Crypto World
IP Strategy Announces Share Repurchase Program of Up To 1 Million Shares
[PRESS RELEASE – GIG HARBOR, Washington, February 20th, 2026]
IP Strategy Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: IPST) (the “Company” or “IP Strategy”), the first company to adopt a treasury reserve policy centered on the $IP token, today announced the board of directors has authorized a share repurchase program whereby the Company may buy back up to 1 million shares of its outstanding shares of common stock through December 31, 2026.
As of February 18, 2026, IP Strategy had 10,259,226 shares of its common stock outstanding. Assuming the full execution of buying back 1 million shares, this would constitute a nearly 10% reduction in the number of outstanding shares of the Company. The Company may acquire shares through open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions, including through a Rule 10b5-1 plan, at the discretion of management and on terms that management determines to be advisable.
IP Strategy is the largest independent owner of $IP tokens – the native token of the Story Layer 1 blockchain – with a current holding of 53.2 million tokens. The Company also recently began the transition from self-custodied validator work to third-party custodied validator work, a move which is expected to effectively double its related yield to 10% or more annually for 2026.
“The Board’s decision to authorize a share repurchase program reflects its belief that the market does not currently take into account the inherent value of our 53.2 million $IP tokens, nor the growth in higher-margin recurring revenue anticipated in 2026 from the transition to third-party custodied validator services,” said Justin Stiefel, Chief Executive Officer of IP Strategy. “When combined with the previously-announced streamlining and cost reduction plans for 2026, the implementation of a share repurchase program at this time reflects a very high degree of confidence in our long-term strategy and growth potential.”
About IP Strategy
IP Strategy Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: IPST) is the first Nasdaq-listed company to hold $IP tokens as a primary reserve asset and operate a validator for the Story Protocol. The Company provides public market investors broad exposure to the $80 trillion programmable intellectual property economy in a regulated equity format. IP Strategy’s treasury reserve of $IP tokens provides direct participation in the Story ecosystem, which enables on-chain registration, licensing, and monetization of intellectual property.
About Story
Story is the AI-native blockchain network powering the $IP token and making intellectual property programmable, traceable, and monetizable in real time. Backed by $136 million from a16z crypto, Polychain Capital, and Samsung Ventures, Story launched its mainnet in February 2025 and has rapidly become a leading infrastructure for tokenized intellectual property. Story allows creators and enterprises to turn media, data, and AI-generated content into legally enforceable digital assets with embedded rights, enabling automated licensing and new markets for intellectual property across AI and entertainment.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by words such as “aims,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “forecasts,” “goal,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “possible,” “potential,” “seeks,” “will,” and variations of these words or similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Any such statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the Company’s adoption of a share repurchase program and the number and percentage of outstanding shares it may repurchase, the timing of the implementation of the Company’s share repurchase program, the shift to third-party custody of its $IP tokens, the expected increased yield from the Company’s validator operations, and the effectiveness of the Company’s proposed cost-saving measures.
Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on IP Strategy’s current expectations, estimates and projections only as of the date of this release and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks related to the volatility of the Company’s common stock and any correlation between the Company’s stock price and the price of $IP tokens, the legal, commercial, regulatory and technical uncertainty regarding digital assets generally, and expectations with respect to future performance and growth. These and other risks concerning IP Strategy’s programs and operations are described in additional detail in its registration statement on Form S-1 initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on August 26, 2025, as amended by Amendment No. 1 filed on October 16, 2025, Amendment No. 2 filed on December 12, 2025 and Amendment No. 3 filed on December 19, 2025, its latest annual report on Form 10-K, subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and any other subsequent filings with the SEC. IP Strategy explicitly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except to the extent required by law.
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After Polymarket quietly ended a substantial penalty on liquidity-removing ‘taker’ orders, quantitative traders (quants) lamented an end to their gravy train. For highly sophisticated market makers, that 500-millisecond quote-adjustment period granted them a superpower over slower traders.
Unfortunately for them, Polymarket has ended its time incentive.
Unsurprisingly, the money spigot used to flow from Polymarket and Kalshi advertising short-term binary options on the price of bitcoin (BTC) to everyday speculators.
Read more: Maduro Polymarket bet raises insider trading concerns
The exchanges feature 5 and 15 minute betting markets on the price of bitcoin (BTC). On their respective homepages, they place those markets in their top three spots on their homepage, and those markets have earned substantial media coverage.
