FILE PHOTO: Representations of cryptocurrency Bitcoin are seen in this illustration taken November 25, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
NEW YORK: Several key players in president-elect Donald Trump’s new cryptocurrency venture will head to Abu Dhabi for the largest bitcoin gathering in the Gulf region as the digital currency sets record highs.
Speakers include the president-elect’s son Eric and billionaire Steve Witkoff, the new White House envoy for the Middle East and co-founder of World Liberty Financial, a crypto platform launched in September that Donald Trump and his family helped form.
Eric Trump will deliver today’s keynote address at the Bitcoin Middle East/North Africa conference, which is projected to draw more than 6,000 people, and will then hold a “whale-only” chat in the conference’s VIP lounge, according to the event’s agenda.
Witkoff will also speak separately to that more exclusive crowd, which requires a US$9,999 “whale” pass, a nickname for large players who have potential to move a market.
The president-elect is World Liberty Financial’s (WLF) chief crypto advocate, and sons Eric, Don Jr and Barron are ambassadors, according to the WLF website. Company filings show Donald Trump is entitled to 22.5 billion WLF tokens and a share of its revenues.
“The bitcoin conference carries a lot of significance for crypto as it’s one of the longest-running conferences focused on bringing our industry together,” said Marshall Beard, chief operating officer of gemini, the crypto exchange founded by Trump backers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.
“It’s been incredible to see the rise of bitcoin alongside the growth of the conference, and crypto became a major campaign issue in this year’s presidential election.” — Reuters
