Eric Trump, one of U.S. President Donald Trump’s sons and co-founder of cryptocurrency firm World Liberty Financial, launched an attack on the banking industry on Tuesday over its opposition to allowing stablecoin earnings in cryptocurrency market structure legislation.
“The big banks (think JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, etc.) are lobbying overtime to prevent Americans from getting higher yields on their savings while trying to block any incentives or benefits from being offered to customers,” he said in a post on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.
He said banks pay marginal interest compared to what the Fed pays banks and keep the money as profit.
“Today, banks are desperately targeting crypto/stablecoins, and these platforms plan to offer 4-5%+ yields or rewards,” he said.
“The American Bar Association and other lobbyists are spending millions of dollars trying to pass bills like the CLARIFIC Act to ban or limit these rates, chanting ‘fairness’ and using words like ‘stable’ — when really it’s to protect their low-rate monopoly and prevent deposit flight. It’s anti-retail, anti-consumer and straight up anti-American,” he said.
The company he co-founded, World Liberty, issued its own stablecoin USD1. The World Freedom Umbrella is also seeking clearance through the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Trump has expressed his dissatisfaction with banks over the past year, saying in multiple meetings that they stripped him and his family of their bank accounts.
His father, the U.S. president, released information on the Clarification Act on Tuesday, urging Congress to move forward with the bill and similarly attacking banks for being intransigent in negotiations over stablecoin yields in the bill. So far, it’s unclear whether his position, or that of Eric Trump, will significantly change the direction of negotiations.
Donald Trump made the announcement shortly after meeting with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who publicly withdrew his support for the bill in January over stablecoin provisions and other parts that cryptocurrency executives found problematic.
Earlier on Wednesday, White House executive director for crypto issues Patrick Witt also pushed back on JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon after Dimon said stablecoin issuers should be regulated like banks.