These so-called prediction markets resolve on pricing data from Chainlink and carry high risk for anyone but the most sophisticated traders. One of those risks buried in technical documentation was the ability for market makers to make these adjustments to their quotes, helping ensure they received the most advantageous price.
Rewarding makers to lure money from Polymarket takers
According to several market observers, Polymarket has quietly eliminated its 500-millisecond (half-second) taker price delay.
Makers use limit orders that do not immediately execute, such as a bid price below the current ask price. Takers, in contrast, use market orders or immediately executable limit orders, such as a limit buy order with a price higher than the current ask.
In a traditional ‘level 2’ or Depth of Market (DOM) quote, makers are listed above and below the last price of an asset. Makers’ limit buy and sell orders, which cannot immediately execute against other orders, remain in pending status, ranked by price.
Takers, in contrast, whose orders always execute immediately using a standing order from a maker, create each market-clearing price.
Historically, exchanges have rewarded makers with various discounts to encourage their participation. Trading venues with consistently deep or ‘liquid’ DOM quotes across their trading pairs earn more business from traders who are concerned about the ability to easily enter and exit positions with minimal slippage.
Although penalties for takers and rewards for makers vary by exchange, Polymarket has a history of penalizing takers with a 500-millisecond price delay.
Quants never needed speed bumps
However, some traders detected its sudden, quiet removal this month. “Rumor has it the speed bump on crypto markets is GONE. No announcement, no changelog, nothing,” wrote one observer.
For quants and arbitrageurs, trades in Polymarket’s 5-minute games just got 500 ms faster. Those trades can also be hedged using Kalshi’s 15-minute binary options or hundreds of other BTC proxies.
For context, there were only 600 maximum taker transactions within five-minute increments. Now, the number of possible trading combinations seems to have exploded into the thousands or millions – bounded only by speeds of connectivity and computation.
“With the speed bump gone, latency is now the only moat,” someone noted.
Latency is, of course, a double-edged sword. The most advanced, colocated arbitrageurs with the quickest refresh rate on their quotes relative to the price of BTC on Chainlink oracles or even other exchanges can now enjoy amateur order flow from slower competitors.
Many other traders agreed with the implications.
“Was basically free money before,” observed one trader about the substantial, half-second incentive for makers to leisurely update their quotes with relative ease in computer time. “They did it to invite makers. Now makers are there, they take it away, but still give fee rebate.”
He forecasted another change in the future as a sunset of all incentive programs for Polymarket quant makers. “Next thing fee rebate is gone, and we pay for maker orders as well.”
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A new fourth quarter 2025 survey from tokenization platform Brickken suggests that the majority of real-world asset (RWA) issuers are using tokenization to raise capital rather than to unlock secondary market liquidity, according to a report shared with CoinDesk.
Among respondents, 53.8% said capital formation and fundraising efficiency is their main reason for tokenizing, while 15.4% said the need for liquidity was their main incentive. Another 38.4% said liquidity was not needed, while 46.2% said they expect secondary market liquidity within six to 12 months.
“What we’re seeing is a shift away from tokenization as a buzzword and toward tokenization as a financial infrastructure layer,” Jordi Esturi, CMO at Brickken, told CoinDesk. “Issuers are using it to solve real problems: capital access, investor reach, and operational complexity.”
Brickken’s report comes as major U.S. stock exchanges announce plans to expand trading models for tokenized assets, including 24/7 markets. CME Group said they will offer around-the-clock trading for its crypto derivatives by May 29, while the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq shared their plans to offer 24/7 tokenized stock trading.
Esturi said the exchanges’ plans have more to do with business model evolution than with an issuer demand disconnect. “It’s less about getting ahead of demand and more about exchanges evolving their business model,” he said. “Exchanges increase revenue by increasing trading volume, and extending trading hours is a natural lever.”
At the same time, many issuers are still in what he described as the phase of validation, during which they prove regulatory structures, test investor appetite and digitize issuance processes. “Liquidity is not yet their primary focus because they are building foundations,” he emphasized, adding that they view tokenization as “the upstream engine that feeds trading venues.”
The Brickken CMO also said that without compliant, structured, high-quality assets entering the market, secondary trading platforms have nothing meaningful to trade. “The true value creation happens at the issuance layer,” Esturi noted.
Optional liquidity versus mandatory
While 38.4% of surveyed issuers said liquidity was not required, Esturi pointed out the difference between “optional liquidity and mandatory liquidity,” noting that many private market issuers operate on long-term horizons. “Liquidity is inevitable, but it must scale in parallel with issuance volume and institutional adoption, not ahead of it.”
