Trump Family's Crypto Venture Reports Repelling Coordinated Attack on Stablecoin
World Liberty Financial, a digital-asset venture backed by the Trump family, announced that it successfully defeated what it described as a "coordinated attack" targeting its flagship cryptocurrency product, the USD1 stablecoin. The incident occurred on Monday, February 23, 2026, when the stablecoin briefly traded below US$1 before climbing back to par, according to data from crypto tracker CoinGecko.
Details of the Attack and Market Impact
In a statement posted on its official X account, World Liberty Financial detailed the attack, alleging that hackers compromised several co-founder accounts, paid influencers to spread fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD), and opened massive short positions on $WLFI tokens to profit from the ensuing chaos. The project emphasized that its mint-and-redeem mechanism held firm, preventing any lasting damage to the stablecoin's value.
Stablecoins like USD1 are designed to maintain a 1-to-1 peg with the U.S. dollar, providing a stable medium of exchange and store of value within the highly volatile cryptocurrency market. With a market value of approximately US$5 billion, USD1 is the first product launched by the crypto project, which was co-founded by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, along with sons of White House special envoy Steve Witkoff. Former U.S. President Donald Trump is listed as "co-founder emeritus."
Background and Previous Transactions
USD1 gained prominence in May 2025 when an Abu Dhabi fund announced plans to use the token to purchase a US$2 billion stake in the crypto exchange Binance. Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported that an Abu Dhabi royal signed a secret deal to acquire a 49% stake in World Liberty for US$500 million, just four days before Trump's inauguration last year. A spokesperson for World Liberty Financial has clarified that neither President Trump nor Steve Witkoff were involved in this transaction and have had no involvement in the venture since taking office.
Security Measures and Reserve Backing
According to the project's website, USD1 is redeemable on a 1-to-1 basis for dollars, with its reserve backing—including short-term U.S. government Treasuries and other cash equivalents—held or maintained by BitGo Trust Co., the issuer of the stablecoin. BitGo declined to comment on the recent attack. In a statement on Monday, a World Liberty spokesperson highlighted that the company's engineering and security teams successfully repelled the coordinated attack from multiple vectors, underscoring the robustness of its infrastructure.
The spokesperson added, "Hackers and paid-disinformation campaigns attempted to undermine trust in WLFI, but our battle-tested infrastructure and systems operated exactly as they should. Today's attack is a further demonstration that USD1 was properly designed and can be relied upon under any conditions." This event marks a significant test for the Trump-backed venture as it navigates the challenges of the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency landscape.
