Token2049: Eric Trump Expects the UAE to Win the Global Digital Finance Race

“We are in the dial-up phase of the crypto revolution right now, and the people who are going to make it bigger are the people who are seeing it today, not the people who see it in five years when half the explosive growth has happened. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are seeing it today. The countries that can move quickly, are nimble and have foresight are going to win this race,” Eric Trump, Executive Vice President of The Trump Organization, said at Token2049 in Dubai.

Trump warned the rest of the world to be “careful” of the UAE because the local government always fast-tracks project approvals, adding that The Trump Organization got permits for its newly announced Trump International Hotel and Tower in Dubai “in just one month.”

The two-day Token2049 conference attracted more than 15,000 crypto enthusiasts to Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai.

Speaking alongside Zach Witkoff, co-founder and Executive Vice President, World Liberty Financial, Trump added that “cryptocurrencies will take over the traditional finance system and leave big banks in the dust.”

“The modern financial system works well for the top 1% or 0.1% but it doesn’t work for the rest of the world. Until my family got into politics, I didn’t realize how fragile the system was. The second you start saying something that goes against the system, they’ll cancel you and come after you. That’s what caused me to support cryptocurrency,” Trump said.

Source: TOKEN2049

The appearance of Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, sparked significant interest with Ardoino explaining that Tether was “a once in a century company” that achieved US$13 billion profit in 2024 alone, and that it holds reserves of 100,000 Bitcoins and 50 tonne of gold.

“What sets us apart is our unique balance of capital, philosophy, and a tech vision rooted in freedom,” Ardoino said. “Our success derives from empowering users through open and unstoppable platforms, rather than forcing them in a cage. USDT is just the beginning.”

Source: TOKEN2049

In a rare public appearance, Changpeng Zhao – CZ, founder of Binance, took part in a fireside chat with macroeconomic analyst Raoul Pal. “Four years ago, in 2021, I came to the UAE based on my friend’s recommendation, who said that it’s a very pro-crypto country. I took a three week vacation in UAE and within the first week, I realized that this is the place I want to be. People over here are very pro-business and really pro-crypto, and ministers know exactly what is going on,” he said.

CZ also said that his investment in the social media platform X aims to protect free speech. “I think financial freedom is important, but to have financial freedom, you must have free speech. Free speech is fundamental. If you don’t have that, nothing—no other freedom—works effectively. So when we invested in X [formerly Twitter] back then, we invested based on that philosophy.”

On the future of the crypto industry, CZ called for a more unified approach from the world’s crypto regulators, “Many regulators still want to regulate everything locally, they want a local custody wallet solution, they want a local order book, a local team, and that is usually not the best way to go. If we have to do the same thing 200 times over, we don’t have enough people for it,” he said.

Source: TOKEN2049