Ondo, which began with tokenized U.S. Treasuries and now has more than $2 billion in assets, is focused on stocks and ETFs specifically because of their “strong price discovery, deep liquidity and clear valuation,” Chief Strategy Officer Ian de Bode said in a recent interview with CoinDesk.
“You tokenize something either to make it easier to access or to use it as collateral,” de Bode said. “Stocks fit both, and they price like assets people actually understand, unlike a building in Manhattan. If TradFi moves to 24/7, that’s a godsend,” de Bode added. “It’s our biggest bottleneck.”
The survey shows that tokenization is already operational for many participants: 69.2% of respondents reported completing the tokenization process and being live, 23.1% are in progress, and 7.7% are still in the planning phase.
Regulations are still an issue
Regulation is a major concern among those surveyed: 53.8% of respondents said regulation slowed their operations, while 30.8% reported partial or contextual regulatory friction. In total, 84.6% experienced some level of regulatory drag. By comparison, 13% cited technology or development challenges as the hardest part of tokenization.
“Compliance isn’t something issuers are dealing with after launch; it’s something they’re taking into account and configuring from day one,” said Alvaro Garrido, founding partner at Legal Node. “We see an increasing demand for legal structures tailored to the specific project needs and underlying technology.”
The report also suggests tokenization is expanding beyond real estate. Real estate accounted for 10.7% of assets tokenized or planned for tokenization, compared with 28.6% for equity/shares and 17.9% for IP and entertainment-related assets. Respondents spanned sectors including technology platforms (31.6%), entertainment (15.8%), private credit (15.8%), renewable energy (5.3%), banking (5.3%), carbon assets (5.2%), aerospace (5.3%) and hospitality (5.2%).
“The real bridge between TradFi and DeFi is not ideological,” said Patrick Hennes, head of digital asset servicing at DZ PRIVATBANK. “It is issuance infrastructure that translates regulatory requirements, investor protection and asset servicing standards into programmable systems.”
The probability of the Clarity Act being signed into law in 2026 surged to a record 82% on Polymarket earlier today.
The increase in odds comes ahead of a looming deadline to move the key crypto legislation forward.
Polymarket Signals Growing Confidence in Clarity Act as Negotiations Accelerate
Data from Polymarket shows that the probability of the Clarity Act becoming law rose sharply over the past 48 hours. Odds climbed from around 60% on February 18 to a peak of 82% earlier today.
At press time, the figure had eased to 78%, still reflecting a significant jump and signaling growing market confidence in the bill’s prospects.
The optimism is not limited to prediction market traders. Industry executives are also projecting strong momentum.
In an interview with Fox Business, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said there’s a 90% chance that the long-debated Clarity Act will pass by the end of April.
“The White House is pushing hard on this, and that is a big reason why it will get done. It needs to get done for US leadership,” he said.
The rise in retail optimism comes as the White House moves to push negotiations forward. According to Fox Business, a March 1 deadline has been set to advance the legislation ahead of the midterms.
White House Hosts Third Meeting as Clarity Act Deadline Nears
The Clarity Act is focused on establishing a regulatory framework for digital assets. At its core, the bill aims to clearly define regulatory oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The legislation passed the House last July. However, the Senate’s version remains stalled. The primary point of contention between banks and crypto firms centers on stablecoin yields. Last month, Coinbase withdrew its support for the bill after the Senate’s changes.
The administration has convened several discussions involving crypto firms and banking representatives, with a third meeting held on Thursday.
According to journalist Eleanor Terrett, a representative from the crypto industry argued that banks’ concerns may be rooted more in competitive dynamics than in measurable concerns over deposit flight.
A source representing banks told Terret that, for their part, they are pushing further analysis of how stablecoins could affect traditional deposit bases.
“Bank trade groups will brief their members on today’s discussions and gauge whether there’s room to compromise on allowing crypto firms to offer stablecoin rewards. One source said an end-of-month deadline doesn’t seem unrealistic, with talks set to continue in the coming days,” Terrett said.
As discussions move forward, March 1 stands out as a critical date in the legislative timeline. Despite ongoing disagreements, market analysts still view the bill as broadly positive for the industry.
If passed, it would mark a significant step toward reducing regulatory uncertainty and establishing clearer rules for the crypto sector overall.
In a landmark 6–3 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs were illegal, delivering a sharp blow to one of the White House’s core economic policies.
