World Liberty Forum brings together political and business giants, key insights summary

On February 19th, local time in the U.S., the first World Liberty Forum hosted by Trump’s crypto project World Liberty Finance was held at the Hay Lake Estate. The forum not only gathered giants from the U.S. finance, crypto industry, and regulators: Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, CFTC Chairman Michael Selig, Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman, Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson, NYSE President Lynn Martin.

Heavyweights from sports and culture also attended: such as FIFA President Gianni Infantino, and famous rapper Nicki Minaj.

As the organizer, Trump’s two sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., appeared as hosts.

BlockBeats summarizes the main points from each speaker at the event as follows:

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon

He shared that he publicly held Bitcoin for the first time, but in a very small amount, and stated that he still considers himself an “observer” of Bitcoin, still working to understand its price behavior and volatility. He emphasized the importance of cryptocurrencies to traditional finance and supported the advancement of regulatory frameworks (such as the Senate’s crypto market structure bill). Solomon’s appearance marks Wall Street’s shift from skeptics to participants; he discussed how the macro environment is favorable for crypto growth by 2026 and hinted that institutions are accelerating their embrace of digital assets.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong

Armstrong said that the main reason for the deadlock in crypto market structure legislation negotiations is the banking industry association, not individual banks. At the World Liberty Forum in Florida, he pointed out that some industry associations view the crypto industry with a “zero-sum mindset,” believing that if banks win, the crypto industry must lose, which hinders the progress of the bill.

One current controversy is whether to allow stablecoin rewards. After the Senate Banking Committee’s efforts to push the Market Structure Bill stalled, banking representatives insisted on restricting stablecoin reward clauses during multiple meetings organized at the White House. The next related meeting is expected to be held this week.

Armstrong predicts that a compromise may emerge in the future, offering new policy benefits to banks in exchange for support of the bill. He also emphasized that the real concern for small and medium-sized banks is not capital flowing to stablecoin issuers, but deposits flowing to larger banks. Meanwhile, several major banks have begun to lay out crypto businesses; Coinbase is currently providing crypto infrastructure support for “five of the world’s top five banks.”

Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman

As the head of Nasdaq, she focused on modernization of financial infrastructure and the integration of TradFi with blockchain. She emphasized how exchanges are adapting to tokenized assets, stablecoins, and DeFi trends, supporting clear regulation to foster innovation. Her speech reinforced Nasdaq’s leadership position in digital assets, discussing the role of AI in market structure, and how to make traditional markets more efficient in integrating crypto opportunities. The overall tone is positive about embracing change and driving the U.S. to lead in global digital finance.

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig

As a regulator, he mainly discussed the progress of crypto market structure legislation, regulatory pathways, and CFTC’s role in supervising derivatives/futures. He emphasized the need to balance innovation with risk control to avoid overregulation stifling growth. Selig’s speech was seen as a policy signal, discussing stablecoin regulation, cross-border impacts, and how to make U.S. rules more friendly. CZ attended his speech on-site and said he “benefited greatly.”

FIFA President Gianni Infantino

He approached from a sports/global entertainment perspective, discussing the application of tokenization in the sports industry, such as fan tokens, NFTs, digital collectibles, and how blockchain is reshaping fan economy and sponsorships. Infantino emphasized FIFA’s interest in Web3 (having previously launched NFT projects), and explored how to combine football’s global influence with DeFi/stablecoins to create new revenue streams. His participation highlights the cultural/entertainment dimension of the forum, symbolizing crypto’s infiltration into mainstream industries.

Nicki Minaj

In the “Owning the Culture: The Business of Music in a Creator-Led Economy” fireside chat (interviewed by Trump advisor Alex Bruesewitz), she focused on how artists are transforming into entrepreneurs. She discussed turning music, IP (intellectual property), royalties, and fan communities into on-chain businesses, utilizing blockchain for direct monetization, independent control, and new fan economy models. Minaj emphasized the creator-led era, where artists no longer rely on traditional record labels but use crypto/DeFi tools to control their value chain. She also expressed support for Trump, bringing a pop culture perspective that attracted widespread attention.

Donald Trump Jr.

As co-founder and host of WLFI, Trump’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr. fiercely criticized the traditional banking system as a “Ponzi scheme,” claiming it forced the Trump family into crypto. He vigorously promoted the USD1 stablecoin as a “dollar upgrade,” emphasizing private sector-driven innovation, stablecoins creating demand for U.S. debt, and helping taxpayers.

Eric Trump

He is very optimistic about Bitcoin, predicting it will reach $1,000,000 (based on an average annual growth rate of 70%). Eric emphasized that the Trump family’s crypto project is for “the most crypto-friendly president,” advocating for deregulation and innovation. He discussed WLFI’s RWA strategy (such as tokenizing Trump Maldives resort loan yields) and reiterated the family’s vision: upgrading the dollar, bridging TradFi and blockchain, and leading the U.S. to dominate the global financial revolution.