Donald Trump Jr. calls U.S. banking a ’Ponzi scheme’

Investing.com -- Donald Trump Jr. described traditional banking in the U.S. as a "Ponzi scheme" that forced the Trump family to launch their crypto venture World Liberty Financial after banks closed the family company's accounts in early 2021.

Speaking Wednesday at the World Liberty Forum held at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump Jr. told CNBC's Sara Eisen that the family entered the cryptocurrency space "out of necessity" rather than innovation.

"We got into it out of necessity," Trump Jr. said. "They basically forced us into it."

He and his brother Eric Trump claimed traditional banks closed hundreds of Trump Organization bank accounts following the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, when supporters of their father stormed the U.S. Capitol.

The brothers also alleged banks had "debanked" other smaller clients due to conservative political views.

"We're trying to modernize finance," Eric Trump stated.

"We're the most cancelled people in the world in 2020, 2021," he added. "And it's really great to almost have this retribution, where all of a sudden we start pushing an agenda, our agenda is to modernize finance to [make sure] that can never, ever happen to anybody again."

Trump Jr. explained that previously the family could "call any banker in New York... and [get] a loan for a building," but realized they were "at the top of the Ponzi scheme that was banking."

He argued that stablecoins like those offered by World Liberty Financial "democratizes the ability for people to transact, to do finance, to get loans for businesses that make sense, that didn't exist."

The World Liberty Forum was described in a press release as bringing together leaders from finance, technology, sports, media, and government to discuss forces reshaping the global economy.

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