Original Interview: Justin Sun, Founder @ TRON;
Guests: Eric Trump, Executive VP @ The Trump Organization; Zach Witkoff，Co-Founder @ World Liberty Financial；
Editor's note:

this discussion, Justin Sun, Zach Witkoff, and Eric Trump have a conversation about World Liberty Financial and the future of cryptocurrency. They criticized the traditional financial system for its low transparency, poor accessibility, and inefficiency, emphasizing that the USD1 stablecoin is committed to bringing financial freedom to the world's 1.4 billion unbanked people by providing transparent and fast cross-border payments through blockchain technology. They believe that cryptocurrencies will disrupt the outdated banking system, and that the innovation environment in the UAE and the United States under the new leadership will lead the change.

The following is the original content (for easy reading and comprehension, the original content has been reorganized):

TOKEN2049 OKX Main Stage, the source is from TOKEN2049

WLFI's latest developments

Justin Sun: Zach, it's great to be here today! We've seen it a few times before in Dubai, and in just a few months, World Liberty Financial and all the projects we've worked with have made amazing progress. Congratulations! It's been a wonderful journey. What's next?

Zach Witkoff: Justin, thank you for your support. Tron is an amazing technology, and we're fortunate to work with you and other innovative projects. You have been a leader in this field, and we are very grateful.

Justin Sun: Absolutely. World Liberty Financial has been in the spotlight lately, with constant updates and a market capitalization of $2 billion, which is amazing! Can you share a little bit more about this project and what you see for the future?

Zach Witkoff: World Liberty Financial was founded because we found many flaws in the traditional financial system. There are so many questions that I can't list them all today, but I'll start with a few. The first is the lack of transparency. The big banks lack transparency, and no one knows what they're doing inside. They tend to serve only the top elite and even exploit customers. Then there's accessibility – a staggering 1.4 billion people around the world are unbanked. Third, cross-border payments are inefficient. My co-founders, Chase Hero and Zach Folkman, and I traveled the world and talked to governments, some of which had to pay as much as 9% in order to get dollars, which was outrageous.

We are also excited today to announce that USD1 has been selected as the official stablecoin for MGX's $2 billion investment in ByteDance. Thanks to MGX and ByteDance for trusting us, this is just the beginning.

Zach Witkoff, Image via TOKEN2049

How Crypto Reshapes the Modern Financial System?

Justin Sun: Absolutely. Eric, you've said that the modern financial system is not "modern" at all. We see a similar "cancel culture" problem in the traditional financial system. Can you share your experiences and perspectives and how we are reshaping the financial system?

Eric Trump: I've spent my whole career working in the traditional financial system, which works well for the top 1% or 0.1%, but not at all for most people. It wasn't until my family got involved in politics that I realized how fragile the system was. As soon as you say something they don't like, they will "cancel" you, ostracize you, or even chase you.

This introduced me to cryptocurrency. I'm a big fan of hard assets – I've built buildings all over the world all my life. But for political reasons, the banks attacked us like beasts. I've found out that those who attack us are also targeting the crypto community. As the saying goes, the enemy of your enemy is your friend. That's why real estate and the crypto world come together. Real estate is illiquid, difficult to transfer, and only a few people can participate on a large scale. Cryptocurrencies, on the other hand, are highly liquid, easy to transfer, and can be participated by anyone, making them a perfect hedge for hard assets.

Eric Trump, image via TOKEN2049

This experience made me see how outdated and dilapidated the modern financial system can be. Why does it take 90 to 120 days for a big bank like Chase Manhattan to lend to a 25-year-old customer? They are still using paper forms and outdated processes, and blockchain can do these in an instant, at a lower cost and with greater efficiency. Every week I'm chasing a wire transfer because the SWIFT system is simply unreliable. Cryptocurrencies can transfer Bitcoin, USD1, or other currencies around the world in seconds – cheaper, faster, and more transparent.

When the bank canceled our family's account for political reasons, we became the most "canceled" people in the world. I believe that cryptocurrencies and our efforts at World Liberty Financial will make those banks regret it. They will be left behind, and the financial system will be completely changed.

Zach Witkoff: Justin, we at World Liberty Financial often say, "Pigs get fat, greedy pigs get slaughtered."

