秘密交易，外国投资，总统政策变更：特朗普的加密货币公司的兴起

在特朗普总统就职典礼前几天，加密消息传递应用程序信号出现了“ Zmoney”的促销活动。

A few days before President Trump’s inauguration, a promotion for “ZMoney” appeared on the encrypted messaging app Signal.

在特朗普总统就职典礼前几天，加密消息传递应用程序信号出现了“ Zmoney”的促销活动。

“ZMoney” refers to Zachary Folkman, an entrepreneur who previously ran a dating app company called Date Hotter Girls and currently serves as a representative for WLFI. Zachary Folkman was writing to a cryptocurrency startup in the Cayman Islands proposing a “partnership” in which both parties would buy each other’s digital currency, a deal that would boost the startup’s public profile.

“ Zmoney”是指Zachary Folkman，他是一位企业家，他以前曾经营一家名为Date Hotter Girls的约会应用公司，目前是WLFI的代表。扎卡里·福克曼（Zachary Folkman）在开曼群岛（Cayman Islands）的一家加密货币创业公司（Cryptocurrency Startup）提出了“合作伙伴关系”，双方都将购买彼此的数字货币，这一协议将提高初创企业的公开个人资料。

But the startup would also secretly pay millions of dollars to the Trump family for the privilege of working with them, as The New York Times discovered.

但是，这家初创公司还将秘密向特朗普家族支付数百万美元，以便与《纽约时报》所发现的那样。

“We get a ton of exposure and credibility for everything we do,” Zachary Folkman wrote, adding that other business partners have pledged donations of $10 million to $30 million to the venture, which is majority-owned by Trump family business entities.

扎卡里·福克曼（Zachary Folkman）写道：“我们为我们所做的一切都获得了大量的曝光率和信誉，”他补充说，其他商业伙伴已承诺向这家公司捐款1000万至3000万美元，这是特朗普家族企业实体的多数股权。

The startup, which was not named, ultimately rejected the proposal as did several other companies that received similar offers from WLFI. They considered the deal unethical and argued that the company was essentially selling traffic generated by its political endorsements and hiding this from the public.

该初创公司未命名，最终拒绝了该提案，就像其他几家收到WLFI报价类似报价的公司一样。他们认为这项交易不道德，并认为该公司实际上是在其政治认可产生的交通情况下出售，并向公众隐藏了这一交易。

Undeterred, WLFI executives, who maintained they had done nothing wrong, successfully marketed similar deals to other companies and sold billions of WLFI tokens to buyers around the world, ultimately generating more than $550 million in sales, a large portion of which will be distributed to the president’s family.

毫无疑问的WLFI高管坚持认为，他们没有做错任何事情，成功地向其他公司销售了类似的交易，并将数十亿美元的WLFI代币卖给了全球的买家，最终产生了超过5.5亿美元的销售额，其中很大一部分将分配给总统的家人。

Trump's return to the White House has opened up new ways for him to profit from his power, whether through his social media companies or new overseas real estate deals. But none of the Trump family’s other business ventures pose a greater conflict of interest than the series of related deals that stemmed from the creation of WLFI.

特朗普返回白宫为他提供了新的方式，无论是通过他的社交媒体公司还是新的海外房地产交易，他都可以从权力中获利。但是，与源自WLFI的一系列相关协议，特朗普家族的其他商业企业都没有更大的利益冲突。

Primarily owned by Trump family business entities, WLFI has shattered centuries-old societal norms about the presidency, blurring the lines between private enterprise and government policy in a manner unprecedented in modern American history.

WLFI主要由特朗普家族企业实体拥有，破坏了数百年历史的社会规范，以使私营企业与政府政策之间的界限模糊，以现代美国历史上的前所未有的方式。

In addition to being a major cryptocurrency trader, Trump is also the industry’s top policymaker. So far in his second term, Trump has used his presidential might to benefit the cryptocurrency domain. While he has spoken disparagingly of cryptocurrencies for years as a haven for narcotics dealers and swindlers, he has consistently permitted his companies to profit from cryptocurrencies.

除了成为主要的加密货币交易者外，特朗普还是该行业的最高决策者。到目前为止，特朗普在第二任期内借此总统能力使加密货币领域受益。尽管他多年来一直在谈论加密货币作为麻醉品和骗子的避风港，但他一直允许他的公司从加密货币中获利。

The Trump administration has included those sympathetic to the cause, such as appointing a cryptocurrency industry adviser as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Justice Department recently disbanded a cryptocurrency crime task force, continuing a general easing of Biden-era scrutiny of the industry.

