A DeFi Project Endorsed by Trump
World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a decentralized finance project supported by the Trump family, has just completed its second public token sale, raising an additional $250 million. In two rounds of fundraising, the company has raised a total of $550 million, selling 25% of its total digital asset supply.
Launched on September 16, 2024, WLFI positions itself as a player in DeFi and dollar-backed stablecoins. With the explicit support of Donald Trump and his sons Eric, Donald Jr., and Barron, the project aims to ‘revolutionize the traditional banking system.’
A Spectacular Rise in Token Price
The first round of fundraising, which opened on October 15, 2024, raised $300 million through the sale of 20 billion WLFI tokens at a unit price of $0.015. Faced with overwhelming demand, a second fundraising round was organized starting from January 20, offering 5 billion tokens at $0.05 each, representing a 230% increase from the initial price. The sale closed this morning, reaching its $250 million target.
Renowned Investors among WLFI’s Early Supporters
Prior to these public fundraisings, WLFI had already attracted the interest of major players in the crypto sector. On November 25, 2024, Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, invested $30 million in the project, receiving 2 billion tokens at a price of $0.015.
Other Web3 actors followed suit: on January 27, the investment platform Web3Port announced a $10 million investment and expressed its intention to establish a long-term partnership with WLFI. On February 11, the venture capital firm Oddiyana Ventures also invested in the project, without disclosing the amount of its commitment.
Criticisms of the Project’s Viability and Transparency
Despite these massive financings, WLFI faces growing skepticism within the crypto community. Some observers doubt the real innovation brought by the project, suspecting it to be a simple financial operation taking advantage of Donald Trump’s popularity and the craze for DeFi.
Mike Dudas, partner at 6MV, described the project as a ‘pay-to-play’ mechanism, suggesting that it would be nothing more than an enrichment scheme for initial investors rather than a real entry point to decentralized finance. Meanwhile, Andre Cronje, creator of Yearn.finance and co-founder of Sonic Labs, questioned WLFI’s high fee policy and reinvestment strategy, accusing the company of extracting value from crypto firms without offering real utility.
Between Political Ambitions and Uncertainties about WLFI’s Future
The direct involvement of the Trump family in this project also raises questions about the real motivations behind WLFI. Is it a strategic advancement towards institutional adoption of digital assets in the United States, or simply an opportunistic financial maneuver?
As the crypto industry professionalizes and regulators tighten their oversight, the future of World Liberty Financial will depend on its ability to prove its legitimacy and offer real added value. In the meantime, the $550 million raised in just a few months shows that the project, despite the controversies, continues to attract significant capital.
