Trump seeks to protect Barron from scams by investing in crypto venture but chooses dubious partners
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Former president Donald Trump ventured into the crypto space after his longtime friend Steve Witkoff pushed for his younger son Barron to get involved with a murky crypto startup, The Daily Beast reported on Monday, October 7.
Real estate mogul Witkoff reportedly has limited knowledge of the subject, and refers to "memecoins" as "me-me-coins." However, he lobbied Trump on behalf of Chase Herro and Zachary Folkman. The latter pair are the brains behind Trump's crypto start-up, even though their qualifications for it are apparently dubious at best.
Donald Trump's crypto venture
GOP nominee Donald Trump, while previously being a strong crypto skeptic, launched the World Liberty Financial on September 16, 2024 with his sons Donald Jr, Eric, and Barron.
According to The New York Times, Steve Witkoff pushed for Trump's partnership with Chase Herro and Zachary Folkman, partly believing that it would provide a perfect opportunity for Barron to develop some business experience while being protected from the risks of fraud, cyberattacks, and sudden downturns.
While the company's promo materials referred to the youngest Trump as a "visionary" in the space, he remained absent for the launch, which took place on livestream.
World Liberty Financial is expected to be a "sort of" crypto banking platform, where people are encouraged to borrow, lend and invest in crypto currency, reported NBC. The company would also have their own token, named WLFI.
Criticism over Chase Herro and Zachary Folkman being the brains behind World Liberty Financial
Chase Herro and Zachary Folkman's qualification to steer the startup was questioned by NYT, which shared that the pair have a history of jumping between projects. They are primarily focused on get-rich-quick e-commerce schemes, many of which are set up in infamous tax havens.
For Herro in particular, the list of flaws runs long, including a criminal history of theft and drug possession. In 2022, he described digital currency TerraUSD as “one of the coolest assets in history,” but it collapsed a month later overnight.
With Folkman as his business partner, Herro was involved in the crypto platform Dough Finance, which was hacked earlier this year. It resulted in the theft of roughly $2 million from its users. The duo have also been sued for skipping out on rent, causing property damage, and failing to $77,000 in credit card bills.
Experts are thus skeptical of Trump's venture with the pair, with former SEC official John Reed Stark stating, "It’s a bunch of nonsense, and a terrible opportunity for investors.”
