The Trump family's issuance of currency is not a single-dimensional act; it is both a commercial harvest utilizing political dividends and a commercial expansion attempting to reshape the financial landscape through political power. However, the core driving force behind this may not be saving the dollar, but rather a strong 'revenge' motive and significant conflicts of interest that they express.
We can examine both sides of this debate from the angles of 'harvesting' and 'saving the dollar':
Angle One: Why is this considered a 'combination of politics and business harvesting'?
The arguments for this viewpoint are very solid, primarily reflected in the following aspects:
· The family’s massive profits, while retail investors suffer heavily: The Trump family can obtain 75% of the net income from their crypto platform WLFI and control 60% of the equity, having already profited hundreds of millions of dollars. More directly, the 'TRUMP' meme coin launched just before the inauguration led to about 800,000 investors losing a total of $2 billion, which is considered 'epic harvesting'.
· Utilizing insider information, suspected interest delivery: Some analyses have found that before the official launch of 'TRUMP' coin and First Lady 'MELANIA' coin, there were 'whale' accounts that bought in advance and then sold at peak prices, which is astonishingly precise. Additionally, Tron founder Sun Yuchen became a project advisor after investing $30 million in WLFI, which has been widely questioned as a disguised form of 'political donation'.
· The fatal controversy of 'the referee stepping onto the field': This is the core issue. Trump, as president, can profoundly influence the entire crypto industry. For example, he signed the (Stablecoin Act) paving the way for USD1. Meanwhile, an entity related to Abu Dhabi purchased 49% of WLFI for $500 million, and the UAE is a country Trump needs to engage with. Senator Elizabeth Warren bluntly stated that this is a 'shocking tool of corruption'.
Angle Two: Is this the 'desperate struggle' to escape the dollar dilemma?
The Trump family's claims are very grand, but the reality is much more complicated:
· The official 'grand narrative': Trump's sons claim that launching USD1 is to provide an 'upgraded version' of the dollar, maintaining dollar hegemony through innovation in the private sector and ensuring its dominance in the digital currency era. They even liken their actions to the establishment of the dollar in the U.S. in 1792.
· The undeniable 'revenge' motive: However, they do not hide the fact that the real driving force is 'revenge'. They claim that after the Capitol Hill incident in 2021, the family was 'blocked' by the traditional banking system due to their political stance, and their accounts were closed, thus they had to create their own financial tools. Donald Trump Jr. openly stated that traditional banks are a 'Ponzi scheme'.
· Potentially counterproductive effects: Ironically, this 'Trump-style' financial innovation may weaken the dollar. When a president uses power to pave the way for their family coin, it only accelerates other countries (such as Europe advancing the digital euro) seeking alternatives to the dollar to avoid the systemic risks brought by the privatization and politicization of the financial system in the U.S.
Therefore, this is both a commercial harvest and a political influence realization. It cleverly binds 'public power' with 'private interests', utilizing the policy dividends brought by the presidential identity to open new battlefields for the family business empire.
At its core, this is more like an action that seeks 'financial freedom' and 'commercial revenge' under the guise of 'financial innovation'. What the Trump family wants to escape is not the dollar's dilemma, but rather their own exclusion from the traditional financial system; only this time, they leveraged the power of the entire nation as a bargaining chip.
Ultimately, this is a family business cloaked in national flags and marked by strong revenge undertones. Do you think this model, which deeply binds the presidency to family business, will ultimately bring an 'upgrade' to the American financial system, or will it open 'Pandora's box'?
