World Liberty Financial targets retail
Crypto will ‘take over big banks’
A stablecoin linked with President Donald Trump will be used by Abu Dhabi’s MGX as part of the technology company’s $2 billion investment in Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, it was announced on Thursday.
MGX announced a minority investment in Binance in March.
Zach Witkoff, co-founder of World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency holding company linked to the Trump family, said its USD1 stablecoin will be used to facilitate the deal.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that are traded on blockchain networks, with their value pegged to real-world assets or traditional currencies such as the US dollar.
MGX was launched in March last year by founding partners Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company and G42, the emirate’s artificial intelligence investment arm.
MGX is chaired by the UAE national security adviser and Abu Dhabi deputy ruler Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Witkoff made the comments on a panel which included Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization and the son of the US president, at the Token2049 crypto event taking place in Dubai this week.
Eric Trump, a well-known advocate of cryptocurrencies, told delegates at the event that the global banking system is “broken”.
“The crypto world is going to take over the big banks,” he said.
Integration into retail
Trump-backed World Liberty Financial is aiming to take the first steps toward integrating crypto into traditional retail points of sale.
“I don’t think our mission will be complete unless you go into a Four Seasons in Abu Dhabi and swipe your debit card using USD1,” Witkoff said.
There are 1.4 billion unbanked people in the world and the proliferation of crypto is filling a vacuum that traditional finance networks have not been able to cater to, Eric Trump said.
“A lot of big banks are very opaque. They only work for a few people at the top and frankly they’re ripping off their customers,” he said.
Eric Trump was in the UAE this week also for the launch of the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Dubai, a partnership between the Trump Organization and Dubai-based and UK listed property developer Dar Global.
The 80-storey, 350-metre-tall tower is the Middle East’s first such hotel and tower, and marks the fifth collaboration between the two firms.
“The rest of the world needs to be careful of the UAE for one reason. They always arrive at the word ‘yes’ and they do it quickly. Europe has become a lost cause, they’re impossible to deal with,” Trump said.
“The Gulf and America are going to win the crypto revolution.”
