The World Liberty Financial forum at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, gathered leaders from traditional finance, cryptocurrency, and entertainment to discuss digital assets and regulation. Attendees included Binance founder Changpeng Zhao in his first U.S. appearance since a presidential pardon, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, and rapper Nicki Minaj. Panels covered tokenization of real estate and the role of the U.S. dollar, amid critiques of the current financial system.
The event, hosted by the Trump family-backed World Liberty Financial, drew around 500 attendees from various countries to Mar-a-Lago on February 20, 2026. It featured high-level discussions on blockchain applications, including tokenized real estate and stablecoins, while highlighting regulatory challenges.
Changpeng Zhao, former Binance CEO, attended shortly after receiving a pardon from President Trump in October 2025, following his 2024 prison sentence for anti-money-laundering violations. Zhao shared a photo on X of himself listening to a federal crypto regulator, captioning it 'Learned a lot.' Other notable guests included FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson, New York Stock Exchange president Lynn Martin, Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong, and Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary.
Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. addressed past banking grievances, with Eric stating, 'banks [canceled our accounts] for no reason other than my father was wearing a hat that said "Make America Great Again." We realized how antiquated finance was, how punitive finance was.' Jenny Johnson argued for the U.S. dollar's dominance as the global reserve currency, noting, 'About 50% of trade today is done in dollars... As long as people are still looking for their stablecoin to be backed by the most risk-free currency, it's going to be the dollar.'
Barry Sternlicht of Starwood Capital, managing over $125 million in assets, expressed readiness to tokenize real estate but cited regulatory uncertainty as a barrier. Kevin O'Leary mentioned sovereign wealth funds' reluctance due to U.S. regulatory risks. World Liberty promoted its USD1 stablecoin and plans for digital tokens tied to revenues from a Trump resort in the Maldives, alongside a $500 million investment from an Abu Dhabi royal, described as standard global finance practice.
Eric Trump compared the forum to the Davos World Economic Forum, saying it offered 'better hospitality, better food, better weather, better group of people, less wokeness.' Nicki Minaj closed the event with a fireside chat, adding a celebrity element amid the financial talks. Officials like CFTC Chairman Michael Selig attended, underscoring ties between crypto and policy.
