Trump Plans Crypto Real Estate Game Inspired by Monopoly Legacy

President Donald Trump, a self-proclaimed fan of the classic board game Monopoly, is venturing into the digital realm with a new Trump-branded crypto game that echoes the real estate themes of his earlier projects.

In 1989, Trump launched Trump: The Game, a real estate-themed board game that mirrored Monopoly’s mechanics. Nearly two decades later, in 2006, he pitched a Monopoly-inspired reality TV show that never materialized. “I’ve always thought Monopoly was an amazing game,” Trump told the New York Post at the time. Now, sources familiar with his latest project revealed that Trump is collaborating with longtime associate Bill Zanker to develop a crypto-based real estate game with a familiar Monopoly like structure, marking another step in the Trump family’s expanding cryptocurrency portfolio.

The Monopoly styled crypto game, still in development, is described by two independent sources as a digital twist on Monopoly Go!, a mobile game where players move pieces around a virtual board, earning in-game cryptocurrency to construct buildings in a digital city. While Kevin Mercuri, a spokesperson for Zanker, denied direct similarities to Monopoly Go!, he confirmed to Fortune that Zanker is working on a “game” slated for release in late April.

Trump’s Growing Crypto Empire

This real estate game joins a broadening array of Trump family crypto initiatives, including non-fungible token (NFT) collections, a memecoin, a decentralized finance platform called World Liberty Financial, a stablecoin, and a Bitcoin mining operation led by Trump’s sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. The crypto game’s development aligns with broader industry trends, where blockchain technology has been integrated into gaming, as seen in projects like Axie Infinity, which rewards players with cryptocurrency and turns in-game characters into NFTs. In February, DTTM Operations, the entity managing Trump’s trademarks, filed applications to link the Trump name to virtual goods, including clothing-related NFTs and an online retail store, though Mercuri did not confirm whether these filings directly relate to the game.

The Trump family’s deepening involvement in cryptocurrency has sparked discussions about potential conflicts of interest, particularly as Trump has advocated for crypto-friendly policies. His administration has appointed an AI and crypto czar, authorized a strategic Bitcoin and digital assets reserve, and supported crypto legislation.

Bill Zanker, the driving force behind the crypto game, has a storied history with Trump. In the 1980s, Zanker used $5,000 from his bar mitzvah savings to found the Learning Annex, an eclectic adult education platform offering courses on topics like firewalking and hot air ballooning. In 2001, he partnered with Trump for a Learning Annex talk, later coauthoring a book on achieving success. After a hiatus during Trump’s first presidential campaign, Zanker rekindled their collaboration in 2022, launching NFT collections featuring Trump as a superhero, astronaut, and cowboy. Zanker also played a key role in developing Trump’s memecoin, as confirmed by multiple sources and documented in the certificate of formation for FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT LLC, an entity tied to the cryptocurrency.