CHASE Herro: Donald Trump’s DeFi Project, World Liberty Financial, Plans to Create “Strategic Reserve” with Tokens Bought

Herro was introduced by Donald Trump Jr, who sat on a panel with World Liberty co-founders Zak Folkman, Zach Witkoff and Herro at startup Ondo Finance's inaugural summit in New York.

President Donald Trump’s DeFi project, World Liberty Financial, has announced plans to create a “strategic reserve” with tokens purchased by the platform.

The announcement was made during a panel at startup Ondo Finance’s inaugural summit in New York, where World Liberty co-founder CHASE Herro was introduced by Donald Trump Jr.

Herro, however, did not specify the objective for World Liberty to have a token reserve.

The topic has gained attention since the President expressed his intention to establish a reserve during his campaign last year.

In March, Trump signed an executive action that called for evaluating the creation of a digital asset stockpile.

Donald Trump’s eldest son appeared at the summit to show the President’s support for the digital asset industry.

Trump Jr.’s speech comes after World Liberty Financial purchased US$470,000 worth of ONDO, the token associated with Ondo Finance.

Conference attendees attempted to get photos with the President’s son as soon as he arrived.

Trump Jr. spoke to industry members about World Liberty Financial and his enthusiasm to collaborate with crypto players.

Earlier this week, World Liberty Financial added tens of millions of US dollars worth of the Ether cryptocurrency after crypto markets crashed during the weekend as the US president briefly imposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada.

Although World Liberty has been marketed as a DeFi lending platform, it has yet to become operational.

So far, the project is known for purchasing niche tokens.

Since the platform’s launch in October, observers have raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest for the Trump family, considering the administration’s influence over regulations.

Trump’s sons, Donald Jr, Eric, and Barron, are all listed as Web3 Advisors to World Liberty Financial.

The family has been actively promoting the project through social media and public appearances.

Ondo Finance announced plans to launch Ondo Chain, its own layer-1 blockchain.

The conference, which discussed the future of tokenization and regulation, featured speakers such as Chair of the House Financial Services Committee Patrick McHenry, acting Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Caroline Pham, and “crypto dad” J Christopher Giancarlo.

“The promises are being delivered on,” Giancarlo said of the Trump administration’s plans for the crypto industry. “It’s one thing to get rid of bad policy of the last four years. It’s getting to good policy that is challenging.”

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Meanwhile, William Hinman, a senior advisor to venture capital firm Andreeson Horowitz, stressed that changes in the crypto industry in Washington will not occur rapidly.

“There will be some improvements, but I think that’s gonna take time,” Hinman said of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act. “It’s in the same way that it’s gonna take time for the SEC to turn over a new leaf to really come through with some concrete evidence that now this is a more hospitable regulatory approach.”