Secret meeting at Haihu Manor: What are they planning?

February 18th, Palm Beach, Florida, Mar-a-Lago.

This place, dubbed the “Winter White House” by Trump, hosted top figures from Wall Street and the crypto world—Goldman Sachs CEO, Nasdaq Chairwoman, Coinbase Founder, FIFA President, and even a rapper named Nicki Minaj.

According to publicly available information, this was the “World Liberty Forum,” organized by World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a DeFi project under the Trump family’s umbrella. About 400 top leaders from global finance, technology, regulation, and entertainment gathered here for a closed-door discussion that lasted all day.

Meanwhile, it was during the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday. While investors in the Chinese-speaking markets were still anxious over the “crypto industry is dead” narrative, Americans across the ocean were already sitting together, discussing how to firmly hold the next wave of financial revolution.

What are they “conspiring” about?

World Liberty Financial is a DeFi protocol deeply involved with the Trump family, officially launched in September 2024. The core figures are Donald Trump’s two sons—Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump—with 18-year-old Barron Trump appointed as “Chief DeFi Visionary.”

The project’s goal is straightforward: build a decentralized lending platform, issue a dollar-pegged stablecoin USD1, and challenge the traditional banking system. So far, USD1’s circulation has exceeded $5 billion, making it the fifth-largest stablecoin globally.

But the Trump brothers revealed the real reason in an interview with CNBC: they’re in crypto not because they’re on the cutting edge of technology, but because they were “forced” into it.

“In 2020 and 2021, we were the most heavily sanctioned people in the world,” Eric Trump recalled. Due to political reasons, their family’s bank accounts were forcibly closed, making it impossible to pay suppliers or employees. “So we said, we need a better way.”

Donald Trump Jr. was more blunt: “The traditional banking system is a Ponzi scheme. It’s the banks that created this monster; we only entered this space out of necessity.”

According to Eric, now pushing their agenda is “almost a form of revenge.”

Although the forum was invitation-only with about 400 attendees, the list reads like a “power roster.”

Wall Street elites:

• Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon

• Nasdaq Chairwoman Adena Friedman

• NYSE President Lynn Martin

• Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson

• Third Point Founder Daniel Loeb, and others

Crypto giants:

• Coinbase Founder Brian Armstrong

• BitGo CEO Mike Belshe

• Securitize Founder Carlos Domingo

Politics and regulation:

• CFTC Chairman Michael Selig

• Deputy Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg

• Florida Senator Ashley Moody, Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno

Culture and investment:

• FIFA President Gianni Infantino

• Notable investor Kevin O’Leary

• Rap artist Nicki Minaj

This cross-sector lineup signals one thing: WLFI is no longer just a family startup but has become a “super interface” connecting the White House, Wall Street, and the crypto industry.

What are they discussing?

1. Institutionalization of USD1

During the forum, Apex Group, a global financial services provider managing over $3.5 trillion in assets, announced it would collaborate with WLFI to pilot USD1 for fund subscriptions, redemptions, and dividends.

This indicates USD1 is moving from a “retail toy” to an “institutional tool.” Apex’s clients include hedge funds, pension funds, banks, and family offices. If the pilot succeeds, USD1 will be directly integrated into the veins of traditional finance.

2. Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization officially underway

WLFI announced a partnership with Securitize to tokenize the loan income from the “Maldives Trump International Hotel and Resort.”

This ultra-luxury resort, developed by Saudi firm Dar Global, is expected to be completed by 2030. Investors can earn fixed returns and share in loan income through digital tokens. This is a typical RWA pathway—packaging real-world cash flows onto the blockchain for global investors.

3. Expansion of Bitcoin mining operations

Eric Trump disclosed on X that Nasdaq-listed “American Bitcoin” (ABTC) now holds over 6,000 BTC, calling it “the fastest-growing publicly listed mining company.”

4. The emergence of “World Swap”

There are reports that WLFI is preparing a platform called “World Swap,” targeting the $7 trillion cross-border payments market. If true, this would be a key real-world application for USD1.

Controversies

Beyond the toasts at Mar-a-Lago, external scrutiny has never ceased.

Six legal and government ethics experts told Reuters that there are serious conflicts of interest. Critics argue that regulators (CFTC Chair), policymakers (senators), and Trump family business projects appearing together pose ethical concerns.

Chris Swartz, a former ethics lawyer in the Trump administration, said, “Any rational person would question the legitimacy of this event.” He expressed concern that the Trump family is leveraging the presidency to profit from private crypto ventures.

Greater controversy surrounds external investments. The Wall Street Journal reported that just days before Trump’s inauguration, an investment vehicle linked to the Abu Dhabi royal family acquired a 49% stake in WLFI for $500 million.

This immediately prompted Democratic reactions. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Andy Kim sent letters to the Treasury Secretary, requesting CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) investigate whether the deal poses national security risks. They pointed out that the investment could give foreign governments access to Americans’ financial and personal data.

Additionally, despite the powerful background, WLFI’s token performance has been lackluster. Only 20% of WLFI tokens are unlocked; the remaining 80% remain locked. Early investors paid real money but can only control a fifth of the assets.

Even more worrying, the token price has fallen about 69% from its peak. For the 80% still locked, investors cannot cut losses or hedge risks.

The project promised that the remaining tokens’ unlocking would be decided by holder voting, but that vote has yet to happen. In a recent governance poll, most ordinary holders couldn’t participate because their tokens were locked, and the final decision was dominated by a few team wallets.

In response to the controversy, a White House spokesperson stated that the president’s assets are held in a trust managed by his children, “so there is no conflict of interest.” The White House legal counsel emphasized that “the president does not participate in business transactions involving constitutional responsibilities.”

In summary, the Mar-a-Lago meeting was more than just a launch event. It’s an extension of “Trumpism” into the financial sector—a new ecosystem intertwining political prestige, family interests, and cutting-edge technology. Whether WLFI becomes a leader in decentralized finance or a political controversy vortex depends on how widely USD1 is adopted in mainstream markets and how policies and laws ultimately define its “special status.”