Trump-backed Crypto Firm Collaborates with Venture Offering Restricted Chinese AI Models
2 sources across 2 countries · India · United Kingdom
Who reported this
- The Indian Express
- Reuters
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- Centre-left
- Centre
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- Right
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World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm backed by President Donald Trump, is collaborating with WorldClaw, a Hong Kong-based venture that provides access to artificial intelligence models from Chinese companies. A review found that nearly half of the 90 models available through WorldClaw were developed by firms such as Alibaba, Baidu, and Z.ai. These companies have been flagged by the U.S. administration for national security concerns, with the Department of Defense designating some as military-aligned and the Department of Commerce placing Z.ai on an entity list that restricts access to U.S. technology.
WorldClaw accepts World Liberty's USD1 stablecoin as payment for access to these AI models. The Trump family earns revenue through their ownership stake in World Liberty, which is entitled to a percentage of the interest earned on the assets backing the stablecoin. While the collaboration is not illegal and such models are generally legal for U.S. businesses to use, seven experts on government ethics and Chinese technology stated that the arrangement runs counter to the administration's official stance on Chinese tech firms.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly stated that there are no conflicts of interest and that President Trump acts in the best interests of the American public. David Wachsman, a spokesman for World Liberty, described WorldClaw as an independent company and noted that offering AI from both Chinese and American firms is a common approach. A WorldClaw spokesperson added that making a model available does not constitute an endorsement of its developer.
How each side framed it
- Centre
- The reports focused on the factual contradiction between the administration's national security restrictions on Chinese AI and the financial ties between the Trump family's crypto firm and a venture offering those same tools.
Sources
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