This week, Eric Trump, the second son of Trump, made a high-profile post on the X platform, claiming that the market value of the dollar token USD1 has surpassed that of PayPal's PYUSD, describing this moment as "an important milestone in building the future of global currency." He cited a single source indicating that USD1 is approximately $4.54 billion, while PYUSD is about $3.69 billion, a set of data that still lacks third-party verification and has thus been thrust into the public discourse. Accompanying this announcement, the newly minted dollar token, bolstered by political aura, has directly challenged the compliant products of traditional payment giants: is this a true reshaping of the dollar token landscape, or a carefully orchestrated political-financial spectacle testing the market's discernment between emotion and fact?
$4.5 billion vs. $3.6 billion: A Narrative Sparked by a Tweet
● Content and Tone of the Post: When Eric Trump relayed the single-source data on X, he did not use cautious or conservative language but instead framed the "market value surpassing PYUSD" as a turning point. He emphasized that this is not just a victory for a token, but an "important milestone for USD1, which concerns not only cryptocurrency but also the future of global currency," with a tone clearly imbued with mobilization and declaration, elevating a numerical comparison to a node of value reconstruction and order.
● Risks of Single-Source Data: Currently, the market value comparison of $4.54 billion vs. $3.69 billion is only found in a single data source, and the research brief explicitly notes the lack of third-party verification. In the absence of authoritative market monitoring platforms and cross-verified audit reports, this figure appears more as material serving the narrative rather than a "pricing fact" widely accepted by the market. If subsequent data shows corrections or discrepancies, this "surpassing" may very well be an illusion based on statistical dimensions.
● Original Positioning of PayPal and PYUSD: Since the launch of PYUSD, PayPal has consistently framed its narrative around payment and compliance, emphasizing alignment with regulatory frameworks, application prospects in e-commerce and cross-border payments, and natural synergy with its vast user network. This path positions PYUSD more as a bridge tool between traditional finance and the on-chain world, rather than a flagship token of the crypto-native community, with a brand temperament leaning towards stability, mainstream acceptance, and compliance priority.
● Timing of the "Overtaking" Announcement: At a time when PYUSD is gradually advancing its scenario implementation without triggering an emotional climax, Eric Trump pushed the narrative of "surpassing PYUSD" to the forefront, inherently possessing strong topicality and conflict. For the crypto community and Chinese media, this story of "a new coin colliding with a financial giant" easily ignites a desire for dissemination, thus completing a round of emotional amplification and attention harvesting before the data has been fully verified.
From the White House to On-Chain: The Extended Narrative of the Trump Family's Dollar Token
● Political and Crypto-Friendly Image: The Trump family has been viewed by some crypto supporters as a relatively "friendly" force in U.S. domestic politics. Whether through an open attitude towards decentralized finance in campaign rhetoric or frequent appearances by surrounding figures at industry conferences, they have accumulated an image of "keeping a distance from the existing order of traditional finance." Eric Trump's endorsement of USD1 naturally places him within this political narrative chain extending from the White House to on-chain.
● Symbolic Significance of Endorsing the New Coin: When a political family endorses a dollar-denominated token, its symbolic significance goes far beyond merely adding a spokesperson for the token. More profoundly, it repackages dollar dominance and financial freedom discourse: on one hand, leveraging the credit foundation of the dollar fiat currency, and on the other, attempting to shape a "more free, more decentralized" alternative version in the on-chain space, thus issuing a subtle challenge to the existing central bank and Wall Street systems.
● Ideological Packaging of "Rebuilding the Future of Global Currency": By elevating USD1 to the height of "building the future of global currency," Eric Trump essentially provides supporters with a set of ideological imaginations to project onto—within this narrative, traditional finance is depicted as an old order that constrains innovation and freedom, while the new system surrounding USD1 is imbued with emotional labels of "rebuilding," "restoring sovereignty," and "breaking monopolies," making it easier to evoke political stances and identity recognition.
● The Double-Edged Sword of Highly Politicized Endorsement: However, this path deeply tied to a specific political family inevitably burdens USD1 with more regulatory and geopolitical sensitivity. On one hand, it helps quickly consolidate loyal supporters and gain loyalty among specific voters and crypto communities; on the other hand, it may amplify uncertainty or even hostility among financial regulators, multinational partners, and conservative institutional investors, weakening its space for gaining neutral trust globally.
CZ's Pardon and the USD1 Narrative: The Return Drama of the Exiled from the Old Order
● CZ's Declaration of Being a "True Free Man": Recently at Davos, CZ recalled his experience after being pardoned by Trump, publicly stating, "Now I am a true free man," and mentioning prison experiences that were "highly consistent with movie portrayals." Although details have been condensed in various reports, keywords like "pardoned" and "free man" quickly became frequently cited markers in social media and industry discussions.
● Linking Prison Experience with Anti-Traditional Finance Narrative: In the imagination of the crypto community, the experience of being imprisoned and then pardoned can naturally be incorporated into a larger anti-traditional finance and anti-establishment narrative—where traditional financial order is seen as a "cage" that excludes innovation, and industry figures emerging from the cage are reshaped as "martyrs who paid the price for financial freedom," creating a highly dramatized symbolic space.
● Connection with the Trump Family's Bet on USD1: When CZ's "free man" storyline is discussed alongside the Trump family's endorsement of USD1 in the same media and social platform time window, a sense of drama emerges around "the return of those exiled from the old order." One is a founder of an exchange that once confronted regulators, and the other is a political family viewed as dissatisfied with the traditional elite order; their intersection in the discourse space attaches more emotional "new order currency" symbolism to USD1.
