Former President Donald Trump declared that the Trump Organization will introduce a new cryptocurrency platform, dubbed “The DeFiant Ones,” on August 22.

Trump shared the announcement through a post on Truth Social, suggesting that the decentralized finance (DeFi) platform intends to offer Americans an alternative to traditional financial institutions. He stated:

“For too long, ordinary Americans have been disadvantaged by large banks and financial powerhouses. It’s time for us to unite and take action.”

This marks the first time the Republican presidential nominee has leveraged his personal platform to promote the not-yet-activated “digital bank.” Following Trump’s post, his son, Donald Trump Jr., shared it with his 12 million followers on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The DeFiant 0nes

The post linked to a Telegram channel called “The DeFiant 0nes,” which had around 30,000 subscribers at the time of publication. The channel is presented as the official group for the Trump DeFi project, aiming to develop what it describes as “the future of finance.”

Eric Trump, one of Trump’s sons, recently informed reporters that the project involves “digital real estate.” During an interview with the New York Post earlier this month, he elaborated:

“It’s fair. It’s collateral that anyone can access immediately. I believe many don’t fully comprehend the impact this will have on banking and finance globally. Our goal is to contribute to transforming this landscape.”

The Trump brothers have promoted the platform by discussing the potential of DeFi and encouraging their followers to anticipate further announcements.

The phrase “digital real estate” has sparked speculation that the platform might involve transforming real-world assets into tokens or selling virtual representations of assets within the metaverse.

Trump’s pro-crypto shift

The announcement comes as Trump’s campaign for president enters its final phase. The former president is working to gain traction in the race against Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump’s engagement with crypto marks a significant shift from his previous views. During his time as president, he had expressed reservations about Bitcoin, calling it a scam. However, in recent months, Trump has adopted a more supportive attitude towards the crypto industry.

He recently took center stage at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in July and stated he would ensure the US “never sells” its Bitcoin if elected and pledged to make America a crypto “superpower.” Trump reiterated his views in subsequent interviews, solidifying his pro-crypto stance.

The GOP has followed suit and included Bitcoin mining and self-custody rights as a key part of its new platform. Additionally, Senator Cynthia Lummis has introduced legislation called the Bitcoin Act, which aims to establish Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset.

Trump’s changing stance on crypto has garnered widespread support from industry leaders, who believe his progressive policies will benefit both the crypto and tech industries. The former president reported that he had raised $25 million in donations from the crypto sector by the end of July.