Controversial $Trump Wallet Launches Amid Family Disputes
A new website featuring a muscular illustration of Donald Trump, energetically raising his fist, emerged online on Tuesday. This site serves as the promotional platform for one of Trump’s digital currencies, branding itself as the “Official $Trump Wallet”. The offering aims to enable users to trade cryptocurrencies, with a primary focus on Trump’s own digital coin. The site prominently displays the $Trump coin name and encourages visitors to sign up for a waitlist for the digital wallet. The launch was first highlighted by the crypto newsletter Citation Needed. Notably, Magic Eden, a recognized cryptocurrency marketplace, stated its collaboration with Trump’s digital currency team to develop this wallet. Promotion of the wallet also came from the Twitter/X account associated with one of Trump’s cryptocurrency initiatives.
Family Denies Involvement in Wallet Development
Despite the official appearance of the announcements, Trump’s sons have publicly disavowed any connection to the wallet. Donald Trump Jr. swiftly took to X, asserting, “The Trump Organization has zero involvement with this wallet product.” Eric Trump echoed this sentiment, stating, “I run @Trump and I know nothing about this project!” Even Barron Trump weighed in, clarifying, “To be clear, our family has zero involvement with this wallet.” Donald Trump Jr. further revealed that he has been diligently working on launching an official wallet via another family crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, which was established last year.
Crypto Industry Challenges and Family Conflicts
The cryptocurrency sector is notorious for its prevalence of fraud, scams, and internal disputes. The current conflict appears to arise from tensions between Magic Eden and World Liberty Financial, linked to disagreements between Trump’s sons and Bill Zanker, a long-time business associate of Trump. Zanker operates the company behind the $Trump coin, Fight Fight Fight LLC, which is distinct from both the Trump Organization and World Liberty. The Trump Organization also possesses a company called CIC Digital, which, alongside Fight Fight Fight, manages and profits from the cryptocurrency, holding 80% of the coin’s reserves, theoretically valued at around $2 billion. On X, both Magic Eden and Zanker’s firm asserted that the announced crypto wallet was affiliated with Trump and supported by Magic Eden. However, Eric Trump contended this claim was incorrect, cautioning on X that “This project is not authorized by @Trump,” and warned Magic Eden to exercise caution in using their name for an unapproved project.
Trump’s Evolving Stance on Cryptocurrency
In recent months, Trump’s family and associates have unveiled a series of crypto initiatives and digital currencies, including a memecoin featuring Trump’s image and a stablecoin designed to maintain a steady value of $1. Melania Trump has also introduced her own memecoin. During his initial term, Trump expressed strong opposition to cryptocurrency but has since shifted his position. He has begun to embrace the highly volatile sector, becoming the first major political candidate to accept donations in cryptocurrency and addressing a significant crypto conference during his campaign. Trump has even entertained industry leaders at the White House and hosted prominent cryptocurrency holders at his private golf club near Washington, D.C. His administration appointed tech investor David Sacks as the “crypto czar,” relaxed regulations on digital assets, and suspended various federal investigations into cryptocurrency companies. The White House, Magic Eden, and Zanker did not respond to requests for comments.