The decision immediately lifted risk appetite across financial markets — including crypto — though traders remain cautious about what comes next.
Selling pressure in US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs continued Thursday, with analysts noting the cryptocurrency is on track for one of its worst yearly starts.
Spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs saw $165.8 million in outflows Thursday, bringing weekly losses to $403.9 million, according to SoSoValue data.
The redemptions moved the funds closer to a possible five-week outflow streak, with year-to-date (YTD) losses totaling $2.7 billion.
Trading activity continued to shrink, falling 21% over the week and reaching its lowest levels since late December, signaling weakening investor activity.
Despite $53.9 billion in cumulative net inflows, analysts, including DropsTab, noted that 2026 is shaping up to be “one of the worst yearly starts in Bitcoin’s history,” with BTC prices down about 22% year-to-date, according to TradingView data.
BlackRock’s IBIT leads losses with $368 million in outflows this week
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) accounted for the bulk of outflows this week, totaling $368 million, according to Farside data.
Other US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs saw little or no activity this week, aside from about $50 million in outflows from the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) on Wednesday.
Some major financial institutions reported reducing IBIT exposure earlier this week, with Brevan Howard cutting its holding in the fund by as much as 85% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Bitcoin set for one of its worst yearly starts
The ongoing outflows from Bitcoin ETFs coincide with weakening investor sentiment, as multiple sources point to unusually low BTC price levels compared to previous cycles.
Drops Analytics highlighted Bitcoin’s price in the context of halving — an event that reduces BTC’s block reward once every four years and is typically followed by price surges in the years that follow.
“Almost two years later, BTC trades around $66,000 — nearly the same level as during the April 2024 halving,” Drops Analytics said in a Telegram post on Thursday.
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“This has never happened before. In previous cycles, BTC was already three to 10 times above halving levels by now,” it added.
According to Checkonchain data, Bitcoin is off to its worst yearly start on record, 50 days into 2026, surpassing previous down years, including 2018.
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CoinDesk Indices presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index.
The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 1924.88, down 0.3% (-6.12) since yesterday’s close.
Nine of the 20 assets are trading higher.
Leaders: NEAR (+1.4%) and AVAX (+1.2%).
Laggards: AAVE (-3.3%) and BCH (-2.1%).
The CoinDesk 20 is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally.
Ethereum continues to trade sideways as uncertainty weighs on the broader crypto market. The altcoin king has struggled to regain decisive bullish momentum.
While the current structure suggests potential bottom formation, large holders appear to be making aggressive moves.
Ethereum Whales Selling Has Not Stopped
Ethereum whales have demonstrated erratic behavior in recent sessions. Sharp accumulation phases have been followed by equally aggressive distribution. This volatility signals uncertainty among high-capital participants.
Over the past two weeks, addresses holding between 100,000 and 1 million ETH have sold approximately 1.43 million ETH. At current valuations, that equals roughly $2.7 billion. Such large-scale distribution significantly impacts liquidity conditions.
Want more token insights like this? Sign up for Editor Harsh Notariya’s Daily Crypto Newsletter here.
This level of selling often reflects late-cycle stress rather than early panic. Historically, heavy whale exits tend to occur near capitulation phases. Large holders sometimes reduce exposure before the broader acceptance of a market bottom. These episodes frequently precede structural reversals once selling pressure exhausts.
Ethereum Bottom Signals Strengthen
On-chain data provides additional context. The Net Unrealized Profit and Loss, or NUPL, indicator shows Ethereum in the capitulation zone. This reading indicates that average holders face substantial unrealized losses.
In prior cycles, similar NUPL conditions preceded meaningful reversals. However, Ethereum typically remains in this zone for extended periods. Capitulation does not imply immediate recovery.
Sustained time in the capitulation band often reduces speculative selling. As weaker hands exit positions, remaining holders tend to exhibit stronger conviction. Gradual stabilization in NUPL readings can signal diminishing downside momentum before recovery begins.
The Pi Cycle Top Indicator also supports a potential ETH bottoming narrative. This metric tracks the relationship between short-term and long-term moving averages. Historically, convergence signals overheating near cycle tops.
Conversely, extreme divergence between these averages often aligns with cyclical bottoms. Current readings show meaningful separation between the two curves. Similar divergence patterns previously marked recovery zones.
