"Sun's $30M Bet Revitalizes Trump-Backed Crypto Project"

World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a cryptocurrency project initially endorsed by former U.S. President Donald Trump, has witnessed a remarkable turnaround following the involvement of Chinese-born crypto billionaire Justin Sun. Sun's strategic $30 million investment in WLFI tokens, coupled with his advisory role, has been instrumental in the project's early success, according to co-founder Zak Folkman.

During the Consensus Hong Kong conference, Folkman highlighted WLFI's ambitious goal to bridge traditional financial institutions with decentralized finance. Initially, the Trump-endorsed project struggled to meet its $30 million fundraising goal and faced trading restrictions, being available only to non-U.S. investors and accredited U.S. investors. However, the project's trajectory shifted when Sun invested in the WLFI token, a move Folkman described as a "monumental step forward for the entire crypto community."

Since Trump's announcement of World Liberty Financial in October, the company has aimed to develop a lending platform based on Aave, an Ethereum-based decentralized finance protocol. Although the platform has not yet launched, World Liberty is now working on a variety of products and applications, not just a single tool. The governance token WLFI was released shortly after the project's introduction and has become a focal point for the company.

Folkman recounted the challenges faced during the launch, citing scrutiny due to the high-profile individuals involved. However, after Sun's significant investment, World Liberty surpassed its initial fundraising target and set a new, ambitious goal. Achieving this goal would rank WLFI as the fourth-largest initial coin offering (ICO) in history. Folkman emphasized that WLFI's success was achieved without venture capital backing and without preferential treatment for token purchasers. Despite this, Sun's investment led to his elevation as an official investor in World Liberty. Additionally, the company purchased $10 million worth of TRX tokens, the native token of Sun's TRON blockchain, and WBTC, a bitcoin derivative linked to Sun.

In early February, reports emerged that World Liberty was offering deals to crypto teams, proposing the addition of a company's tokens to its portfolio in exchange for purchasing WLFI tokens and an extra fee. Folkman addressed these reports, clarifying that the individual proposing these deals was not affiliated with World Liberty Financial.