Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization and son of US President Donald Trump, has delivered a warning to global banks regarding cryptocurrency adoption.
“The modern financial system is broken, it’s slow, it’s expensive,” Trump said in a CNBC interview on April 30, adding that the existing banking system “favors the ultra-wealthy.”
“It forced me into the crypto world,” he continued, adding: “And I’m telling you, if the banks don’t watch what’s coming, they’re going to be extinct in 10 years.”
SWIFT is an “absolute disaster”
While emphasizing the need for banks to closely monitor developments in the crypto industry, Trump highlighted the benefits of cryptocurrency’s underlying blockchain technology for the financial system.
He slammed the existing cross-border transaction solutions like the global international messaging network SWIFT, which has often been criticized for its slow transactions.
“There’s nothing that can be done on blockchain that can’t be done better than the way that the current financial institutions are working. SWIFT is an absolute disaster,” he stated.
With the emergence of crypto, traditional payment tools like SWIFT are at risk of losing market share to decentralized alternatives, Trump said:
“You can open up a DeFi [decentralized finance] app right now, you can open up any cryptocurrency app, and you can send money, wallet to wallet, instantaneously, without the expense, without the variability.”
Banks pushing back, but the industry is bullish
Trump’s warning comes amid many global banks still pushing back against cryptocurrency adoption, with the Bank of Italy slamming stablecoin growth and Bitcoin (BTC) investments.
On the other hand, many industry executives are bullish on crypto adoption by banks already in 2025, amid governments like the US pushing a more crypto-friendly agenda.
Trump’s new prediction comes in line with his previous bold forecasts on crypto. In December 2024, Eric Trump predicted that Bitcoin would inevitably hit $1 million per coin, while global governments and institutions would have to adopt the cryptocurrency to compete in the fast-growing market.
Trump shills Binance-linked BNB Chain
Trump’s latest remarks about crypto adoption by global banks came a few days after his public promotion of USD1 (USD1), a new stablecoin backed by the Trump family.
Launched in March 2025, USD1 is designed to support the 1:1 peg to the US dollar by being “100% backed by short-term US government treasuries, US dollar deposits, and other cash equivalents.”
Related: Trump’s first 100 days ‘worst in history’ despite crypto promises
The stablecoin is running on the BNB Chain, a project initially founded by the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, which has been subject to controversy over an alleged relationship with the Trump family.
In mid-March, The Wall Street Journal reported on an alleged deal between Binance and Trump’s family, which reportedly envisaged a stake in a crypto business deal as part of a plan to resume Binance.US operations in the US.
While both President Donald Trump and former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao were quick to deny the WSJ claims, the latest posts by Trump’s son may add more controversy.
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