Eric Trump pushed back against conflict-of-interest claims against his father Donald Trump, the current U.S. President. He responded to questions that arose over a $2 billion UAE investment in Binance and a separate U.S. approval that gave the Middle Eastern nation access to advanced computer chips.
Speaking on CNBC on Tuesday, Eric, who co-founded American Bitcoin and serves as its Chief Strategy Officer, dismissed criticism, saying, “My father is the first guy who hasn’t made money off of the presidency. We’ve always been serial capitalists.”
The comments came after The New York Times reported that two major deals unfolded within weeks. In March, UAE-based investment firm MGX put $2 billion into Binance using World Liberty’s USD1 stablecoin. By May, the Trump administration allowed the UAE to purchase hundreds of thousands of scarce AI chips.
Trump-backed World Liberty under spotlight
World Liberty Financial, co-founded by the U.S. President Donald Trump and his three sons, has become central to the debate. MGX’s investment helped push USD1’s supply to about $2.66 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Earlier this month, the Trump family’s crypto wealth reportedly swelled by nearly $5 billion on paper after World Liberty’s WLFI token listed on several exchanges.
The project also includes real estate developer Steve Witkoff, a Trump envoy, and his son Zach. According to NYT, Witkoff still holds a stake in World Liberty. Both Eric and Donald Jr. are also active in American Bitcoin, a crypto mining and holding company.
Despite the timing of the deals, White House and World Liberty spokespersons denied any connection. NYT noted there is no evidence one deal was made in exchange for the other but said the back-to-back announcements tested the limits of ethics rules.
Eric, meanwhile, defended his family’s move into crypto, stressing it came after banks cut ties with them. “Crypto came out of a necessity,” he said.
Also Read: World Liberty Fi’s USD1 Stablecoin Expands to BonkFun, Raydium
