Trump to promote his sons' crypto business ahead of election

World Liberty Financial platform for cryptocurrencies to be led by Donald Jr and Eric Trump

Eric Trump, former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Donald Trump, Jr, on September 11. AFP

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Former US president Donald Trump plans to deliver remarks on Monday about cryptocurrency and the launch of the company World Liberty Financial, a crypto platform controlled by the Republican nominee's sons Donald Jr and Eric.

His speech will come 50 days before the November 5 election and as early voting begins, an extraordinary use of dwindling campaign time to promote a personal business.

The Republican former president has long mixed his political and business interests and marketed golden trainers, photo books and Trump-branded Bibles during his 2024 campaign.

“We're embracing the future with crypto and leaving the slow and outdated big banks behind,” Mr Trump said in a video posted on Thursday to X, the social media site that will also host his address on the subject at 8pm local time on Monday from his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.

As part of his presidential campaign, Mr Trump has pledged to turn the US into the “crypto capital of the planet”, raising red flags that he could use the federal government to help support a business tied to his family.

Cryptocurrencies are forms of digital money that can be traded over the internet without relying on the global banking system. The trading often depends on online marketplaces that charge fees for transactions, so that the cryptocurrencies can be exchanged for US dollars and other currencies.

Mr Trump opposed crypto during his presidency, but he has since warmed to the sector.

He has suggested the government create a strategic reserve of Bitcoin and has vowed to block the creation of a Federal Reserve-administered Central Bank Digital Currency, a digital form of central bank money that would be available to the public.