Trump Family Unveils World Liberty Financial Token Sale

The Trump family officially launched their cryptocurrency project, World Liberty Financial, during a live broadcast on the X platform, announcing the upcoming WLFI token sale. The project had been mentioned over the past two months.

Join me live from Mar-A-Lago at 8:00PM Eastern, tonight on X Spaces. Set a reminder and be sure to tune in! https://t.co/MXTu3hxVFP

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 16, 2024

Former US President Donald Trump joined the conversation for the first 40 minutes, focusing on state policy development related to the crypto industry, without addressing the World Liberty Financial project.

He remarked that NFT sales and his children “helped open his eyes” to the world of digital assets. 

“Since so many people were paying this way [with cryptocurrency], I was amazed. I wasn’t too interested [at first], to be honest. But I was surprised by the huge amount,” he noted. 

On August 27, former President Donald Trump introduced his fourth NFT collection, Series 4: The America First Collection, with sales exceeding $2.19 million. His previous three collections earned him approximately $7.16 million in royalties.

The billionaire stated that the cryptocurrency industry is already “huge, but still a newcomer compared to what awaits it in the future.”

World Liberty Financial, DeFi, and the WLFI Token

During the live broadcast, Trump’s sons, real estate investors Steve and Zach Witkoff, and Dough Finance co-founders Zachary Falkman and Chase Herro discussed the need for changes in the lending market. They aim to “take the best of DeFi and offer it to the average person.”

World Liberty Financial will provide borrowing and lending services for cryptocurrencies on the Ethereum network. The product promises to be “more user-friendly and accessible.” 

The sale of a non-transferable governance token, WLFI, is planned, which does not entail any economic rights. Due to regulatory restrictions, participation in the campaign will be available only to accredited investors.

The team wishes to see only those token buyers who “seek to become participants in governance, rather than looking for financial gain.” 

According to the white paper reviewed by Decrypt, the distribution of WLFI will be as follows:

• 62.66% of the tokens will be distributed through the token sale, with part of the net proceeds going to the project’s multisig wallet reserve fund;
• 17.33% of WLFI will be allocated to incentivize participation in World Liberty governance and community development initiatives;
• The remaining 20% of tokens will be given to the project team, advisors, and future employees. An undisclosed portion of WLFI will be allocated to the WLF fund, Trump Organization affiliates, and Witkoff Group.

Announcement Timeline

On August 7, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump released an announcement related to decentralized finance. 

At the end of August, Eric Trump announced the official launch of the DeFi project World Liberty Financial. 

In early September, the media received a draft version of the project’s white paper, which mentioned the allocation of 70% of tokens to insiders. It also noted that the project is focused on lending and built on the Ethereum blockchain using the Aave platform.

On September 12, Donald Trump announced that the official presentation of World Liberty Financial would take place on September 16.

“We embrace the future with cryptocurrencies and leave behind slow and outdated big banks,” claimed the former US President in a published video. 

Political Divide

Trump’s crypto project launch could deepen political divides in Washington and hinder legislative efforts, according to analysts at TD Cowen bank. 

“This is because Democrats, for political reasons, will not want to support any bill that is seen as enriching the Trump family,” noted analyst Jaret Seiberg. 

SEC Issues

During his speech, Trump emphasized that American cryptocurrency developers under investigation by the SEC “will live in hell” if he is not elected US President in November.

In September, it was reported that the Commission’s enforcement actions against crypto startups reached a record $4.7 billion.

Back in August, Trump announced a plan aimed at helping strengthen the country’s leadership in the cryptocurrency sector.