The Future of Finance: Eric Trump on Crypto and Real Estate
In a recent interview with Yahoo Finance, Eric Trump, the real estate and cryptocurrency entrepreneur, shared his insights on the evolving landscape of finance. He emphasized that despite the recent downturn in the crypto market, he believes the future of mainstream finance lies in digital assets.
“First of all, markets aren’t always rational,” Trump said while speaking from Palm Beach, Florida. He highlighted the performance of Bitcoin over the past decade, noting that it was once valued below $500 per coin. Despite its current struggles, Trump remains optimistic about the long-term potential of cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin’s price has been fluctuating significantly. As of Thursday, it fell below $67,000, marking its fifth consecutive week of decline. Since reaching an all-time high last October, its value has nearly halved, and it is down 31% over the past year. However, Trump advised those who cannot handle volatility to invest in more stable options like bonds that yield around 4.5%.
Tokenization: A New Era for Real Estate
Trump’s comments came at a time when World Liberty Financial, his flagship crypto venture, is exploring the less volatile side of the crypto world through tokenization. In partnership with Securitize and a London stock exchange-listed subsidiary of DarGlobal, a major Saudi Arabian real estate developer, the company is putting real estate assets linked to a Trump resort project in the Maldives on the blockchain.
This initiative involves packaging revenue interests from loans tied to the real estate project so they can be sold as crypto securities to wealthy investors via crypto exchanges. Tokenization is the process of creating a digital representation of an asset, allowing it to be traded on blockchain platforms.
The tokenized real estate market is currently valued at approximately $359 million, according to RWA, a crypto data platform. Trump believes this trend will change the way money flows globally, expecting more assets such as debt, commodities, Hollywood film rights, fine art, and even ownership in five-star restaurants to eventually be tokenized.
“We’re very excited to be on the forefront of that with real estate,” he added.
Expanding the Trump Crypto Empire
The Trump family’s involvement in the crypto space has grown significantly since Donald Trump embraced the industry during his 2024 campaign. Their digital asset empire now spans various corners of the crypto world.
World Liberty Financial has gained considerable attention, particularly after launching USD1 (USD136148-USD), a US dollar-pegged stablecoin. This stablecoin, which is now the world’s fifth largest, has reached a total market value of $5 billion.
Stablecoins are designed to maintain a stable value by being pegged to other assets, such as the US dollar. Last summer, President Trump signed a bill that laid the groundwork for the first federal framework regulating dollar-pegged stablecoins. However, a disagreement over whether crypto platforms should be able to pay customers interest on their stablecoin balances has stalled another significant crypto bill called the Clarity Act.
Banks and the crypto industry are currently at a stand-off on this issue, and the bill’s status plays a crucial role in determining where crypto prices go this year. Crypto and banking trade groups recently met at the White House for their third round of talks aimed at resolving the conflict.
Banks and the Crypto Industry
Eric Trump admitted that he “stays the hell away from Washington, D.C.” but expressed concerns about banks’ efforts to block the passage of the Clarity Act. He suggested that banks feel threatened by the crypto industry, which he described as a monopoly in the history of the country.
“Banks have always been the greatest monopoly in the history of this country, and now all of a sudden, they’re threatened,” he said. Banks argue that allowing the measure would give crypto exchanges the ability to offer bank-like products without the same regulatory requirements.
The Trump Organization is currently involved in legal battles with Capital One and JPMorgan Chase, alleging that they debanked the president’s family and numerous accounts for political reasons. Both banks have denied these claims, with JPMorgan stating that the suit has no merit.
In a court filing on Thursday, JPMorgan accused Trump and related entities of “fraudulently” naming CEO Jamie Dimon in their debanking lawsuit against the company.
While speaking with Yahoo Finance, Eric Trump described the situation with the banks as “complicated,” pointing some blame at Biden-era regulators for pressuring lenders. He noted that JPMorgan pulled well over 50 accounts from them but added, “I have a lot of respect for the bank. It’s one of the nation’s great financial institutions.”
David Hollerith covers the financial sector, ranging from the country’s biggest banks to regional lenders, private equity firms, and the cryptocurrency space.