Eric Trump says banks should embrace cryptocurrency or they’ll “disappear in 10 years”
Author: Helen Brown | Edited by: Sheldon Reback Updated: April 30, 2025, 3:12 PM Published: April 30, 2025, 2:32 PM
Eric Trump, son of US President Donald Trump and executive vice president of the Trump Organization, said banks need to embrace blockchain technology if they want to survive in the coming decade.
“The current financial system is broken, it’s slow, it’s expensive,” he told CNBC on Wednesday. “There’s nothing that can be done on a blockchain that can’t be done more efficiently than it can be done within the current financial institutions. SWIFT is a disaster.” The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, is an international banking system for exchanging messages and payment instructions.
Trump, who will speak at CoinDesk’s Consensus 2025 main event in Toronto this May, has long been a supporter of the technology and, along with his brother Donald Trump Jr., is involved in several cryptocurrency projects, most recently launching a stablecoin called USD1.
“You can open a [decentralized finance] app right now, you can open any cryptocurrency app, and you can instantly transfer money from one wallet to another, without the cost and without the volatility,” like banks, he explained.
Eric Trump noted that the traditional banking system favors only the rich, which is one of the reasons why he is interested in this area.
“What really got me into [cryptocurrency] was the realization that our banking system is being used against the vast majority of our population — both people with zero accounts and those wearing the red hat that says ‘Make America Great Again.’ That inspired me to get into cryptocurrency. And I’m telling you, if banks don’t start taking this change into account, they’ll be gone within 10 years,” he said.
Many US banks have been experimenting with and successfully using blockchain technology for years, most notably JPMorgan, as the sector has grown in popularity. However, measures taken by the previous administration of President Joe Biden have made it difficult to realize its full potential – something that should change under the current president.
Fintech company SoFi recently announced a major foray into crypto after suspending services in 2023 with the goal of becoming a regulated bank. CEO Anthony Noto said Tuesday that there has been a “major shift” in the U.S. crypto landscape, allowing him to safely reenter the industry.
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