● Amplification Effect of Media's Narrative Stitching: Many Chinese crypto media outlets quickly followed up on Eric Trump's statements and CZ's Davos interview, often stitching together two narratives that need not be inherently connected through headlines and formatting, creating a sense of coherent plot. This "passive chorus" amplification chain makes it easier for the market to associate USD1 with keywords like "pardon," "freedom," and "new order," thereby amplifying its imagined space as a "new currency order carrier."
New Coin Colliding with Financial Giants: Misaligned Competition in the Dollar Token Arena
● User Scenarios and Audience Differences: From the current public information and rhetoric, USD1 is more geared towards a collection of crypto communities and specific political supporters, emphasizing values, anti-establishment narratives, and community mobilization; while PYUSD, relying on PayPal's global payment network, emphasizes compliant payments, cross-border settlements, and smooth experiences for ordinary users. This audience misalignment means that the two are not directly engaged in a full-on battle in the same arena in the short term, but are each deeply cultivating different circles.
● The Commercial and Narrative Boundaries of "Challenging PayPal": In commercial reality, truly shaking up a giant like PayPal, which has a vast merchant system and payment license matrix, cannot be achieved solely through a single market value figure; however, in public discourse, "challenging PayPal" and "surpassing PYUSD" are highly compelling slogans. They create a sense of conflict more in marketing dimensions, leveraging the opponent's brand recognition to amplify their own positioning.
● Key Dimensions Beyond Market Value: Even assuming the comparison of $4.54 billion vs. $3.69 billion holds, the true winning hand in the dollar token competition still lies in: whether the compliance status is solid, the depth of on-chain and off-chain liquidity, the ability to land in real payment and settlement scenarios, and the design of expansion paths across jurisdictions. Lacking support from these dimensions, market value appears more as a facade built on short-term emotions and liquidity rather than a reliable indicator of long-term competitiveness.
● Possible Paths of Game Theory: On one side is the compliance expansion route represented by PayPal, attempting to steadily promote the everyday use of dollar tokens within regulatory frameworks; on the other side is the populist mobilization route symbolized by the Trump family's bet on USD1, driving adoption through political stances and community passion. The future landscape of dollar-denominated tokens is likely to evolve in the tug-of-war between these two forces: the former building a moat with stability and infrastructure advantages, while the latter quickly opens up local high grounds through emotional mobilization and identity recognition.
Data Fog and Promotional Amplification: Who Defines "Market Value Surpassing"
● Key Information Gaps: Surrounding USD1, there are still multiple information gaps— including the lack of independent third-party verification for market value data, the specific background and technical architecture of the issuer have not been transparently disclosed, and custodial and compliance arrangements have not seen authoritative audit reports made public. Under these circumstances, viewing its market value comparison as an "ironclad fact" artificially raises the risks brought by information asymmetry.
● "Passive Chorus" of Media Amplification: Many Chinese crypto media outlets quickly followed up on the event, focusing on relaying Eric Trump's high-profile statements and CZ's remarks about being a "true free man," but often lacking in-depth inquiries into data sources, compliance risks, and technical details. The result is a self-reinforcing amplification chain: the more people share, the fewer will go back to verify, and reporting shifts from analytical tools to emotional amplifiers.
● Beware of Single Source and Political Discourse Turning into "Fact": When market value figures come from a single source, and political figures' statements naturally carry traffic and positions, the most common mistake the market makes is equating these high-volume contents directly with "the facts themselves." For investors, failing to distinguish between "verifiable data" and "narratives awaiting verification" can lead to unnecessary volatility and losses when subsequent information is corrected.
● Establishing a Minimum Habit of Skepticism and Verification: In an environment lacking transparent disclosures and third-party audits, investors should at least cultivate a few basic habits: cross-check data sources, look for independent corroboration from authoritative on-chain analysis platforms or audit institutions; pay attention to the public compliance information and asset custody arrangements of the issuing entity; when quoting political figures or leading KOLs, view their statements as expressions of position rather than endpoints of fact, consciously separating excitement points from decision-making bases.
From One Tweet to the Next Round of Dollar Token Betting
A tweet claiming "USD1's market value surpasses PYUSD" has quickly leveraged political, commercial, and media narratives: the political family shapes it as a challenge to the old order, the business world interprets it as a marketing battle of new coins colliding with financial giants, and the media, in stitching together CZ's "free man" narrative with Trump's endorsement of USD1, further amplifies the drama of the "new currency order." In this process, the verifiability of the market value figure has receded to the background, replaced by a struggle over discourse and the right to imagination.
At this stage, USD1 resembles a high-profile political financial experiment: it claims to participate in reshaping the future of global currency, but whether it can traverse cycles still depends on the most traditional yet critical variables—whether the compliance framework is solid, whether information disclosure is transparent, and whether it is genuinely embedded in the daily fabric of payments and settlements. If these foundations are not solidified, even the grandest narratives may quickly fade in the cooling of regulation and market.
Looking ahead, the interplay of three forces—compliance giants, crypto-native institutions, and political families—in the dollar-denominated token arena will continue to shape new scenarios of cooperation and conflict: compliance giants need to leverage crypto-native infrastructure to enhance efficiency, crypto institutions may seek alliances with political forces to hedge against regulatory uncertainty, while political families might view on-chain assets as new tools for voter mobilization. They will probe, cooperate, and compete with each other, collectively forming the backdrop for the next round of dollar token competition.
For all participants, beyond positions, emotions, and narratives, what truly deserves long-term attention is the asset security, information transparency, and sustainable business models of each dollar token itself. Only after these issues are solidly addressed can the numerical comparison of "4.5 billion vs. 3.6 billion" potentially transform from promotional rhetoric into a market reality that withstands the test of time.
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