Donald Trump Got De-Banked — Is DeFi His Revenge?

President Donald Trump. Love him or hate him, we are all likely witnesses to what could be one of the greatest campaigns of obfuscation and misdirection in modern politics. 

The Art of Deception

Deception is the cornerstone of warfare and strategy. – Robert Greene

War is deception, and deception is war – Abu Bakr

War is the art of deception – Niccolo Machiavelli

In war, deception and misinformation are as critical as weaponry and ammunition – John Keegan

Trump’s campaign might have nothing to do with headline-grabbing issues such as tariffs, immigration, or judicial battles. Those are the pawns, knights, and bishops on the board – purposeful distractions. Some observers speculate that Trump’s actual intentions might be obscured intentionally behind public distractions and controversy.

While those high-profile battles matter, serving as top priorities and captivating the public and media alike, they function precisely as intended – diversions that mask a deeper, more strategic objective. 

The Real Target: Big Banking

Some critics contend that Trump’s actions indicate that the banking system is a possible primary target. Not merely the US banking infrastructure, but the entire global network of central banks and financial giants, including powerful institutions such as JP Morgan Chase and Citi.

But why banking? The answer is straightforward, but something people have forgotten amidst all the noise. Financial institutions struck first.

Following his presidency, multiple banks ended their relationship with Trump. Critics have described this as ‘debanking.’ They targeted his access to capital and attempted to choke off essential financial services and isolate his businesses economically.

Debanking Donald Trump

The financial isolation Trump faced was hardly subtle. After leaving office in January 2021, numerous banks systematically closed his accounts and terminated long-standing financial relationships:

• BankUnited: Closed two money market accounts worth approximately $5 million without a public explanation.
• Signature Bank: Terminated two personal accounts holding around $5 million.
• Deutsche Bank: Halted all new business engagements with the Trump Organization, severing a decades-long financial relationship.
• Professional Bank: Completely ended its relationship with Trump’s businesses and affiliates.
• Capital One: Closed over 300 accounts associated with Trump’s various businesses.
• Stripe: Ceased payment processing services, significantly disrupting online transaction capabilities.

Trump, however, was far from alone in facing financial targeting. Leaders in the cryptocurrency industry also experienced coordinated attacks as part of a broader campaign dubbed Operation Chokepoint 2.0—a systematic effort by government agencies designed explicitly to hinder crypto growth and innovation through financial obstruction.

Trump’s Silent War: Positioning DeFi

It can be interpreted that Trump’s counter-moves are deliberately subtle yet sufficiently visible to signal his intentions. While unable to directly oversee business operations as President, some observers believe Trump’s sons and close associates may have helped advance his financial objectives through DeFi initiatives.

• Halted aggressive enforcement against DeFi platforms.
• Repealed IRS regulations that required decentralized exchanges (DEXs) to report information they could not practically gather.
• Significantly weakened the US dollar, thereby limiting the global influence of central banks to influence their own sovereign currencies (looking at you, Japanese Yen).
• Advocated aggressively for Bitcoin to be recognized as a reserve asset equivalent to gold.
• Publicly announced plans by Eric Trump to launch $ABTC, a Bitcoin mining venture aimed at listing on the NASDAQ exchange.
• Installed numerous pro-crypto advocates and regulators across his administration, ensuring policy alignment with decentralized finance goals.

By the time Trump’s presidency concludes, the DeFi landscape—estimated to be ballooning with trillions of dollars in liquidity and investment—will be deeply entrenched. Any future administration hostile to crypto will find reversing this trajectory nearly impossible, as DeFi’s market penetration and public adoption will have reached critical mass.

World Liberty Financial: Trump’s Global Ambitions

Some speculate his future businesses are positioned to capitalize on these changes, chiefly World Liberty Financial, which demands a look at the name itself.

It’s not USA Liberty Financial or USA Freedom Finance. It’s WORLD, meaning global, and FINANCIAL, meaning all aspects of business/trade, but the most important word is LIBERTY. The Trump organization chose the word liberty over freedom. Why? 

It’s likely that Trump, being American, chose the word liberty because it is something different than the word freedom. Liberty is a God-given, inherent right, intrinsic to human dignity, and defended through vigilance, sacrifice, and moral conviction. It is inalienable, rooted in divine order, and demands active protection against tyranny. 

Freedom is different. Freedom is a condition, often granted or restricted by external forces, vulnerable to being curtailed or revoked by governments, mobs, or circumstances. Liberty endures as a sacred principle; freedom fluctuates with power and whim.

Sounds Good, But How Do Crypto Investors Feel?

Ultimately, as traders and/or investors, price is usually more important than principles and politics. But how are crypto traders feeling right now about the DeFi space? How is sentiment doing? 

Stocktwits’ data harnesses insights from the world’s largest dedicated social network for traders and investors. For example, consider Ondo Finance, a recent acquisition by Trump’s World Liberty Financial. 

Despite uncertain crypto market conditions, Stocktwits users display strong bullish sentiment toward Ondo Finance. Traders consistently project a positive long-term outlook, evidenced by Ondo’s sentiment rebounding impressively from a bearish rating of 35.

Further reinforcing this optimism, message volume—another critical sentiment indicator tracked by Stocktwits—remains notably high. 

Pro-tip: When prices are in a downtrend, but Stocktwits’ sentiment and message volume scores rise, it’s often a powerful leading indicator that a low is in or is about to develop very soon.

DeFi’s Unavoidable Ascension

Even without Trump’s financial warfare against traditional banking, DeFi’s ascension has long been inevitable. Decentralized platforms provide unmatched transparency and efficiency compared to legacy financial institutions. With negligible overhead costs and rapid maturation of the entire space, superior loan rates and significantly higher yields are the future. 

It could be argued that Trump’s maneuvers will significantly hasten DeFi’s rise. Rather than a slow bleed of market share by traditional finance (TradFi), some could interpret Trump’s silent warfare against the global banking infrastructure as an imminent, swift decapitation of centralized financial institutions.

This opinion piece reflects the views of the author and is based on publicly available information and speculative analysis. 

The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official position or views of Stocktwits or BeInCrypto.

BeInCrypto contacted World Liberty Financial and the banks mentioned in this article, requesting comment, but none responded by the time of publication. The author does not hold positions in Ondo Finance or World Liberty Financial.