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More than two hours into Republican former President Donald Trump‘s “state of crypto” event on X Monday night, the team behind the Trump family’s new crypto project finally unveiled a key detail: Who can buy the forthcoming tokens it plans to release, and how shares of the project will be allotted.

For over a month, the former president and his family have been pumping up a project called World Liberty Financial, promising that it will do many things at once.

Lofty descriptions from those involved Monday night suggest that “World Liberty Financial” will be a sort of crypto banking platform, where the general public would be encouraged to borrow, lend and invest in crypto.

There will also be an accompanying token called WLFI, founders said Monday.

According to founder Zak Folkman, the equity structure for these tokens will be: 20% of the project’s tokens allotted to the founding team, which includes the Trumps, 17% of tokens set aside for user rewards, and the remaining 63% of the coins to be made available for the public to purchase.

There will be no pre-sales or early buy ins, Folkman said.

An earlier leaked draft of an internal project outline had the founders’ share at 70%, sparking concerns that the project would be little more than a get-rich-quick scheme.

The token will be a Reg D token offering, which follows the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation D — a provision that makes it possible for a company to raise capital without first registering their securities with the commission so long as certain conditions are met.

These were themes Trump covered in a conversation early in the more than two hour call, talking about the perceived hostility of the Securities and Exchange Commission towards the digital currency industry.

Several high profile figures in the industry take issue with SEC Chair Gary Gensler, claiming that he is regulating the industry through enforcement actions, rather than with rules.

Over the course of Trump’s 40-minute fireside chat, he talked about how he “wasn’t overly interested” in crypto initially. But that changed, he said, when sales of his Trump trademarked nonfungible token collections were paid for with crypto. “I think my children opened my eyes more than anything else.”

Monday’s event came at an unprecedented moment for Trump’s presidential campaign.

On Sunday afternoon at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump and his longtime friend and political donor, Steve Witkoff, were between the fifth and sixth holes on the course when gunshots were fired. The FBI has characterized the incident as an apparent assassination attempt on the former president.

Witkoff is a longtime friend of Trump’s. He’s also part of the small group of World Liberty Financial founders, according to an internal report on the project obtained by CoinDesk.

Witkoff was seated to Trump’s right during Monday night’s spaces, and described how he brought the Trump family together two crypto entrepreneurs.

“My son introduced me to two partners, Chase Herro and Zak Folkman, who are exceptionally bright people …These guys are as smart as any currency traders I’ve ever met. And they began talking to me about decentralized finance, which means frictionless finance, and why it made sense for people and about the forgotten, who can’t get credit out there,” he said.

“As I began to understand that, I said, ‘Who would understand this better than this than the Trump family?’ And we had a meeting initially with Eric, Don Jr, and the president and his counsel. And we said, Let’s go pursue it. We’ve been on it for close to nine months,” said Witkoff.

Along with Trump, Witkoff is one of at least a half dozen members of the project’s “leadership team.”

As Witkoff spoke, the parallels with Trump’s other venture, Trump Media Technology Group, were unavoidable.

In that case, two former cast members on Trump’s NBC hit “The Apprentice” approached Trump in 2021 with an idea for a new, conservative social network. Three years later, TMTG’s stock has boosted Trump’s net worth by billions of dollars, and Truth Social is his platform of choice.

Alongside Trump and Witkoff, founders include Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Barron Trump, as well as Witkoff’s son, Zach Witkoff, according to a person briefed by a member of the group’s founding team.

A copy of an early internal report, known as a white paper and obtained by CoinDesk, listed Barron as “Chief DeFi Visionary,” Eric and Donald Jr. as “Web3 Ambassadors,” and Trump Sr. as “Chief Crypto Advocate.”

But while the Trumps will receive compensation from the project, Bloomberg reports that the platform itself is “not owned, managed, operated or sold” by members of the Trump family.

Witkoff, a real estate investor, and Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, are the two people calling the shots at World Liberty Financial, according to a person familiar with the project. Both are new to the crypto industry.

CNBC reached out to Eric Trump and Witkoff to ask about their leadership roles within World Liberty, and didn’t immediately receive a reply.

Until Monday, much of what the public knew of World Liberty was based on interviews Trump’s sons had given to the press over the past month, as well as the leaked white paper that served as a sort of crypto project manifesto, and conversations with people familiar with the project.

Anyone who wanted material details of the platform, including the white paper, was being asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement, according to a person familiar with the project

Some visible members of the industry newly cozied up to Trump in 2024, lending their cash and endorsement to the Republican presidential nominee, as he adopted increasingly bullish talking points on the campaign trail, which culminated in the GOP pick delivering a keynote address at the biggest bitcoin event of the year in Nashville in July.

Some of those supporters however, say they are concerned that this foray into crypto could jeopardize Trump’s rapport with the sector more broadly if the launch doesn’t go as planned.

A person familiar with the project says that Donald Trump, Sr. isn’t that involved in the platform thus far.

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Tesla, Trump alliance falls apart – but there’s BIG news for electric semi fleets

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Tesla, Trump alliance falls apart – but there's BIG news for electric semi fleets

After a month off trying to wrap our heads around all the chaos surrounding EVs, solar, and everything else in Washington, we’re back with the biggest EV news stories of the day from Tesla, Ford, Volvo, and everyone else on today’s hiatus-busting episode of Quick Charge!

It just gets worse and worse for the Tesla true believers – especially those willing to put their money where Elon’s mouth is! One believer is set to lose nearly $50,000 betting on Tesla’s ability to deliver a Robotaxi service by the end of June (didn’t happen), and the controversial CEO’s most recent spat with President Trump had TSLA down nearly 5% in pre-morning trading.

