Key figures in President-elect Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency venture will head to Abu Dhabi on Monday for the largest bitcoin gathering in the Gulf region, as the digital currency hits record highs, reports Reuters.
Speakers include Trump’s son Eric and billionaire Steve Witkoff, the new White House envoy for the Middle East and co-founder of World Liberty Financial (WLF), a crypto platform launched in September with backing from Donald Trump and his family.
Eric Trump is slated to deliver the keynote address at the Bitcoin MENA conference on Tuesday, expected to attract over 6,000 attendees, before hosting a "whale-only" chat in the VIP lounge. Witkoff will also address the exclusive group of large crypto investors, known as "whales," who can access the $9,999 pass.
Trump is the chief crypto advocate for WLF, with his sons Eric, Don Jr., and Barron serving as ambassadors. Company filings indicate that Trump is entitled to 22.5 billion WLF tokens and a share of its revenues.
Marshall Beard, COO of Gemini, the crypto exchange backed by Trump supporters Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, called the Bitcoin conference "significant for crypto" and highlighted its role in the growing industry. "Crypto became a major issue in this year’s presidential election," he added.
Other speakers closely linked to WLF include Justin Sun, the 32-year-old founder of the blockchain platform Tron, who made waves by purchasing $30 million in WLF tokens just weeks after Trump’s election victory.
The conference takes place at a pivotal moment for the industry, as Trump—once a skeptic—has vowed to become the "crypto president" and transform America into the global "crypto capital." Bitcoin surged to a record $100,000 last week, fueled in part by Trump's promises.
Trump also named former PayPal executive David Sacks as White House czar for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies. Sacks, a close ally of Trump adviser and mega-donor Elon Musk, is set to further solidify the president-elect’s ties to the digital assets sector.
Additional speakers include Trump’s 2016 campaign manager Paul Manafort, who will discuss "A Life of Politics with the Man Closest to Donald Trump," and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who will host a whale session despite a recent U.S. prison sentence for crypto-related money laundering violations.
Trump, his family members, and other event participants did not respond to requests for comment.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
