(Bloomberg) -- Social media profiles belonging to some Trump family members were compromised on Tuesday to put out a fake announcement about a crypto project.
Posts on the X accounts of Lara and Tiffany Trump related to the World Liberty Financial project were part of a “scam,” and X locked down those profiles “within minutes,” according to statements by Donald Trump’s son Eric on the platform formerly known as Twitter.
World Liberty Financial is a planned digital-asset initiative touted by the Republican presidential nominee and two of his sons but full details have yet to be publicly announced.
Deleted Post
The now-deleted post on Lara Trump’s X page said World Liberty Financial aims to “take power away” from traditional banks and “give it back to the people,” adding that the goal is to “ensure the American people are in full control of their finances.”
The message included a link to a seemingly fake website emblazoned with images of Donald Trump. The web page said World Liberty Financial includes a governance crypto token called $WL on the Solana blockchain and that the tokens would be used to support micropayments and soon-to-be announced decentralized finance — or DeFi — lending protocols. The page included instructions on how to connect digital wallets to buy the token.
The Trump campaign didn’t immediately reply to a request outside regular business hours for a comment on Tuesday’s incident. The World Liberty Financial X page warned against clicking on links or purchasing any tokens shared from Lara and Tiffany Trump’s profiles.
Trump’s Crypto Pivot
Lara, who earlier this year became co-chair of the Republican National Committee, is married to Eric Trump. Tiffany is the youngest daughter of Donald Trump.
Donald Trump has courted the digital-asset sector in search of donations and votes and vowed to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet.” His sons Eric and Don Jr. began promoting the DeFiant Ones Telegram channel for World Liberty Financial in August.
DeFi is a niche digital-asset segment comprised of projects that use automated software atop blockchains to deliver various financial services. The latest drama is a reminder that crypto as whole remains prone to scams and hacks.
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