Trump-Linked Crypto Firm Profits From Blacklisted Chinese AI

Alibaba and Baidu have been designated by the U.S. Defense Department as companies linked to the Chinese military, a designation that bars the department from doing business with them. Z.ai is on the Commerce Department's export control list, sharply limiting its access to U.S. technology. Models from DeepSeek and Moonshot are also offered; both firms were recently accused by Trump administration officials of stealing intellectual property from U.S. AI companies. The arrangement allows the president's family to draw revenue from models made by companies the government has blocked from trade or sanctioned.

The partnership between World Liberty and WorldClaude, and WorldClaude's relationship with Chinese firms, are not themselves illegal. Relatively cheap Chinese-made models are seeing growing adoption worldwide, including by U.S. technology firms.

Experts said the way the Trump family's firm has boosted its profits by using Chinese-made models runs counter to the administration's policy of blocking China. Sam Bresnick, a researcher at Georgetown University's Center for Security and Emerging Technology, said it "looks hypocritical" to try to make big money using Chinese tools while the U.S. government is trying to counter the rise and threat of Chinese AI.

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement that there was "no conflict of interest" in the relationship between the two companies, adding that "President Trump acts only in the best interests of the American people." David Waxman, a spokesperson for World Liberty, said WorldClaude is an independent company and that major U.S. firms also offer both Chinese and American AI. A WorldClaude spokesperson said that "offering a model does not mean endorsing its developer."

Daniel Lemhler, a senior researcher at the Center for a New American Security, said the Chinese AI models offered through WorldClaude could expose users to a range of risks, including Chinese government surveillance, censored responses and injections of malicious code that could hijack AI agents. WorldClaude's website warns that user inputs may be shared with the companies providing the models. A WorldClaude spokesperson said the company prioritizes security and applies privacy and security safeguards on its platform.

Separately, World Liberty recently secured a license from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) that allows it to issue stablecoins — cash-backed cryptocurrencies — and settle transactions. The license lets the World Liberty project issue and redeem its own stablecoins, manage reserves and provide custody services under the U.S. federal regulatory framework.

But U.S. lawmakers have raised conflict-of-interest concerns. The company carries flaws similar to those cited by regulators in rejecting applications from peers such as Wise and Bunq. Where other firms failed to clear the approval bar over problems of the same nature, World Liberty made it through.

Being brought into the federal trust bank framework allows a firm to bypass state regulation and makes it easier to win the confidence of institutional investors. It can also improve the efficiency of internal payments and settlement on a platform, and issue stablecoins directly without an outside intermediary. Critics said this undermines the intent behind the government's policy design.