More details are emerging about former President Donald Trump’s crypto project. The World Liberty Financial had its official launch event on X (formerly Twitter) last Monday. We now know some of the people behind the project. Another equally important question that was being asked was what exactly the project was. There seem to be answers to both questions now.

Looking at the details that were revealed during last Monday’s event, it’s safe to suggest that World Liberty Financial would be some sort of a crypto banking platform. It will encourage people to borrow, lend and invest in crypto, CNBC reported.

We already knew there will be some kind of governance token that comes with shares on the platform, and this was confirmed by the team behind the project.

So who can actually buy these tokens? The project’s founder, Zak Folkman, had the answers. According to him;

• 20% of the tokens will belong to the founding team. That of course includes Folkman himself, plus members of the Trump family;
• 17%% of the tokens will be set aside for user rewards;
• The remaining 63% of the tokens will be available to whoever wants to buy them, including the public.

“Crypto is one of those things we have to do. Whether we like it or not, we have to do it.”

Former President Donald Trump

Donald Trump was of course one of the key speakers at the event. In his 40-minute address at the beginning of the event, he spoke about how his children educated him about crypto and changed his attitude.

Trump also didn’t shy away from referring to the not-very-friendly relationship between the crypto industry and the US SEC.

He emphasized his opinion that crypto was something serious and said: “Crypto is one of those things we have to do. Whether we like it or not, we have to do it.”

Auditor charged for crypto-related misconduct

In the latest example of its tightening grip on crypto, the SEC has charged an auditor for misconduct and accused it of not having a proper understanding of the crypto market, the Financial Times has reported.

The SEC’s latest action is against the accounting firm Prager Metis. It has been charged for wrongly giving the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX a clean bill of health two years before its collapse, according to the report.

The SEC is quoted in the Financial Times as saying: “In its rush to accept FTX as an audit client, Prager Metis assembled an engagement team that collectively lacked the competence, experience, and knowledge to appropriately conduct the audits.” 

Prager Metis plans to settle the charges by paying a $745,000 civill penalty. It won’t be accepting or denying the SEC’s charges, according to the report.

“Prager Metis assembled an engagement team that collectively lacked the competence, experience, and knowledge to appropriately conduct the audits.”

Securities and Exchange Commission

The firm has put the blame back on the FTX management, accusing them of ‘collusive fraud’, and says it remains committed to quality and improvement in its operations, accordingly to it’s attorney.

UAE’s ambition for crypto regulation

Authorities in the UAE have announced new plans aimed at improving regulatory procedures and standards in relation to cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets.

The new framework has been jointly prepared by the country’s Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) and the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), as reported by Elliptic.

VARA is the world’s first crypto-specific regulator and has been providing licenses in the past to firms that operate in or from the UAE. According to the new plan, those firms who have VARA licenses will also get SCA licensure by default. It basically means they will be able to operate across the country, the report says.

VARA chairmain Helal Saeed Al Marri has called the new framework “a milestone towards a more cohesive, robust, secure and interoperable virtual assets ecosystem.”

The UAE has a clear ambition to become a major hub for crypto-related activities for global investors. The country has introduced a number of innovative plans over the past few years to deal with regulatory procedures around digital and virtual assets.

Russia prepares for digital ruble

From the UAE to Russia, where the authorities have announced an equally ambitious plan to introduce cryptocurrency into the country’s wider banking system, according to an official press release.

The Bank of Russia has said from July 2025 all major banks in the country “will have to give their clients an opportunity to conduct transactions with digital rubles, namely to open digital ruble accounts and deposit cash thereto, make funds transfers, as well as receive digital rubles via the relevant infrastructure.”

The plan is simple. The Bank aims to launch a digital version of its physical currency. It wants the digital ruble to be available to individuals and businesses alike, and they should be able to use it whenever and wherever they want to.

The July 1 2025 deadline seems to be for banks that operate in Russia only. Banks which also have universal licenses must prepare for the changes by 1 July 2026. Other credit institutions have been given until 1 July 2027 to comply with the new requirements, according to the press release.

“Following the large-scale launch of digital rubles, both banks and trade and services companies (TSCs) will be able to start accepting them as their relevant infrastructure is ready, including ahead of the deadlines proposed in the document,” the Bank has said.