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Eric Trump Interview: America Wants to Win the Ultimate Race in AI, Energy, and Bitcoin

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「I love walking with my father on the construction site, watching New York's most impressive buildings slowly rise from the steel and concrete.」

Original Video Title: Eric Trump: American Bitcoin, The Art of the Deal & Growing Up Trump

Original Video Source: Bonnie Blockchain
Original Text Translation: TechFlow

Key Points Summary

In this interview, Eric Trump, the son of Donald Trump, shared Trump's cryptocurrency strategy, why he founded American Bitcoin mining company, how the U.S. is leading the energy and AI race and why other countries are falling behind. He also discussed the story of the Trump family being betrayed by numerous banks.

He also talked about the business and negotiation mindset he learned from his father at a young age, how "Trump: The Art of the Deal" influenced his life, and Donald Trump's intimate and affectionate side at home.

Highlight Reel

On Why the U.S. Needs to Win the AI, Energy, and Cryptocurrency Race

· "My father wants America to win in everything we do. He believes America should win in energy, win in AI, and win in cryptocurrency."

· "He ran on the platform of being the 'Crypto President'. He believes in cryptocurrency, he believes in Bitcoin, and he believes in digital assets."

· "If America doesn't do it, Asia will; if America doesn't do it, the Middle East will. So, America has to lead."

· "America is not just energy independent, we're exporting energy. If Europe wants to challenge in AI or cryptocurrency, good luck to them because they don't have the energy structure we have."

On Bitcoin's Global Value and the Dollar's Dominance

· "Bitcoin's position in many international markets may be more critical than in the United States, the world's largest economy."

· "In a place with severe inflation, bad banks, bad governments, unstable markets, and significant corruption, what is better to hold than Bitcoin?"

· "Everyone wants dollars. No one wants euros, and no one wants any other currency; they want dollars."

About American Bitcoin's Mining Strategy

· "American Bitcoin has been established for 8 months and 3 days, with over 90,000 mining machines and over 28 EH/s of hash rate, representing around 2.5% to 3% of the global mining power."

· "The sole premise of our company is to increase our Bitcoin holdings; our North Star is to increase the amount of Satoshi per share."

· "If a company could have put its money into an asset that has grown at an annualized pace of around 70% for the past decade but instead used it to pay exorbitant executive salaries, which would create more shareholder value?"

· "We believe in Bitcoin. Unless there is a catastrophic event, it will be very, very hard to get us to sell Bitcoin."

About the Two Bitcoin Company Competitions

· "This is a competition to see who can accumulate the most Bitcoin and also a competition to see who can acquire the most Bitcoin at the lowest cost."

· "Michael Saylor is a visionary, and he has done a remarkable job in accumulating the most Bitcoin."

· "American Bitcoin aims to win another competition: who can acquire the most Bitcoin at the lowest cost."

· "What other commodity or product can be mined at approximately half the market price? This is what American Bitcoin does every day."

About Being Shunned by Banks and Entering the Crypto Industry

· "We did nothing wrong, yet we were kicked out by the largest bank in the U.S. like dogs, with 300 accounts closed overnight, all due to political reasons."

· "This pushed us into digital assets, into DeFi, and brought us to meet others who have also been abandoned by these banks."

· "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. What happened between the Trump family and the crypto industry is a testament to this."

· "If you had told me 5, 6, or 7 years ago that I would have such a passion for digital assets, I would have laughed. Now, nothing excites me more."

About Father, Childhood, and Family Relationships

· "I really enjoyed walking with my father on the construction site, watching New York's most impressive buildings slowly emerge from the steel and concrete."

· "He is my best friend in the world, and I am incredibly proud of him, very, very proud."

· "He still calls me Honey to this day. I'm 42 years old now, with gray hair in my beard, and he still calls me that."