Justin Sun: Haha, that's right! World Liberty Financial is a great example of how we can change the world with finance. If those banks don't join us sooner, they're going to be left behind, right?

Zach Witkoff: Exactly. The banks had only two options: either they would reverse their huge "freighter", which would take a lot of time; Or, as you say, thrown in the dust. Time will tell which path they choose, but hopefully they are on the right side of history.

Justin Sun: Absolutely.

Eric Trump: It's almost impossible for banks to turn around because their entire business model relies on arbitrage and fees that cryptocurrencies can easily replace. Transferring money from New York to Abu Dhabi is a nightmare – finding a bank branch, dealing with exchange rates, trusting each other, and paying for the issuing bank, the receiving bank, currency conversion and technology. Cryptocurrencies make all of this redundant. If banks don't embrace cryptocurrencies now, they'll be as obsolete as the old-fashioned film cameras of the digital age. Their system hasn't changed much since the '70s, and encryption is developing 100 times faster. They can't keep up with the innovation of the people in this room. Nothing makes me happier than seeing the banks that viciously attacked us and others defeated by us.

Justin Sun: That's right. One of the great advantages of the crypto world is transparency. Everything that happens on the blockchain is clear at a glance. Trust in traditional finance has hit rock bottom. In the U.S., banks can go bankrupt overnight; In Hong Kong, clients don't even know where the $5 million money went. Blockchain makes this impossible because everything is transparent.

Zach Witkoff: Justin, that's a great point. We built USD1 not only to enable seamless cross-border transactions, but also to ensure transparency and consumer safety. Our industry can't have any more scams. USD1 will be the most transparent and regulated stablecoin in the world, with monthly audit reports. We are backed 1:1 by short-term Treasuries and cash equivalents. Think about it, would you rather keep your money in a 1:1-backed asset, or in a tiered reserve bank account where you don't even know the details?

How does WLFI democratize finance?

Justin Sun: Eric, everyone is familiar with your family and business, but may not know your commitment to financial freedom. Can you talk about how World Liberty Financial delivers that value?

Eric Trump: In 2019 and 2021, I got letters from some of the big banks – these are the ones we've been working with for 20, 30 or even 40 years – that our accounts were cancelled. This happened in the United States, the world's economic superpower. I can't believe that this "cancel culture" has taken the world by storm, and thankfully the Middle East, especially the UAE, has resisted this absurdity very well. You will find that a person sitting in a high bank building can ruin your life, business, and livelihood. Our family has enough resources and influence to fight back, but most people don't.

In countries with high inflation or a lack of technology, people are completely excluded from the financial system. But now almost everyone has a phone in their pocket. With mobile phones and stablecoins like USD1 that are backed 1:1 by U.S. Treasuries, people can invest, participate in the global economy, and no longer be at the mercy of unreliable governments or currencies. Cryptocurrencies are like the spread of knowledge on the Internet, creating a level playing field. This is a blessing for humanity and why we are proud of USD1 and World Liberty Financial.

The U.S. dollar is highly prized globally – many places in South America, Asia want the U.S. dollar because it's stable and tradable. Digitize the U.S. dollar and bring it to the world with USD1, safely and conveniently. That's why World Liberty Financial is exploding, and that's why everyone is talking about USD1.

Justin Sun: Absolutely. This is in line with our original intention of founding Tron – to build a crypto ecosystem that serves financial freedom, not for money. Big banks shut out billions of people because they were unprofitable. We are proud to partner with USD1 to launch this stablecoin that will give all 7 billion people the opportunity to enjoy financial freedom.

Zach Witkoff: Justin, you just accidentally slipped through the cracks, but I'm happy to announce that USD1 is natively integrated into Tron. We will start minting hundreds of millions of dollars in USD1, which is expected to reach billions of market caps soon. Thank you very much for your support. Our goal at World Liberty Financial is to democratize finance, bridging DeFi and traditional finance. In the next four to five years, DeFi and traditional finance will be seamlessly integrated and will no longer be separated.

What else should the U.S. do in crypto?

Justin Sun: Zach, the new U.S. administration is working hard to make the crypto industry more competitive. What else do you think they can do to shape the future of America in conjunction with World Liberty Financial's efforts?