Historical instances demonstrate that widening gaps preceded upward reversals. Although timing remains uncertain, this structural setup aligns with late-stage correction behavior. Combined with capitulation metrics, the data suggests Ethereum may be approaching stabilization rather than early bear expansion.
ETH Price Holds Above Support
Ethereum trades at $1,960 at the time of writing. The asset has consistently held above the $1,928 support level despite whale distribution. This zone remains technically significant in maintaining short-term structure.
Although overall sentiment remains cautious, underlying demand has prevented a sharper breakdown. Buyers appear willing to accumulate near perceived value levels. Sustained support may enable Ethereum to challenge the $2,027 resistance. Clearing $2,108 would confirm a breakout from consolidation.
However, downside risks cannot be ignored. If bearish momentum intensifies, Ethereum could lose $1,928 support. A breakdown may expose $1,820 as the next potential floor. Continued weakness could extend toward $1,750, invalidating the near-term bullish thesis.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday struck down President Trump’s tariff regime in a 6-3 decision.
“No President has invoked the statute to impose any tariffs, let alone tariffs of this magnitude and scope,” the court ruling said.
“That lack of historical precedent, coupled with the breadth of authority that the President now claims, suggests that the tariffs extend beyond the President’s ‘legitimate reach.”
Bitcoin knee-jerked about 2% higher on the news, rising past the $68,000 level. As has been typical in crypto lately, though, the gain was reversed within minutes, returning to just below $67,000 at the current time.
Crypto’s fleeting gains stood in contrast to what’s appearing more sustainable in stocks, with the Nasdaq rising 0.6% to a session high.
Stagflationary data
Earlier Friday, a batch of U.S. economic data showed signs of stagflationary impulses. The U.S. economy grew only a modest 1.4% in the final three months of 2025, the Commerce Department reported. Alongside core personal consumer expenditure prices rose 3% year-over-year, faster than the hoped for 2.9% and up from 2.8% previously.
On a yearly basis, the economy grew 2.2%, which is the slowest growth since Covid year 2020.
“Today’s economic data delivered a messy message of both hotter than expected inflation, and slower than anticipated growth,” Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth, said. “The confusing message from today’s data confirms the current Fed bias to take their time with monetary policy.”
TLDR
- Ripple executive Reece Merrick confirmed the launch of controlled trading for tokenized properties on the XRP Ledger.
- The Dubai Land Department joined the project to support real estate tokenization and on-chain title management.
- Phase two of the project introduced regulated resale of fractional property tokens for broader market access.
- The pilot phase previously tokenized ten properties with a value of over five million dollars.
- About 7.8 million tokens created during the pilot are now eligible for resale under the new framework.
The project advanced further on Friday as new details emerged and expanded its scope and purpose, and the update introduced controlled trading for tokenized properties. The development created a clear path for broader asset access and drew attention to expanding token markets. The disclosure from senior leadership also showed how partners support the ongoing rollout phase.
Phase Two Expands Property Trading on the XRP Ledger
Ripple executive Reece Merrick confirmed the launch of controlled trading for tokenized properties. He shared the update on X and said the system now supports structured resale activity.
He explained that phase two follows a pilot that tested token issuance and supported early property onboarding. He added that trading now operates under a regulated setup.
The pilot introduced 10 properties worth over $5 million and created 7.8 million eligible tokens. The new phase now enables investors to resell those units.
Merrick said the expansion provides a pathway for wider access to tokenized assets. He noted that the market framework supports investor protections.
The update also shows how partners built the trading model for long-term use. It now connects infrastructure with land registry processes.
Dubai Entities Deepen Real Estate Tokenization With Ripple Custody
The Dubai Land Department joined the project to support asset tokenization and registry integration. The agency now links property data with the blockchain system.
The department works with Ctrl Alt to manage a tokenization engine that issues and transfers title deeds on-chain. This setup allows the market to track property changes.
Partners said the system records all transactions using Ripple Custody for secure verification. They also confirmed that asset movements remain visible to regulators.
The controlled market aims to test operational readiness under real trading conditions. It also helps partners evaluate governance tools.
The update reflects how agencies coordinate to align registry processes with blockchain tools. It supports consistent tracking across each property event.
Controlled Market Framework Drives Regulated Activity for Tokenized Assets
Project leaders said the controlled market creates a clear environment for resale activity. They emphasized that all trades follow set rules.
Merrick stated that investors can enter or exit positions under defined oversight. He said this structure keeps transactions orderly.
The partnership with Ctrl Alt improves how title data moves through the chain of records. It links each update to on-chain documentation.
