Platform Partnered with Trump's Crypto Firm Offers Restricted Chinese AI Models
Nashnova编辑部
World Liberty Financial, the crypto platform in which the Trump family holds roughly 38% equity, is partnering with Hong Kong startup WorldClaw — a service that draws nearly half its AI models from Chinese companies under U.S. government restrictions, putting the president's business interests in plain tension with his own China-hardline policy.
What does this partnership actually look like?
World Liberty Financial is a crypto-finance platform in which the Trump family holds about 38% equity. It is now partnering with Hong Kong-based startup WorldClaw.
WorldClaw is an AI-model aggregator — users pay to access models built by other companies. This means → WorldClaw does not build AI itself; it acts as a middleman.
WorldClaw accepts World Liberty's USD1 stablecoin as payment. The Trump family is entitled to a share of the interest generated by the stablecoin's reserve assets, which include U.S. Treasuries.
How large is the Chinese-model footprint?
A Reuters review found that 43 of the 90 AI models WorldClaw offers come from Chinese tech companies — nearly half.
Sources include Alibaba, Baidu, and Z.ai (formerly Zhipu AI). The first two are designated by the Pentagon as "Chinese military-linked companies"; Z.ai is on the Commerce Department's Entity List.
In plain terms = the Pentagon cannot do business with Alibaba or Baidu, and any U.S. firm selling to Z.ai needs an export license that is presumed denied — yet users accessing these models through WorldClaw are not, at present, breaking any law.
What are the parties saying?
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said there is "no conflict of interest" between World Liberty and WorldClaw, adding that "President Trump will only act in the best interest of the American public."
World Liberty spokesperson David Wachsman called WorldClaw an independent company, noting that major U.S. tech firms also offer Chinese AI models — "a common and widely accepted practice."
WorldClaw said it "helps U.S. AI companies reach international users" and that providing model access "does not constitute an endorsement of their developers."
Where is the real friction?
Seven experts in Chinese technology, trade, and government ethics told Reuters the partnership directly contradicts the Trump administration's hard line on Chinese tech.
Georgetown researcher Sam Bresnick put it bluntly: "When the U.S. government is trying to address the rise of Chinese AI and the threats it poses, profiting from these Chinese tools through WorldClaw looks self-contradictory."
This reflects a deeper fault line: the president's personal business footprint and national-security policy are colliding in the overlap zone of AI and crypto.
How deep does the interest chain go?
Trump's two eldest sons have publicly endorsed WorldClaw; a World Liberty executive also serves as a WorldClaw adviser.
Reuters said it could not confirm the specific financial terms between World Liberty and WorldClaw, nor verify the exact revenue the Trump family derives from the platform's crypto payments.
This means → the full picture of the interest chain remains unclear, but what has already surfaced — equity stakes, stablecoin revenue sharing, cross-posted executives — is enough to sustain political scrutiny.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.