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple PodcastsSpotifyTuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.

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Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.


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Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

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Hyundai is about to reveal a new EV and it could be the affordable IONIQ 2

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Hyundai is about to reveal a new EV and it could be the affordable IONIQ 2

Hyundai is getting ready to shake things up. A new electric crossover SUV, likely the Hyundai IONIQ 2, is set to debut in the coming months. It will sit below the Kona Electric as Hyundai expands its entry-level EV lineup.

Is Hyundai launching the IONIQ 2 in 2026?

After launching the Inster late last year, Hyundai is already preparing to introduce a new entry-level EV in Europe.

Xavier Martinet, President and CEO of Hyundai Europe, confirmed that the new EV will be revealed “in the next few months.” It will be built in Europe and scheduled to go on sale in mid-2026.

Hyundai’s new electric crossover is expected to be a twin to the Kia EV2, which will likely arrive just ahead of it next year.

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It will be underpinned by the same E-GMP platform, which powers all IONIQ and Kia EV models (EV3, EV4, EV5, EV6, and EV9).

Like the Kia EV3, it will likely be available with either a 58.3 kWh or 81.4 kWh battery pack option. The former provides a WLTP range of 267 miles while the latter is rated with up to 372 miles. All trims are powered by a single electric motor at the front, producing 201 hp and 209 lb-ft of torque.

Kia-EV2
Kia EV2 Concept (Source: Kia)

Although it may share the same underpinnings as the EV2, Hyundai’s new entry-level EV will feature an advanced new software and infotainment system.

According to Autocar, the interior will represent a “step change” in terms of usability and features. The new system enables new functions, such as ambient lighting and sounds that adjust depending on the drive mode.

Hyundai-IONIQ-2-EV
Hyundai E&E tech platform powered by Pleos (Source: Hyundai)

It’s expected to showcase Hyundai’s powerful new Pleos software and infotainment system. As an end-to-end software platform, Pleos connects everything from the infotainment system (Pleos Connect) to the Vehicle Operating System (OS) and the cloud.

Pleos is set to power Hyundai’s upcoming software-defined vehicles (SDVs) with new features like autonomous driving and real-time data analysis.

Hyundai-new-Pleos-OS
Hyundai’s next-gen infotainment system powered by Pleos (Source: Hyundai)

As an Android-based system, Pleos Connect features a “smartphone-like UI” with new functions including multi-window viewing and an AI voice assistant.

The new electric crossover is expected to start at around €30,000 ($35,400), or slightly less than the Kia EV3, priced from €35,990 ($42,500). It will sit between the Inster and Kona Electric in Hyundai’s lineup.

Hyundai said that it would launch the first EV with its next-gen infotainment system in Q2 2026. Will it be the IONIQ 2? Hyundai is expected to unveil the new entry-level EV at IAA Mobility in September. Stay tuned for more info. We’ll keep you updated with the latest.

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Tesla unveils its LFP battery factory, claims it’s almost ready

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Tesla unveils its LFP battery factory, claims it's almost ready

Tesla has unveiled its lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery cell factory in Nevada and claims that it is nearly ready to start production.

Like several other automakers using LFP cells, Tesla relies heavily on Chinese manufacturers for its battery cell supply.

Tesla’s cheapest electric vehicles all utilize LFP cells, and its entire range of energy storage products, Megapacks and Powerwalls, also employ the more affordable LFP cell chemistry from Chinese manufacturers.

This reliance on Chinese manufacturers is less than ideal and particularly complicated for US automakers and battery pack manufacturers like Tesla, amid an ongoing trade war between the US and virtually the entire world, including China.

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As of last year, a 25% tariff already applied to battery cells from China, but this increased to more than 80% under Trump before he paused some tariffs on China. It remains unclear where they will end up by the time negotiations are complete and the trade war is resolved, but many expect it to be higher.

Prior to Trump taking power, Tesla had already planned to build a small LFP battery factory in the US to avoid the 25% tariffs.

The automaker had secured older manufacturing equipment from one of its battery cell suppliers, CATL, and planned to deploy it in the US for small-scale production.

Tesla has now released new images of the factory in Nevada and claimed that it is “nearing completion”:

Here are a few images from inside the factory (via Tesla):

Previous reporting stated that Tesla aims to produce about 10 GWh of LFP battery cells per year at the new factory.

The cells are expected to be used in Tesla’s Megapack, produced in the US. Tesla currently has a capacity to produce 40 GWh of Megapacks annually at its factory in California. The company is also working on a new Megapack factory in Texas.

Ford is also developing its own LFP battery cell factory in Michigan, but this facility is significantly larger, with a planned production capacity of 35 GWh.

Electrek’s Take

It’s nice to see this in the US. LFP was a US/Canada invention, with Arumugam Manthiram and John B. Goodenough doing much of the early work, and researchers in Quebec making several contributions to help with commercialization.

But China saw the potential early and invested heavily in volume manufacturing of LFP cells and it now dominates the market.

Tesla is now producing most of its vehicles with LFP cells and all its stationary energy storage products.

It makes sense to invest in your own production. However, Tesla is unlikely to catch up to BYD and CATL, which dominate LFP cell production.

The move will help Tesla avoid tariffs on a small percentage of its Megapacks produced in the US. Ford’s effort is more ambitious.

It’s worth noting that both Ford’s and Tesla’s LFP plants were planned before Trump’s tariffs, which have had limited success in bringing manufacturing back to the US.

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