Trump's Mar-a-Lago Crypto Summit: A 'Retribution' Show of Force with Global Elites

A Gathering of Power Players at Mar-a-Lago

Rapper Nicki Minaj, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon were among the high-profile attendees at Donald Trump's southern Florida resort this week. But this was no ordinary social event—it was a carefully orchestrated summit designed to position the Trump family's crypto venture as a global power player.

World Liberty Financial Takes Center Stage

The inaugural conference hosted by World Liberty Financial (WLF)—the Trump family's main crypto venture—drew 400 dignitaries including two US senators, hedge fund manager Philippe Laffont, Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson, and billionaire Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who was pardoned by Trump last year.

Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump, and the sons of Steve Witkoff (Trump's special envoy to the Middle East) served as masters of ceremonies for what Eric Trump called "retribution" from the stage.

"When we lost the ability to bank, we created World Liberty Financial," Eric Trump declared, while Donald Trump Jr added that Wall Street's biggest lenders "wanted us to crawl into the corner and die. They created a monster."

The Growing Clout of a Crypto Upstart

Wednesday's forum underscored the growing influence of a company that remains relatively small by industry standards. WLF's dollar-pegged coin USD1 has a market capitalization of about $5 billion, while stablecoins operated by competitors Tether and Circle are valued at $185 billion and $73 billion respectively.

The group's allure has been polished by its connections to the president, whose administration has put crypto at the heart of its financial policies. The Trump family's crypto empire reportedly reaped roughly $1 billion in pre-tax profits in the year to October 2025.

Earlier this month, WLF acknowledged accepting a $500 million investment backed by an Abu Dhabi royal days before Trump's inauguration last January, though the company denied any connection to later agreements granting the UAE access to US AI chips.

Ignoring the Market Sell-Off

Between coffee breaks and a lunch of assorted meats and boiled vegetables, speakers largely ignored the sell-off that has gripped bitcoin and other major digital tokens since October. Instead, discussions focused on the impact of AI on US capital markets and the surging popularity of event contracts on sports and political developments.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair Michael Selig described prediction markets as a "check on our news media," while Republican Senator Bernie Moreno hit out at unidentified "maniacal lunatics" in the Biden administration. Nicki Minaj described her "love" for Treasury secretary Scott Bessent.

The Crypto Legislation Battle

Crypto legislation proved another popular subject as traditional banks remain locked in a fierce fight with crypto players like Coinbase over the details of the Clarity Act. Coinbase's Brian Armstrong became a significant holdout on early drafts when Wall Street lenders pushed to close what they describe as a "loophole" that would allow crypto groups to offer rewards to customers holding dollar-pegged stablecoins.

Goldman's David Solomon presented the fight as one for an equal playing field: "If there are people that think we're going to operate without rules, they're probably wrong, and they should move to El Salvador."

Building the Infrastructure for the Future

WLF co-founder Zak Folkman outlined ambitious plans for the company, which applied for a US banking license in January to broaden its access to the traditional financial system. He envisioned a future where retail traders could use "tokenised luxury floating villas in the Maldives" as collateral for loans extended by code, and where AI agents would shop on investors' behalf using WLF's stablecoin USD1.

"We're building the entire infrastructure for the future," Folkman concluded. At the drinks reception by the pool later that night, it was hard to find anyone who didn't think WLF was on the right track.