility of helping reshape the future of finance. It will be incredible.

(Question from Rock) Any insider information on the cryptocurrency sovereign fund? Does WLFI have a fund?

Trump Jr.: Regarding the fund, I know this is a transitional period. I have to be clear that I am not in government.

The head of the cryptocurrency space, David S, understands this space. He understands that in the world we live in, you can see these things happen on day one. These ideas of potential tens of billions or even hundreds of billions of dollars. So, you can see this space, oh my, it did not happen at noon on January 20. But these things take time, they don't just magically appear. You need to do things right. So, I know there are people looking at all these things.

I know for a fact that there are people in the government who absolutely believe in this. But you have to understand that even though you may want to do something right away, you have to work within the framework of reality. So, I think this is absolutely something you might see in the near future. I'm not in government right now, but I know there are discussions about getting this done. It's not something you can snap your fingers and magically make happen. You are dealing with massive amounts of money that need to go through the proper channels. D.C. doesn't operate in a reasonable manner, it's not transparent, you don't see what's really going on. Those who are against you are in the shadows.

If you've been paying attention for the past nine years, you might have noticed this. So, all these ideas have already been discussed. I have to keep it to myself. You know, I'm not going to get the Hunter Biden treatment. There are people who believe in this. They understand its value. They understand that America needs to be at the forefront, not fostering an environment that pushes people away. So, I think you will see these things, but if you're disappointed that it didn't happen in the first moment, I'm sorry, but that's not realistic either.

We have always followed the guidelines of the world we live in. So, I think you will see a lot of things. I think you will see a lot of exciting developments, not only in the DeFi space but also in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. I think a lot of these things will be tapped into. They will create some incredible things that enable people to use and create, once again filling in those truly missing utilities.

As you know, these things cannot happen overnight. You need to give it some time. But I think you will see some incredible things. I think in the end, those who are confident in talking about these things will be very satisfied. You just need to wait a little longer.

This is awesome, I must say. I'm really glad you didn't get the Hunter Biden treatment

Trump Jr.: My father's parenting style is a bit different. I was already doing these things at Hunter's age. The Democratic Party will try again.

Original Article Link