World Liberty Forum Brings Together Business and Political Titans, Key Insights Summary

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On February 18 (U.S. local time), the first World Liberty Forum—hosted by the Trump crypto project World Liberty Finance—took place at Mar-a-Lago. The event drew American financial and crypto industry titans, top regulators, sports figures, and cultural icons. Attendees included: - Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon - Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong - CFTC Chair Michael Selig - Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman - Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson - NYSE President Lynn Martin - FIFA President Gianni Infantino - Rapper Nicki Minaj As organizers, Trump’s sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. served as hosts. BlockBeats summarized key speaker takeaways from the event: ### David Solomon (Goldman Sachs CEO) He revealed his first public Bitcoin holding (a very small amount) and noted he remains an “observer” of the cryptocurrency, still seeking to grasp its price behavior and volatility. Solomon stressed crypto’s significance to traditional finance and backed progress on regulatory frameworks—including the Senate’s push for the crypto market structure bill. His appearance marked Wall Street’s shift from skepticism to participation, with hints that institutions are accelerating their embrace of digital assets amid a macro environment favorable to crypto growth by 2026. ### Brian Armstrong (Coinbase CEO) Armstrong said the crypto market structure bill’s negotiation deadlock stems from the Bank Policy Institute, not individual banks. Speaking at the Florida-hosted forum, he noted some industry associations take a “zero-sum mindset” toward crypto—arguing banks can only win if crypto loses, thus slowing the bill’s progress. A key controversy centers on stablecoin rewards: after the Senate Banking Committee’s bill push hit a snag, White House-organized meetings saw banking reps push to restrict stablecoin reward provisions (next talks are expected this week). Armstrong anticipates a future compromise, offering banks new policy benefits in exchange for their support. He added small-to-mid-sized banks worry more about deposit flight to large institutions than to stablecoin issuers, while Coinbase now provides crypto infrastructure for 5 of the world’s top 5 banks. ### Adena Friedman (Nasdaq CEO) As Nasdaq’s chief, she focused on modernizing financial infrastructure and integrating TradFi with blockchain. She highlighted how exchanges are adapting to tokenized assets, stablecoins, and DeFi trends, and backed regulatory clarity to fuel innovation. Her speech reinforced Nasdaq’s digital asset leadership, touching on AI’s role in market structure and how to efficiently fold crypto opportunities into traditional markets—with an overall tone of proactive change to drive U.S. dominance in global digital finance. ### Michael Selig (CFTC Chair) As a regulator, he focused on crypto market structure legislation progress, regulatory pathways, and the CFTC’s oversight of derivatives/futures. He stressed balancing innovation with risk management—avoiding overregulation that stifles growth. Selig’s remarks were seen as a policy signal, covering stablecoin regulation, cross-border impacts, and ways to make U.S. rules more innovation-friendly. Binance’s Changpeng Zhao (CZ), present at the event, said he “benefited greatly” from the speech. ### Gianni Infantino (FIFA President) From a sports/global entertainment lens, he covered tokenization’s sports industry applications—including fan tokens, NFTs, digital collectibles—and how blockchain is reshaping the fan economy and sponsorships. Infantino emphasized FIFA’s interest in Web3 (it previously launched an NFT project) and explored combining football’s global reach with DeFi/stablecoins to create new revenue streams. His attendance underscored crypto’s penetration into mainstream industries. ### Nicki Minaj She joined the “Owning the Culture: The Business of Music in a Creator-Led Economy” fireside chat (with Trump advisor Alex Bruesewitz) to discuss artists’ shift to entrepreneurship. She talked about turning music, IP, royalties, and fan communities into on-chain businesses—using blockchain for direct monetization, independent control, and a new fan-driven economic model. Minaj emphasized the era of creator ownership (artists no longer relying on traditional labels) and expressed support for Trump, drawing pop culture attention. ### Donald Trump Jr. Donald Trump Jr.—co-founder and host of WLFI, son of former President Trump—blasted the traditional banking system as a “Ponzi scheme,” saying it pushed the Trump family into crypto. He advocated for the $1 stablecoin as a “Dollar Upgrade,” highlighting private-sector-driven innovation, stablecoin-driven U.S. debt demand, and taxpayer support. ### Eric Trump He’s bullish on Bitcoin, predicting it will hit $1 million (based on a 70% historical average annual growth rate). Eric framed the Trump family’s crypto initiatives as backing the “most crypto-friendly president,” pushing for regulatory loosening and innovation. He discussed WLFI’s real-world asset (RWA) strategy (e.g., tokenizing Trump Maldives Resort loan yields) and reiterated the family’s vision: upgrading the dollar, bridging TradFi and blockchain, and positioning the U.S. to lead the global financial revolution.

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