Donald Trump Jr. has opened up about why the Trump family is now heavily involved in crypto, claiming the decision wasn’t about chasing hype, but about necessity.
Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Trump Jr. said the family was “debanked” after Donald Trump entered politics, and that pushed them toward digital assets.
“We got into crypto not because it was like, hey, this is the next cool thing. We got into it out of necessity,” Trump Jr. said. “There was a time… I could call any single banker in New York City, they’d pick up the phone… Then we got into politics, and all of a sudden they wouldn’t take your call. You couldn’t get financing. We were debanked.”
The Trump family has since thrown its support behind several crypto projects, including American Bitcoin, a mining company co-founded by Eric Trump; World Liberty Financial; and a new stablecoin called USD1. Trump Jr. described these ventures as a response to unfair treatment by the traditional financial system.
He also said the experience gave them a new understanding of how hard it is for everyday Americans to access banking. “Now we were all of a sudden in the shoes of the regular guy that wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the markets,” he said.
The shift comes at a politically sensitive time. As Donald Trump campaigns for the presidency again, his name has also been linked to a meme coin known as TRUMP, built on the Solana blockchain. The coin has raised questions from lawmakers about potential foreign influence.
But Trump Jr. was quick to distance himself from the project. “I wasn’t involved in the meme coin. I’m more focused on obviously the stablecoin, the bitcoin mining, you know, some of those things,” he said.
He also pushed back against claims that crypto could hurt the U.S. dollar. Instead, he argued that stablecoins could help keep the dollar strong. “I think these stablecoins are actually going to be the savior of dollar hegemony in the world, not a detractor from it.”
Meanwhile, in recent news , The Trump Media just closed a $2.3 billion Bitcoin treasury deal, funded via an offering of common stock and convertible senior secure notes. According to the company, roughly 50 institutional investors participated in the sale, which produced $2.32 billion in net proceeds.
“Those funds will now be used to create a Bitcoin treasury, and for other general corporate purposes and working capital,” the company said Friday.
With billions now behind their crypto ambitions and speaking out strongly in support of the technology, it’s clear the Trump family isn’t backing down. As Trump Jr. summed up, “We’re playing by all the rules”, but they’re choosing to play in a different system now.
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