New Fed Chair, Energy, Cryptocurrency

Host David: Eric, welcome to the show. Kevin Walsh is considered the next Federal Reserve Chair, a tech-savvy individual with close ties to Silicon Valley. If he officially becomes the Fed Chair, as expected, he may become the most tech-savvy Fed Chair in history.

He has previously stated that Bitcoin and AI will be the dominant drivers of the U.S. economy. What do you think this means for the future of Bitcoin and AI?

Eric Trump: Let me simplify this. My father wants America to win in everything we do; he believes America should win in energy, win in AI, and win in cryptocurrency. That's his whole platform and his entire mandate.

My father ran on the idea of being a 'Crypto President.' He believes in cryptocurrency, he believes that funds can flow in a more efficient, secure, and transparent way than ever before, he believes in this industry, believes in Bitcoin, and believes in digital assets. So, it's only logical that those around him operate on the same premise. It's reasonable. If someone doesn't buy into that, they're not going to be in his core circle.

If you look around the globe, this is pretty clear. Look at the transformation digital assets are undergoing, look at tokenization, look at what Bitcoin has achieved, and look at the explosive growth digital assets have seen over the past decade.

And then you combine these factors with one more thing: We have a government that supports crypto, and the U.S. potentially has the best energy infrastructure in the world. America has not only achieved energy independence but is also an energy exporter. If Europe wants to challenge AI, good luck to them; if Europe wants to challenge cryptocurrency, good luck to them. They can't do it because they don't have the energy infrastructure to support it.

So we will win, because we are the first movers. We are also the world's largest economy, and the advantage is very clear. There is now a government pushing this, and we have the energy resources to do it.

Since my father took office, there has been a 180-degree shift in cryptocurrency policy. During the Biden administration, almost anyone who wanted to improve the financial system in a better, more efficient, and modern way was thrown in jail. It's different now, we will have a Federal Reserve Chairman who is very friendly to this industry, and not just friendly, but truly understands this industry.

Biden and Kamala Harris can't even spell the word AI.

They don't know what they're talking about, and they're not willing to understand it. My father, on the other hand, wants to win this race, wants to be the best in the world. By the way, if America doesn't do it, Asia will; if America doesn't do it, the Middle East will. So we are taking the lead, and this is exactly what America must do.

Can the world win together?

Host Bonnie: Is it possible for everyone to win together?

Eric Trump: I think it is. Clearly, cryptocurrency is digital finance on a global scale. I am the head of American Bitcoin and also the founder of the company. I believe in digital assets.

I can even say that Bitcoin's position in many international markets may be as important as its position in the United States, even more important, despite the U.S. being the world's largest economy. Many parts of the world have hyperinflation, bad banks, bad governments, unstable markets, and rampant corruption. In those places, what could be more suitable than holding Bitcoin?

Because no one can seize your money in the middle of the night, institutions can't lose your money, and the capital markets can't collapse and wipe out your assets.

All of a sudden, you have global liquidity 24/7, 365 days a year. How do you do it? Through your iPad or smartphone.

I could make a point that the global community is actually the biggest beneficiary of this thing, as it has created financial independence and freedom worldwide, and has connected global finance in ways never seen before.

For example, if I want to send money to Morocco right now, what should I do? If I have to use the SWIFT wire transfer system, do I need to first find a bank in Morocco? Who do I need to communicate with? Do we speak the same language? What is the currency exchange rate? And what cryptocurrency does is eliminate all of this. It allows funds to be transferred globally instantly.

So you ask, will it be global? It is 100% global. The entire concept of cryptocurrency and digital assets is to make them global. Who will be the biggest beneficiary? The United States. Because everyone wants the dollar. No one wants the euro, and no one wants other currencies; they want the dollar. So I think this is indeed a global initiative, but the United States will be the biggest beneficiary.

Why is Bitcoin Mining Coming to the U.S.?

Host Bonnie: Let's talk about American Bitcoin. What brought Bitcoin miners to the U.S.? Bitcoin miners need a jurisdiction with low energy costs and may also need an environment with lower capital gains tax. How do we make mining in the U.S. more advantageous for miners themselves?

