Trump’s Crypto Venture Aims for $123B—Will the Market Buy In?

World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform associated with former U.S. President Donald Trump and his family, is preparing for the launch of its governance token, WLFI, on the Ethereum mainnet on September 1, 2025. The token’s transition from a governance-only asset to a tradable one marks a significant shift in the project’s strategy. Originally distributed through private funding rounds priced at $0.015 and $0.05, 20% of the tokens allocated to early investors will become claimable at launch, while the remaining 80% will be subject to community governance and vesting periods [1].

The token generation event (TGE) is expected to attract considerable attention, especially given the involvement of the Trump family. At the time of the token’s announcement, WLFI perpetual futures have already launched on Binance at $0.42, implying a fully diluted valuation of approximately $40 billion [2]. Pre-market trading data from over-the-counter venues further suggest a potential $123 billion valuation, based on the token’s total supply of 100 billion units [3]. The Trump family’s disclosed stake in WLFI—over 15.75 billion tokens—could be valued at more than $6 billion at current perpetual prices, significantly increasing Donald Trump’s estimated net worth according to Forbes [2].

Significantly, the launch of WLFI has been preceded by a major capital injection into ALT5 Sigma, a publicly traded firm recently joined by Eric Trump on its board. World Liberty Financial has committed to a $1.5 billion crypto-treasury initiative, aiming to stabilize the token’s value and support broader DeFi adoption. This move has drawn political scrutiny, with critics arguing that the project lacks adequate conflict-of-interest safeguards. For instance, Democrats failed to include such protections in the recently passed GENIUS Act, which could pose regulatory risks for the platform [2].

Whales Market, a decentralized exchange that facilitates token trading before the TGE, reported that WLFI is trading at a high of $0.42, significantly above its initial presale price. A whale has already invested approximately $1.12 million to acquire Block, a WLFI-related meme coin, signaling early interest in the ecosystem [1]. This activity highlights the speculative nature of the market ahead of the official launch, with investors closely watching developments in governance structure and token distribution.

World Liberty Financial emphasizes its commitment to decentralization and community-driven decision-making, as evidenced by a July governance vote that approved the token’s transferability. The project is also working toward a potential listing on Coinbase and promoting its USD1 stablecoin. However, experts have raised concerns about the sustainability of the “infinite money glitch” model, which relies on issuing new shares at a premium to acquire additional assets. This approach, critics argue, defies conventional financial principles and could expose investors to significant risks [4]. Given the mixed performance of previous Trump-backed ventures, including a 90% drop in the $Trump memecoin and a 73% decline in Truth Social stock, the success of WLFI remains uncertain.

Source:

[1] Trump-Related DeFi Platform World Liberty Financial Debuts (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-related-defi-platform-world-173044552.html)

[2] WLFI Perpetuals Launch at $0.42 Ahead of September (https://coinmarketcap.com/academy/article/wlfi-perpetuals-launch-at-dollar042-ahead-of-september-unlock)

[3] Trump's World Liberty Financial Sets Sept. 1 Launch for (https://thedefiant.io/news/blockchains/trumps-world-liberty-financial-sets-sept-1-launch-wlfi-token-unlock-60471ca6)

[4] Trump, Family Launch New Crypto Venture, Experts Raise (https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/trump-family-launch-new-crypto-venture-experts-raise-red-flags-9156138)