Trump family eyes 'currency hegemony'…"Our coin is a new currency"

Donald Trump Jr.: "USD1 is a step to preserve dollar hegemony"

Eric Trump: "We were shut out of the financial system"

Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of President Donald Trump, and Eric Trump, his second son, said the dollar needs modernization and that the stablecoin they issued, 'USD1,' will help sustain the dollar’s global dominance.

The two made the remarks in an interview with CNBC at the 'World Liberty Forum' event held on the 18th (local time) at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. They stressed that USD1 is designed to be pegged to the dollar’s value, enabling it to reinforce the dollar’s dominance in the global crypto market.

USD1 is a stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial, a company in which President Trump and his family hold a partial stake. The company promotes it as "The Dollar. Upgraded.," describing it as "still the U.S. dollar, but a currency for a new era."

Since the dollar was established in 1792, the authority to issue U.S. currency has been monopolized by the federal government. Past presidents have largely limited themselves to reiterating a 'strong-dollar policy.' But in March last year, when the Trump family unveiled USD1, an unusual situation emerged in which a president’s family effectively presented an alternative to the dollar.

Donald Trump Jr. said, "This is a step to preserve dollar hegemony," adding, "With crypto firms emerging as among the world’s top buyers, USD1 will help stabilize the dollar."

Eric Trump said, "As Americans, we will lead innovation," adding, "We can’t leave this to big banks or the federal government." He pointed out that Wall Street has become overly complacent, making it difficult to drive technological innovation.

The event was held ahead of the first anniversary of USD1’s launch, and was attended by figures from the finance and tech industries, as well as the president of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and singer Nicki Minaj.

As background for entering the crypto business, the Trump brothers cited how financial institutions cut off dealings with the Trump family after the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol. Donald Trump Jr. said, "We got into crypto not because we wanted to be pioneers, but out of necessity."

Eric Trump also said, "At the time, we were shut out of the financial system," adding, "The business began with the determination to modernize finance so that this never happens again."

The two argued that USD1 poses no threat to the dollar and, rather, will generate dollar-based demand and have a positive impact on the U.S. Treasury market.

New York=Correspondent Park Shin-young nyusos@hankyung.com