Suits and Tattoos: The Business of Trump's Son and the "Crypto Punk" Behind WLFI

By Ben Weiss, Fortune Magazine

Translated by Luffy, Foresight News

In mid-August, New York City was sweltering as Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. walked into a boardroom meeting at the Trump Organization. The two sons of President Donald Trump took seats around a sleek black stone table on the 25th floor of Trump Tower, with Zack Wittkoff seated between them—the son of Steve Witkoff, a real estate tycoon and current Middle East envoy for President Trump.

They had gathered for a rare media interview. Alongside other advisors and executives, the trio aimed to promote World Liberty Financial—Trump family’s lucrative core crypto venture—and its latest $1.5 billion deal. But first came some playful banter.

"He's someone I deeply respect," Zack said of the 47th U.S. president. "I named my eldest son 'Don' in his honor."

Donald Jr. responded mock-offended: "Wait, I thought..." He left it hanging—the implication being he assumed the name was meant for him, not his father.

The teasing continued. Chase Hering, co-founder of the Trump family’s crypto business, chimed in sarcastically: "To find out during the interview? That’s rough."

From left to right: Donald Trump Jr., Zack Wittkoff, Eric Trump, Zack Falkman

Jokes aside, the Trump brothers, Zack, Hering, and their business partner Zack Falkman hold key leadership roles in the Trump family’s crypto brain trust. Their mission is to build World Liberty Financial—a company launched in October 2024—into a crypto powerhouse, despite glaring conflicts of interest.

Currently, World Liberty Financial has three core offerings: USD1, a dollar-pegged stablecoin; the cryptocurrency WLFI; and a publicly traded company that holds WLFI. Buyers of WLFI can participate in decisions about future product development, while the public company was formed through a merger with an established biotech firm, primarily to offer traditional investors who don’t use crypto exchanges a way to invest in WLFI via stock purchases.

The entire enterprise is a wild hybrid of tokenomics and financial alchemy. In March, World Liberty Financial announced it raised $550 million by directly selling WLFI tokens. Its USD1 stablecoin now has a market cap of $2.2 billion, from which the Trump family earns interest. Additionally, the biotech merger enabled investors to raise another $1.5 billion to buy WLFI tokens—valuing the token’s total supply at $20 billion at that price.

Eric and Donald Jr. laid out these details in a spacious 25th-floor conference room overlooking Central Park. Clearly well-versed in crypto, they casually discussed Bitcoin, Ethereum, and payment channels. But more striking were the heavily tattooed crypto “natives” standing beside the sharply dressed Trump brothers and Zack.

Eric, Donald Jr., and Zack all wore suits and blue ties. Co-founder Chase Hering wore a light beige T-shirt and olive jeans, with a tattoo resembling a Greek statue on his right bicep and several others across his body. Falkman wore a black long-sleeve shirt and tailored joggers, with a butterfly tattoo on his left hand and other tattoos visible. Clearly, World Liberty Financial has two dress codes: corporate formal and crypto casual.

The specifics of how the Trumps teamed up with these crypto veterans remain unclear, but the story began on a golf course.

About two years ago, in the summer of 2023, Hering—an outspoken former “asshole on the internet” and longtime crypto entrepreneur—was invited to the Shell Bay Club outside Miami. It’s a private golf club owned by the Witkoff family. Hering wouldn’t say who invited him, only that it was “a great young guy,” a friend of Donald Jr.

Standing on the grass with his tattoos on full display, Hering caught Zack’s eye as he drove by. “He could tell I didn’t quite fit in,” Hering said. “Then he said, ‘Come on, ride with me,’ and we just started chatting in the golf cart.”

That chance encounter sparked a business partnership. The Witkoffs introduced Hering and his longtime business partner Zack Falkman—who once ran a company called “Date Hotter Girls”—to the Trump family. The two families later joined forces, and during a September livestream announcing the collaboration, the host referred to the pair as “crypto punks.”

Zack Falkman (left) shows off his World Liberty Financial tattoo, next to Chase Hering (right)

During the same livestream, Zack’s father, Steve Witkoff, sought to reassure viewers not to judge by appearances.

“They look different from us. They dress differently,” he said. “I’ve met traders from around the world—these two are as sharp as any currency trader I’ve ever seen.”

Any initial discomfort over the fashion clash between the Trump circle and the “crypto punks” has since faded amid the momentum of their fast-growing venture. The Trumps and Witkoffs boast that their USD1 stablecoin is “the fastest-growing stablecoin in history.” That may be true—but over 90% of its market cap comes from a single massive deal with Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange. In that deal, Binance received a $2 billion investment from an Abu Dhabi venture firm, paid in USD1. Zack announced the deal on May 1, and Binance has yet to convert the USD1 into dollars, meaning World Liberty Financial continues to earn interest on those funds.

Today, the Trump family’s 20- to 30-person crypto operation plans to launch crypto lending protocols and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. Falkman declined to reveal when these products would launch.

The flood of capital and the emergence of Trump-branded crypto products have raised red flags among ethics experts, who argue that World Liberty Financial creates a direct channel for people seeking presidential favor to funnel money to the Trump family. When previously asked about ethical concerns, Eric Trump dismissed them: “I separate the two,” he said of his business ties versus his relationship with his father. “But I think he’d be proud of what we’re doing.”

Zack, Hering, and Falkman are clearly proud of their venture. Hering has the World Liberty Financial logo—a geometric eagle—tattooed on the back of his neck. Falkman has a similar tattoo on his left forearm. Zack admits he got one too. According to Matt Morgan, a consultant on the Trump family’s crypto project who was also present in the meeting, the tattoos originated from a wild night out.

When asked where exactly Zack got his tattoo, he remained vague. “Maybe he got it on his lower back!” Falkman joked.