Trump-Backed Crypto Token WLFI Debuts, Facing Early Market Volatility
World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform famously supported by former President Donald Trump, has officially launched its native token, WLFI. While the debut marks a significant step for the Trump family's foray into cryptocurrency, the token's initial trading performance has been less than stellar, failing to meet the high anticipation built up in recent weeks.
WLFI Experiences Initial Dip Amidst Trading Start
Upon its launch, the WLFI token saw a decline of up to 12%, according to CoinGecko data. After an initial peak of $0.33 and a low of $0.23 during Monday's trading session, the token is now attempting to stabilize around the $0.24 mark, which analysts view as a potential first support line for the week. This early performance represents a nearly 25% gap from its all-time high, highlighting a lukewarm reception in comparison to earlier excitement. Despite this, Donald Trump Jr. publicly defended the token, proclaiming it "the governance backbone of a real ecosystem changing how money moves. Freedom + finance + America FIRST."
Genesis of World Liberty Financial and Regulatory Scrutiny
World Liberty Financial was established in October last year, with Donald Trump serving as a "co-founder emeritus" alongside his three sons. The platform initially minted 100 billion WLFI tokens, selling approximately a quarter of them for a reported $550 million. Initially, these tokens were intended solely for voting on internal corporate decisions. However, a recent vote allowed WLFI tokens to be traded on the open market, elevating its nominal total market value to an estimated $6.4 billion based on current prices. This move has not been without controversy, drawing criticism from Democrats like Senator Elizabeth Warren, who cited potential conflicts of interest given the Trump family’s substantial financial stake—Donald Trump held an estimated 15.75 billion WLFI tokens, valued at roughly $3.6 billion at the end of last year—and the potential for regulatory influence. Further enhancing its ecosystem, World Liberty Financial also introduced a stablecoin, USD1, earlier this year, which is pegged to the dollar and boasts a nominal value of $2.7 billion. DWF Markets CEO and WLFI investor, Andrei Grachev, has announced plans to reallocate $250 million of reserves into the USD1 stablecoin. In its initial trading phase, 24.7 billion WLFI tokens are available, including 7.8 billion specifically allocated for a newly announced "crypto treasury" company formed in collaboration with Nasdaq-listed fintech firm, ALT5 Sigma.