Eric Trump: First of all, the U.S. has many tax policies that support this. For example, bonus depreciation, where you can deduct capital investments, and these mining machines, facilities, and energy infrastructure are obviously capital-intensive. So the U.S. does have some advantages. Like in any other industry in the U.S., if you are willing to invest capital in something, investing in infrastructure in this country comes with many related tax savings.

Secondly, we have some of the best energy in the world. Try doing this in the UK, and you have no chance. The energy their economy produces is far lower than their consumption. They cannot win the AI race, cannot win the crypto race, and cannot mine Bitcoin.

The U.S. has some of the lowest energy costs globally. Look at Texas, where the vast majority of American Bitcoin mining takes place; the energy prices there are among the best in the world. So we can be very competitive.

American Bitcoin launched 8 months and 3 days ago, and we now hold well over 7,000 bitcoins. We built this company from scratch and now have over 90,000 mining rigs, a hashrate exceeding 28 EH/s, accounting for about 2.5% to 3% of the global mining capacity. This company was founded just 8 months and 3 days ago, which is a truly remarkable story.

We are able to do this on U.S. soil, using U.S. energy. America must become the preeminent country in the world in all things related to cryptocurrency, all things related to digital markets and digital financial transactions. This is one of my key goals, and it is the direction in which I am sprinting very, very quickly.

Trump Family's "The Art of the Deal"

Host Bonnie: I love "The Art of the Deal" very much and even made a dedicated video about it. How has it influenced your view on transactions and business?

Eric Trump: I've lived my whole life in "The Art of the Deal," you could say I was born under "The Art of the Deal." When that book was published, I was still very, very young. It has been almost like a guiding principle of my life in many ways.

I run the Trump Organization every day. Before my father entered politics, I worked with him almost every day, every second. He is my best friend in this world. Those experiences and lessons have been deeply instilled in us, such as always negotiating and operating in a very streamlined manner.

We do the same at American Bitcoin. We negotiate everything and operate in an extremely streamlined manner. We may have the lowest SG&A costs in the entire industry, the difference is very clear. We can't even find competitors with cost structures and efficiency at the same level as us.

American Bitcoin Strategy

Eric Trump: We do this because we do not pay exorbitant salaries to CEOs who are compensated in cash. In the end, what are we really trying to build? We want to build our Bitcoin holdings.

If you pay hundreds of millions of dollars to company executives, money that could have been invested in an asset that has grown by about 70% annually over the past decade, which do you think would create more value for shareholders? Is it executive compensation, or is it actually collecting Bitcoin, holding Bitcoin, and allowing it to grow and appreciate year after year?

Host David: How do you decide how much of the mined Bitcoin to sell to the market?

Eric Trump: We strive to hold every single Bitcoin. Our entire company's sole premise is to increase our Bitcoin holdings. Our guiding principle is to increase the amount of Satoshi per share.

Never Sell Bitcoin?

Host David: Michael Saylor just mentioned that he might sell some Bitcoin to fund dividends. Under what circumstances would you turn around and decide to sell some Bitcoin? If someone were to ask you to sell some Bitcoin, for what reason would you do so?

Eric Trump: It would have to be a catastrophic scenario. We are American Bitcoin, we believe in Bitcoin. No matter what happens, for us to liquidate the Bitcoin in our treasury reserve would be very, very difficult. Our entire company's sole objective is to expand this reserve.

Look at what's happening globally in the entire ecosystem, you see what retail investors are doing, you see what institutional investors are doing. You see the largest banks in the U.S. accumulating Bitcoin, as well as Fortune 500 companies putting Bitcoin on their balance sheets in unprecedented ways. You also see market structure legislation, and you see countries around the world beginning to follow the U.S. in embracing cryptocurrency in new ways.

