Trump Crypto Firm Supports New AI Venture Amid China Technology Restrictions
President Trump-backed World Liberty Financial is facing scrutiny over its collaboration with WorldClaw, a Hong Kong-based platform that gives users access to AI models — many of them built by Chinese companies the US government has flagged as national security risks.
A Reuters review found that nearly half of the 90 models available through WorldClaw come from firms like Alibaba, Baidu, and Z.ai. Alibaba and Baidu have been designated by the Pentagon as military-aligned Chinese companies, while Z.ai sits on the Commerce Department’s restricted “entity list.” Models from DeepSeek and Moonshot — companies US officials have separately accused of stealing intellectual property — are also offered on the platform.
WorldClaw accepts crypto payments through World Liberty’s USD1 stablecoin, and the Trump family earns a share of the interest generated by the assets backing that token. The Trump family holds a 38% stake in World Liberty, and Trump’s sons have publicly promoted WorldClaw, including a planned meetup with contest winners at Mar-a-Lago.
Experts on Chinese trade and technology policy say the arrangement sits awkwardly alongside the administration’s tougher posture on Chinese tech. A fellow at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology called it hypocritical for the administration to use tools tied to the very companies it’s raising alarms about.
Both companies deny any conflict. A White House spokesperson said there’s no conflict of interest, while a World Liberty representative described offering both US and Chinese AI models as standard industry practice. WorldClaw maintains it operates independently of World Liberty and its affiliates.
Analysts note the deeper issue: Chinese AI models can carry real risks, including government monitoring, censored outputs, and malicious code that could compromise AI-driven tools — concerns that add weight to the broader debate over the administration’s mixed approach to Chinese technology.
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