On September 3rd, X accounts belonging to Lara Trump, Eric’s wife, and Tiffany Trump, daughter of the former president, were allegedly compromised and used by the hackers to sell another crypto token allegedly related to with World Liberty Financial. The posts have since been deleted, but screenshots show they have been viewed by at least 200,000 people. Data from token analysis platform DEXTools suggests that around 2,000 people collectively bought the fake token worth $1.8 million.
“Lara and Tiffany Trump’s X accounts have been hacked. DO NOT click on any links or buy tokens shared from their profiles,” another message on the Telegram channel said.
World Liberty Financial is part of Trump’s broader effort to woo the crypto industry, whose members are widely supportive of his re-election campaign. In July, speaking to thousands of bitcoiners at a conference in Nashville, Tennessee, Trump promised to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet.” But a clumsy performance could undermine Trump’s attempt at clemency, perpetuating the impression that the crypto industry is a breeding ground for scams and fraud.
A report published by crypto media outlet CoinDesk on Tuesday, said to be based on a leaked white paper, indicates that World Liberty Financial will provide peer-to-peer lending and borrowing services – an example of a concept known as decentralized finance (DeFi). Trump will reportedly launch a crypto token alongside the platform, which is expected to give its holders the right to vote on its future development.
DeFi industry executives are cautiously optimistic about the prospect of the Trump family’s debut; they enjoy the publicity, but are wary of the reputational damage World Liberty Financial could cause if it gets caught in the eye or if a hack or technical error results in financial losses.
“I welcome any effort to bring DeFi into the mainstream,” said Brad Harrison, CEO of lending service Venus Protocol. “But like autopilot at Tesla, DeFi can create the appearance of something that is simple, [even though] the inner workings are complicated. Without a solid understanding of its nuances in the hands of experienced technologists and financial engineers, a new platform risks being more of a branding exercise than a meaningful and safe contribution to the space.”
The family’s huge public platform and the extent of partisan support for Trump himself are valuable marketing assets. “[World Liberty Financial] launched with the most free marketing any crypto company could get,” said Zach Hamilton, founder of crypto startup Sarcophagus and venture partner at venture capital firm Venture51.
But because of its notoriety, World Liberty Financial is already attracting the wrong kinds of attention. And the risk posed by copycats is amplified by the inability to reverse crypto transactions, making it much easier for someone to lose large sums. “People have to be very careful,” says Harrison. “You can lose your money. People have lost their money.”
