Former President Trump announced a new cryptocurrency project called “The DeFiant Ones” on Thursday, but provided few details about the venture.
“For too long, average Americans have been oppressed by big banks and the financial elite. Now is the time for us to stand up together,” the former president wrote on his platform, Truth Social, linking to a Telegram channel for the “Trump DeFi Project.”
The channel was first launched on Aug. 6, the same day President Trump’s son, Eric Trump, teased upcoming announcements regarding cryptocurrency and decentralized finance.
“I’m really into crypto/DeFi. Stay tuned for a big announcement,” he wrote on social platform X, tagging his father, his brother Donald Trump Jr., and the Trump Organization.
“We’re about to shake up the crypto world with something huge. Decentralized finance is the future. Don’t get left behind,” Trump Jr. said in a post on X the next day.
President Trump has been a big supporter of cryptocurrencies in this election, despite previously dismissing them as a “scam.” The former president headlined a Bitcoin conference in Nashville last month where he unveiled a series of cryptocurrency proposals.
“I’m proud to be the first U.S. president to speak at a Bitcoin event anywhere in the world,” he said while attending Bitcoin 2024. “If cryptocurrency defines the future, I want it to be mined, minted and manufactured in America.”
The former president’s shift in stance on cryptocurrencies comes amid growing dissatisfaction within the industry with the Biden administration’s approach to enforcement.
But some in the industry are hoping for a “reset” after President Biden dropped out of the 2024 election and endorsed Vice President Harris, whose campaign sent its strongest positive signal yet to the crypto community on Wednesday.
“She will support policies that ensure emerging technologies and those types of industries can continue to grow,” said senior policy adviser Brian Nelson when asked about cryptocurrencies during a Bloomberg roundtable at the Democratic National Convention.