Cryptocurrency is being massively adopted, especially Bitcoin, because Bitcoin is clearly winning this race. This trend is something we've never seen before. Since we view it as a perfect financial instrument, why would you get rid of this asset? So, our entire premise is to accumulate as much as possible.

Two Races of Bitcoin Companies

Eric Trump: We see that there are two races here. Michael is a good friend of mine, I know you've interviewed him before. I've known Michael for 25 years, long before he joined MicroStrategy.

The first race is who can accumulate the most Bitcoin. Michael has done an incredibly good job in this regard, he has great foresight. The second race is who can acquire the most Bitcoin at the lowest cost. And I can tell you, at American Bitcoin, we want to win this race, we want to be the ones acquiring the most Bitcoin at the lowest cost.

Can you grow wheat for $1 from 50 cents? Can you grow corn for $1? These claims are, of course, a bit exaggerated, but clearly, you can't do it; the gap is huge. Can you mine gold for $1 from 50 cents? What other commodity, what other product, can be mined at a cost of approximately half the market price?

This is what American Bitcoin does every day. With our infrastructure, low-cost structure, and energy structure, this is a truly incredible business model. We are also incredibly proud of the company's journey to where we are today in just 8 months.

The Enemy of Your Enemy Is Your Friend

Host Bonnie: Why is Bitcoin personally important to you?

Eric Trump: Digital assets are important to me because we were once abandoned by banks. In American politics, things are very brutal, just as politics in every country is brutal—yours, Canada's, and everywhere else. But we were once abandoned by America's biggest banks, and we did nothing wrong.

We have the best hotels, the best residential buildings, the best commercial buildings, and the best real estate in the world. Yet we were kicked out by many of the biggest banks, like JPMorgan and Capital One. We were treated like dogs, 300 accounts closed overnight, and we did nothing wrong, just politics.

This pushed us into digital assets, into the DeFi world, and led us to meet people who were also abandoned by these same individuals. The saying goes, the enemy of your enemy is your friend. That is what happened between the Trump family and the crypto industry.

Later, we encountered the smartest group of people we had ever met, began to embrace this industry, and started to understand this industry.

And it all made sense to everyone, to you, to all of us. I might have become one of the most supportive cryptocurrency people globally, and this comes from a person who has spent his entire life building hard assets, like the kind of place we are in now.

If you told me 5, 6, 7 years ago that I would be so passionate about digital assets, I would have definitely laughed. I would really laugh at you. But now there is nothing that makes me more passionate. I love what I do at American Bitcoin, I love what we do at World Liberty Financial, I love what we do in stablecoins, and I love what we do in the entire ecosystem. I am immensely proud of all of this.

Most Memorable Childhood Memory with Father

Host Bonnie: What is your favorite childhood memory related to your father?

Eric Trump: I loved going to construction sites with him, walking around the site with him. Watching some of New York's most impressive buildings slowly rise, seeing the steel structures, concrete, and main structures take shape, those memories are very special.

Those New York union contractors are tough, but they are also some of the finest builders in the world. Those memories are great. And as a child, I would build Lego skyscrapers on the floor of my father’s office while he was in very important meetings. To be able to be there like a fly on the wall, it was really fantastic.

He is an incredible person. He is doing a great job for this country. He is my best friend in the world, and I am incredibly proud of him, very, very proud.

Does Trump say "I Love You" at Home?

Host Bonnie: Do you say "I love you" to each other?

Eric Trump: Very often, he still calls me Honey to this day. He'll say, "Honey, Honey." I'm a 42-year-old man now, with gray in my beard, and he still calls me Honey. He jokes about it. He says, "My kids, no matter how old they are, no matter that they have kids of their own, no matter that they're married, they're always my Honey."

He's a great guy. I'm proud of everything he's accomplished. I'm also proud of running our company. And of course, I'm proud to be one of the leaders in the digital asset race. Hopefully, people will remember that we’ve brought a lot of momentum to this asset.