Eric Trump has revealed that his family's embrace of cryptocurrency stemmed from being 'debanked' in early 2021 following the January Capitol incident. Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, he stated that hundreds of bank accounts linked to the Trump Organization were closed, which he characterized as politically motivated. "At that time, I realized how fragile the financial system was and how easily it could be weaponized against you," Eric Trump told the WSJ.
This experience led the Trump Organization to file a lawsuit against Capital One earlier this year, alleging financial harm from account closures. Eric Trump compared this to regulatory pressure on crypto firms under the Biden administration, stating: "This whole system was weaponized against them, no different than it had been weaponized against us for different reasons."
The Trump family has since significantly expanded its crypto footprint. In September 2024, they launched World Liberty Financial, which issues the USD1 stablecoin, with Donald Trump listed as co-founder emeritus. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. also co-founded American Bitcoin, a Hut 8 subsidiary that raised $220 million for Bitcoin acquisitions and mining equipment. According to an August 11 report, Donald Trump's crypto ventures have generated a $2.4 billion fortune.
Eric Trump has become a vocal advocate for asset tokenization, suggesting that properties like Trump Tower could be tokenized to allow global investment access. While denying that the family profited directly from Donald Trump's presidency, Eric acknowledged considering a presidential run in 2028 or supporting another family member's candidacy.