特朗普政府包括那些同情这一事业的人，例如任命一个加密货币行业顾问为证券交易委员会主席，司法部最近解散了一个加密货币犯罪工作组，继续对拜登时代的审查进行了全面的审查。

A New York Times investigation into the rapid rise of WLFI from startup to international force and Trump's transformation from cryptocurrency skeptic to industry supporter highlighted a host of conflicts of interest at the company:

《纽约时报》对WLFI从创业公司迅速上升到国际部队的迅速崛起以及特朗普从加密货币怀疑论者到行业支持者的转变强调了该公司的一系列利益冲突：

* WLFI directly benefited from actions by the Trump administration, such as his announcement of a federal cryptocurrency reserve that would include digital currencies in which WLFI invested. The president’s announcement led to a temporary increase in the value of assets held by the company.

* WLFI直接受益于特朗普政府的行动，例如他宣布了联邦加密货币储备，其中包括WLFI投资的数字货币。总统的宣布导致公司持有的资产价值暂时增加。

* WLFI has sold its cryptocurrency to overseas investors, including in Israel and Hong Kong, according to interviews and data obtained by The New York Times, opening a new way for foreign companies to curry favor with Trump.

*根据《纽约时报》获得的采访和数据，WLFI已将其加密货币卖给了包括以色列和香港在内的海外投资者，为外国公司提供了一种新的方式，可以与特朗普求爱。

* Several investors in the company’s cryptocurrency management company have been accused of wrongdoing by the federal government. They include an executive whose alleged fraud case was suspended after he invested millions of dollars in WLFI. Other investors and business partners are seeking to expand their businesses, which would require approval from the Trump administration.

*联邦政府指控该公司加密货币管理公司的几位投资者被指控不法行为。其中包括一名高管，其据称欺诈案在WLFI投资数百万美元后被暂停。其他投资者和业务伙伴正在寻求扩大业务，这将需要特朗普政府的批准。

Over the course of several months, reporters interviewed more than two dozen people involved in the cryptocurrency industry and examined a vast trove of data, including blockchain transactions and internal company documents. Their investigation revealed that the company, which is named World Liberty Financial and trades under the ticker symbol WLFI, had sold more than 550 million of its tokens since its launch last year.

在几个月的时间里，记者采访了参与加密货币行业的二十多名人员，并检查了大量数据，包括区块链交易和内部公司文件。他们的调查显示，该公司被称为世界自由金融，并在股票符号WLFI下进行交易，自去年推出以来，该公司已售出了超过5.5亿个令牌。

The company, which is organized as a limited liability corporation, is majority-owned by Trump-affiliated business entities and will receive 75% of the proceeds from the token sale, which can be converted into cash, according to its website.

该公司由特朗普附属业务实体持有的有限责任公司组织，该公司将获得代币销售的75％的收益，可以将其转换为现金。

“It’s one of the most successful things we’ve ever done,” Eric Trump, the president’s son who oversees the family business, said in an interview this month at Trump Doral Golf Links in Florida.

负责家族企业的总统儿子埃里克·特朗普（Eric Trump）在本月在佛罗里达州的特朗普多拉尔高尔夫（Doral Golf Links）的采访中说：“这是我们做过的最成功的事情之一。”

He and his brother, Donald Trump Jr., are actively involved in the company, though they rely on three partners to oversee its day-to-day operations. Two of them, Zachary Folkman and Chase Herro, have checkered pasts in the cryptocurrency space. The other is Zach Witkoff, the son of Steve Witkoff, the U.S. envoy to the Middle East on Trump's team, and one of the founders of WLFI.

他和他的兄弟小唐纳德·特朗普（Donald Trump Jr.）积极参与公司，尽管他们依靠三个合作伙伴来监督其日常运营。其中两个是扎卡里·福克曼（Zachary Folkman）和蔡斯·赫罗（Chase Herro），在加密货币空间中曾在过去。另一个是史蒂夫·维科夫（Steve Witkoff）的儿子扎克·维科夫（Zach Witkoff），特朗普团队中东的美国特使，也是WLFI的创始人之一。

In recent days, Zach, father Steve, and the partners met with Prime Minister Muhammad She

最近几天，扎克（Zach），史蒂夫（Steve）父亲和伙伴会见了穆罕默德（Muhammad）总理