Eric Schmitt

There are people who see him as a winner and someone that's likely going to have a successful cryptocurrency venture. And it goes from having a hard time raising money to raising $550 million in token sales. Wow. So that's a startling number. And as reporters at The New York Times, it opens up a bunch of questions for us. Who are these people? Why are they buying the token?

There are people who see him as a winner and someone that's likely going to have a successful cryptocurrency venture. And it goes from having a hard time raising money to raising $550 million in token sales. Wow. So that's a startling number. And as reporters at The New York Times, it opens up a bunch of questions for us. Who are these people? Why are they buying the token?

And what types of conflicts of interest is this going to create when President Trump is back in office and appointing the regulators who are going to oversee his own business?

And what types of conflicts of interest is this going to create when President Trump is back in office and appointing the regulators who are going to oversee his own business?

So one thing about cryptocurrency is that these transactions occur on something called the blockchain, which is essentially a public ledger of all transactions. And so anytime someone was buying the World Liberty token, their wallet, which is a long number, was publicly available to see. So we could see 85,000 different wallets, ultimately, that bought $550 million worth of this token. Hmm.

So one thing about cryptocurrency is that these transactions occur on something called the blockchain, which is essentially a public ledger of all transactions. And so anytime someone was buying the World Liberty token, their wallet, which is a long number, was publicly available to see. So we could see 85,000 different wallets, ultimately, that bought $550 million worth of this token. Hmm.

But all you see is a really long number and you don't know who's behind that wallet. And so as a team of reporters at the Times, we were like, we need to figure out who some of these buyers are. So the first thing we did was we went to a company called Nansen, which is a cryptocurrency analytics company. And we said to the folks at Nansen, can you do an analysis of all of these 85,000 wallets?

But all you see is a really long number and you don't know who's behind that wallet. And so as a team of reporters at the Times, we were like, we need to figure out who some of these buyers are. So the first thing we did was we went to a company called Nansen, which is a cryptocurrency analytics company. And we said to the folks at Nansen, can you do an analysis of all of these 85,000 wallets?

And can you tell us who some of them are? And they came back to us with a spreadsheet of a bunch of possible buyers of World Liberty financial tokens. And they were from all over the world. They were from Gibraltar, from Israel, from Asia, Europe and the United States. But they were more foreign than domestic.

And can you tell us who some of them are? And they came back to us with a spreadsheet of a bunch of possible buyers of World Liberty financial tokens. And they were from all over the world. They were from Gibraltar, from Israel, from Asia, Europe and the United States. But they were more foreign than domestic.

And a lot of them operating out of countries that you pick if you want to not have a lot of financial transparency, in fact. And so we decided we had to actually reach every single one of those companies and individuals to confirm that they actually were a buyer because maybe there was a mistake in the data analysis. It was a very laborious process because a lot of them did not want to be found.

And a lot of them operating out of countries that you pick if you want to not have a lot of financial transparency, in fact. And so we decided we had to actually reach every single one of those companies and individuals to confirm that they actually were a buyer because maybe there was a mistake in the data analysis. It was a very laborious process because a lot of them did not want to be found.

Yeah, in fact, I mean, one of the things I also did was I went to some cryptocurrency conferences, including one that happened to be in Washington, D.C. And I had the list with me and I'm walking around and there's this guy right in front of me from Tenzor Capital that was on the list. And it's like, wow, that's convenient. And so I asked him, here, I've got you on my list.

Yeah, in fact, I mean, one of the things I also did was I went to some cryptocurrency conferences, including one that happened to be in Washington, D.C. And I had the list with me and I'm walking around and there's this guy right in front of me from Tenzor Capital that was on the list. And it's like, wow, that's convenient. And so I asked him, here, I've got you on my list.

I was wondering, why did you decide to buy the Trump token? and what he said was that he was confident that Trump was gonna make a lot of money on this, and if Trump was gonna make a lot of money, that he wanted to make money too.

I was wondering, why did you decide to buy the Trump token? and what he said was that he was confident that Trump was gonna make a lot of money on this, and if Trump was gonna make a lot of money, that he wanted to make money too.

So that's one group of investors, but there's another that we found, and these are people who are enthusiastic about Trump's plans for crypto, because Trump by this point has announced that he's gonna significantly curtail the regulatory reach of the government as it comes to crypto, and these investors wanted to send a signal to President Trump that we support this effort.

So that's one group of investors, but there's another that we found, and these are people who are enthusiastic about Trump's plans for crypto, because Trump by this point has announced that he's gonna significantly curtail the regulatory reach of the government as it comes to crypto, and these investors wanted to send a signal to President Trump that we support this effort.

Then we found that there's people who bought the token who previously been investigated themselves. So these are people who'd been charged with breaking federal laws that are buying the Trump token and celebrating the fact that he's going to basically restrict the powers of the federal regulators that had gone after them previously.

Then we found that there's people who bought the token who previously been investigated themselves. So these are people who'd been charged with breaking federal laws that are buying the Trump token and celebrating the fact that he's going to basically restrict the powers of the federal regulators that had gone after them previously.