Original article by Ben Weiss, Fortune Magazine

Original translation: Luffy, Foresight News

It was a sweltering mid-August in New York City when Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. pushed open the door to a Trump Organization boardroom. The two sons of President Donald Trump sat around a sleek black stone table on the 25th floor of Trump Tower. Between them sat Zach Witkoff, son of real estate magnate Steve Witkoff, who is now Trump's special envoy to the Middle East.

They had gathered for a rare media interview. Along with other advisors and executives, the trio wanted to promote World Liberty Financial, the core company of the Trump family's lucrative crypto business, and its latest $1.5 billion deal. But the meeting began with some banter.

"He was someone I looked up to," Zach said of the 47th president of the United States. "I named my oldest son 'Don' in his memory."

Donald Jr. responded with mock indignation, "Wait, I thought it was..." He trailed off, implying that he had assumed Zach was named after him, not his father.

The jokes continued, with Chase Herro, co-founder of the Trump family’s crypto business, saying with mock sympathy, “It’s so sad that we only found out about this on the set of the interview.”

From left to right: Donald Trump Jr., Zach Witkoff, Eric Trump, Zach Folkman

Jokes aside, the Trump brothers, Zack and Herro, and their business partner, Zach Folkman, hold a significant position as leaders of the Trump family's cryptocurrency think tank. Their mission is to build World Liberty Financial, founded in October 2024, into a crypto giant—despite numerous glaring conflicts of interest.

Currently, World Liberty Financial has three core businesses: USD 1, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar; the WLFI cryptocurrency; and a publicly listed company that holds WLFI. WLFI buyers can participate in future product development decisions. The publicly listed company, established through a partnership with an established biotech company, primarily aims to provide traditional investors who don't use cryptocurrency exchanges with a way to invest in WLFI through stock purchases.

The entire enterprise is a whimsical mashup of tokens and financial alchemy. In March, World Liberty Financial announced it had raised $550 million through a direct sale of WLFI tokens. Its USD 1 stablecoin has a market capitalization of $2.2 billion, with the Trump family business earning interest. Furthermore, the partnership with the established biotech company has allowed investors to raise an additional $1.5 billion to purchase WLFI tokens, valuing the total token supply at $20 billion at this price.

Eric and Donald Jr. detailed these plans in a spacious 25th-floor conference room overlooking Central Park. It was clear they were thoroughly versed in cryptocurrency, chatting effortlessly about Bitcoin, Ethereum, and payment rails. But even more striking was the fact that Eric and Donald Jr., both dressed in elegant attire, were surrounded by a group of heavily tattooed crypto natives.

Eric, Donald Jr., and Zuckerberg all wore suits and blue ties. Crypto co-founder Herro, meanwhile, wore a light beige T-shirt and olive-green jeans. He sported a tattoo of what looked like a Greek statue on his right bicep, along with numerous other tattoos. Folkman wore a black long-sleeved shirt and sharp sweatpants. He also had a butterfly tattoo on his left hand, among other tattoos. It seemed World Liberty Financial had two "uniforms": business formal and crypto casual.

The details of the Trumps' collaboration with this group of crypto veterans remain murky, but the story begins on a golf course.

About two years ago, in the summer of 2023, Herro, a longtime cryptocurrency entrepreneur and self-proclaimed "badass on the internet," received an invitation to Shell Bay Club, a private golf club owned by the Witkoff family, outside Miami. Herro wouldn't say who invited him, only that it was "a great young man" who was a friend of Donald Jr.

Herro, sporting a full body of tattoos, was standing on the grass when Zach happened to drive by. "He could tell I was a little out of place," Herro said. "And he said, 'Come on, get in a car with me,' and we just started chatting in the golf cart."

This chance encounter led to a business partnership. The Witkoffs introduced Herro and his longtime business partner, Zach Folkman (who previously ran a company called Date Hotter Girls), to the Trumps. The two families then joined forces with Herro and Folkman, announcing the partnership during a September livestream, where the host referred to them as "cypherpunks."

Zach Folkman (left) shows off his World Liberty Financial tattoo, alongside Chase Herro (right).

During the same live broadcast, Zach's father, Steve Witkoff, tried to reassure the audience, urging them not to judge a book by its cover.

“They looked different from us, they dressed different from us,” he said. “I’ve met traders all over the world, and these two guys are as smart as any currency traders I’ve ever met.”

However, the discomfort caused by the contrast in dress style between the Trump circle and the "cryptopunks" has long since dissipated amid the booming new business. Trump and the Vitkov family boasted that their stablecoin, USD 1, was "the fastest-growing stablecoin in history." This may be true, but over 90% of the stablecoin's market capitalization comes from a massive transaction with Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. In this transaction, Binance received $2 billion in USD 1 from an Abu Dhabi venture capital firm. Zuck announced the deal on May 1st, and Binance has not yet converted the USD 1 into US dollars, which means that World Liberty Financial can still earn interest on this money.

Now, the Trump family crypto company, which has 20 to 30 employees, is planning to launch a crypto lending protocol and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. Folkman did not disclose the launch timeline for these products.

The influx of funds and the emergence of Trump-branded crypto products have raised alarms among ethics experts. They believe World Liberty Financial provides those seeking to curry favor with the president with a direct channel for "paying" money to his family. When previously asked about the ethical dilemma, Eric Trump dismissed it: "I keep it separate," he said, referring to his business relationships and his relationship with his father. "But I think he would be proud of what we're doing."

Zach, Herro, and Folkman were also proud of their crypto company. Herro had the World Liberty Financial logo—a geometric eagle—tattooed on the back of his neck; Folkman had a similar tattoo on his left forearm; Zach admitted to having one too. Matt Morgan, an advisor to the Trump family on crypto projects who was also in the meeting room, said the tattoo apparently originated from a night out.

When asked about the tattoo's location, Zach was vague. "Maybe he got it on his lower back!" Folkman quipped.