Trump Family Secures Control Over World Liberty Financial

The family of U.S. President Donald Trump has consolidated control over the DeFi platform World Liberty Financial (WLF), which raised $590 million through token sales. This was reported by Reuters.

In January, the company disclosed that two co-founders, crypto entrepreneurs Zachary Folkman and Chase Herro, are no longer controlling parties. They have been replaced by the legal entity WLF Holdco, 60% of which is owned by the Trump-affiliated organization DT Marks DEFI.

Launched in September 2024, WLF is positioned as a crypto bank, where clients can borrow, lend, and invest in digital coins. The project has yet to commence its stated activities but has conducted a sale of governance tokens, WLFI.

Approximately 85,000 investors participated in two token sales of the asset. About 75% of the funds raised came from wallets spending at least $100,000, with over half from purchases of $1 million or more. Most large investors preferred to remain anonymous. It is known that TRON founder Justin Sun invested $30 million in WLFI.

Overall, the Trump family now has the right to 75% of the net income and 60% of the operations of the DeFi platform once the main business becomes operational. According to Reuters, after the WLF co-founders receive their share, the crypto enterprise will retain 5% of the $590 million raised.

Experts consulted by the publication noted the unusual level of centralization for the industry in WLF. They pointed out the transfer of a significant share of revenues to Trump-affiliated structures and the non-tradable nature of WLFI.

“I find it difficult to see any economic benefit for the holder of these tokens,” commented Jim Angel, an associate professor at Georgetown University.

David Krause, a professor at Marquette University in Milwaukee, emphasized that the project’s structure “virtually excludes public investors or WLFI holders from any meaningful financial participation.”

Formally, the U.S. President’s family does not hold executive positions in WLF, although they actively participated in its creation. Initially, Folkman and Herro were the only directors. Trump was listed in documents as the “chief crypto advocate,” while his sons Eric, Barron, and Donald Trump Jr. were noted as Web3 ambassadors.

Earlier, Eric Trump expanded his involvement in the crypto industry by partnering with the public mining company Hut 8.