Teams designed the system to support future expansion. They continue monitoring how participants use the trading functions.
The latest update confirms that phase two is now active with regulated resale features. It also shows that about 7.8 million tokens are ready for trading under the new framework.
PALM BEACH, Fla. — Attending World Liberty Financial’s forum at Mar-a-Lago felt less like a high-powered summit and more like an intimate gathering — if the guest list included people who control trillions in assets and the future of finance.
Tucked beneath chandeliers and gold-painted trim, the guest list read like a who’s who of the industry’s old guard and rising disruptors. There were no name tags needed. Everyone seemed to know everyone, or at least know someone who did.
Conversations floated from the future of finance to how it might fix what’s been broken in the past — ambitious visions of tokenized assets, regulatory overhauls, and reimagined capital markets. But just as easily, the talk turned to the upcoming FIFA World Cup tournament and press-on nails, courtesy of a few unexpected names who probably had no business being there, and yet somehow made the whole thing feel even more surreal.
The event was not targeted toward an exclusively U.S. audience; attendees hailed from a number of countries. Several attendees flew from Consensus Hong Kong last week directly to Palm Beach to attend the World Liberty Forum. One attendee said they had flown in on Wednesday morning from ETHDenver, and several others said they would be flying to the Colorado conference following the forum.
‘Punitive finance’
In any other context, the event would seem to be a typical crypto conference; speakers from traditional financial backgrounds explaining how they’re using blockchain or why they’re discussing crypto to a dimly lit room.
However, the backdrop loomed: This was a conference put on by World Liberty Financial, the crypto company launched and owned in part by the family of U.S. President Donald Trump, held at his golf club Mar-a-Lago, with several attendees tied to his business interests. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, in his first U.S. appearance since receiving a pardon from Trump, was spotted at the event. Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon joked on stage that he was there because his client had requested his presence.
Many of the panels themselves were high-level; World Liberty Financial co-founder Alex Witkoff asked U.S. Senator Ashley Moody to walk the audience through her background, or Eric Trump and Donald Trump, Jr. reiterating their past grievances with the banks.
“It was forced and maybe opportunistic but we lived a life that opened our eyes to maybe how corrupt the system was … banks [canceled our accounts] for no reason other than my father was wearing a hat that said ‘Make America Great Again,’” Eric Trump claimed. “We realized how antiquated finance was, how punitive finance was.”
Amid these sessions, some speakers walked through their arguments for the digital assets sector. Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson laid out the rationale for the U.S. dollar remaining the global reserve currency, saying the European Union was too uncoordinated for the euro to take the dollar’s place and other currencies just didn’t meet the moment.
“About 50% of trade today is done in dollars, another 30% is in the euros, [but] there’s no single European debt market. They can’t even coordinate around the euro … so that’s not going to be the next reserve,” she said.
China’s renminbi and India’s rupee are contenders, but neither is free-floating, and so that makes it unlikely either of those currencies can take on the role, she said.
“As long as people are still looking for their stablecoin to be backed by the most risk-free currency, it’s going to be the dollar,” she said.
Many of the panels nevertheless only had a passing focus on digital assets themselves. The audience reflected this, with crowds mingling outside the actual room to chat during several panels.
It wouldn’t have been a Trump gathering without the biggest real estate moguls in the room — and that’s when tokenization (putting assets on blockchain) became a topic. Hotel billionaire Barry Sternlicht, whose Starwood Capital manages over $125 million in assets under management, said the firm was ready to tokenize real-world assets such as real estate, but continues to be unable to do so given the regularity uncertainty.
Similarly, Kevin O’Leary told listeners that sovereign wealth funds, with whom he speaks regularly, won’t touch crypto because they’re afraid of the regulatory risk that comes with it in the U.S.
Glamour and celebrities
From O’Leary to Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, if the day’s lineup were ranked by celebrity status, the organizers surely saved the best for last — and probably the least relevant.
Nicki Minaj closed out the event as the final panelist, but the first that caused half the room to take out their phones to snap a picture. Her presence may not make sense in the context of finance or crypto specifically — when moderator Alex Bruesewitz informed her that people gathered to talk about a new innovation in finance, she said she “can like it” — but given her recently developed close relationship with President Donald Trump, it wasn’t entirely surprising to see her support the family’s event.
The World Liberty Forum wasn’t just a conference, it was the kind of room where fortunes are steered, not pitched, and where the side chatter was just as telling as the main agenda.
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