WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump plans to deliver remarks next Monday about cryptocurrency and the launch of the company World Liberty Financial, a crypto platform controlled by the Republican nominee's sons Donald Jr. and Eric.
His speech will come 50 days before Election Day, an extraordinary use of dwindling campaign time to promote a personal business. The Republican former president has long mixed his political and business interests and marketed sneakers, photo books and Trump-branded Bibles during his 2024 campaign.
"We're embracing the future with crypto and leaving the slow and outdated big banks behind," Trump said in a video posted Thursday to X, the social media site that will also host his address on the subject at 8 p.m. EDT on Monday from his Mar-a-Lago home.
As part of his presidential campaign, Trump has pledged to turn the United States into the "crypto capital of the planet," raising red flags that he could use the federal government to help support a business tied to his family.
Cryptocurrencies are forms of digital money that can be traded over the internet without relying on the global banking system. The trading often depends on online marketplaces that charge fees for transactions, so that the cryptocurrencies can be exchanged for U.S. dollars and other currencies.
Trump opposed crypto during his presidency, but he has since warmed to the sector. He has suggested the government create a strategic reserve of Bitcoin and has vowed to block the creation of a Federal Reserve-administered Central Bank Digital Currency, a digital form of central bank money that would be available to the public.