Today! A major event in the cryptocurrency world: The Trump family's "core token" begins trading

A cryptocurrency project deeply tied to the Trump family is pushing its tokens to the public market, marking a significant event in the crypto world and serving as the ultimate test of Trump's influence in the fintech sector.

Today (September 1), the World Liberty Financial project, publicly supported by the Trump family, will officially begin trading its governance token WLFI. At 12 PM UTC, the token generation event (TGE) will start, allowing early investors to unlock and sell 20% of their total token holdings, which accounts for approximately 5% of the total supply.

This debut will take place on major cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase, attracting significant market attention. Based on the current futures price of $0.20 to $0.30, WLFI's fully diluted valuation has exceeded $40 billion, placing it among the top 45 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

It is estimated that the tokens held by Trump himself through associated entities could be worth over $6 billion, surpassing previous estimates of his net worth by Forbes.

This series of actions comes as the Trump family's influence in the crypto space continues to grow. Since Trump's return to the White House, he has signed stablecoin legislation, and his son has been deeply involved in the crypto business. The launch of WLFI trading will be the market's first comprehensive test of this politically charged financial innovation product.

What exactly is WLFI?

WLFI is the governance token of the decentralized finance project World Liberty Financial, with a total supply of 100 billion tokens. The project was founded last September under the guidance of real estate mogul Steve Witkoff and his son Zach, with co-founders including active figures in the crypto space, Chase Herro and Zak Folkman.

The Trump family occupies a central position in the project. Trump himself is listed as a "Honorary" member and "Chief Cryptocurrency Advocate" on the project website, while his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump serve as "Web3 Ambassadors." An entity associated with the president and family members, DT Marks DEFI LLC, owns 38% of World Liberty Financial Holdings and holds 22.5 billion WLFI tokens.

The project's technical team is also noteworthy, including seasoned professionals such as Rich Teo, founder of stablecoin company Paxos, and Corey Caplan, co-founder of DeFi platform Dolomite.

How high is the valuation of this token?

Market expectations for WLFI's valuation are extremely high.

The WLFI token was sold in two rounds in October 2024 and January 2025 at prices of $0.015 and $0.05, raising a total of $550 million. Meanwhile, on decentralized platforms like Whales Market that offer pre-launch trading, WLFI's futures price has been trading in the range of $0.20 to $0.30 According to Cryptonews, based on current futures prices, the fully diluted valuation (FDV) of WLFI has surpassed $40 billion. The Trump-related entity DT Marks DEFI LLC holds 22.5 billion WLFI tokens, of which the 15.75 billion tokens personally held by Trump are expected to be valued at over $6 billion. This figure suggests that digital assets may have become an important component of Trump's wealth structure.

What makes this project special?

Wall Street Insight previously mentioned, the enormous valuation of WLFI is primarily based on its design of "financial foundation, market game, and macro narrative" as a trinity.

First is its solid financial foundation. According to analysis from the public account "Weisman Notes," the stablecoin USD1 within the WLFI ecosystem is 100% backed by high-credit real-world assets (RWA), of which about 85% are government money market funds. Its reserves are managed by the U.S.-regulated custodian BitGo and are subject to independent verification reports issued by the accounting firm Crowe LLP, with WLFI acting solely as the brand. This "separation of operations and branding" design greatly reduces systemic risk.

Second is the unique market game mechanism. Reports indicate that NASDAQ-listed company ALT5 Sigma has committed to acquiring up to $750 million worth of WLFI tokens. According to documents submitted by ALT5 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), this acquisition commitment "has no specific time or price limits," which an analyst from The Block views as a "strategic arsenal" serving long-term goals, usable for stabilizing prices or deterring short sellers during market fluctuations.

Finally, there is its macro narrative. WLFI is seen as a model for showcasing "American compliant innovation" to global regulators. In the current context of the U.S. pushing for cryptocurrency compliance, this identity deeply tied to regulatory guidance gives WLFI a significant "regulatory certainty" premium.

Why only release 20% of the tokens?

According to the unlocking rules, only early investors who purchased tokens in the presale can unlock 20% of their holdings, while the shares of founders, teams, and advisors will remain locked. This arrangement is viewed by the market as a carefully crafted strategic design.

Messari analyst Dylan Bane referred to this as a "standard circulation management strategy." In an interview with Bloomberg, he stated, "By limiting early liquidity, the project can reduce short-term selling pressure, thereby maintaining price stability and enhancing market perception."

However, some traders have a different view. Trader Morten Christensen, who holds WLFI tokens, believes that "a low circulation is easier to pump up prices," calling it "a good, explosive cocktail."

Retail investors' expectations have also diverged; in a survey of a WLFI holder community, some small holders plan to sell when the price reaches 47 cents, while larger holders expect the price to reach $1 or more, with some jokingly stating their target is to buy a Lamborghini

Who are the big players?

The investor list of WLFI brings together capital and industry influence.

In addition to the Trump family entities holding a large amount of tokens, according to information disclosed by Accountable.US and Bloomberg, Tron founder Justin Sun is one of the largest independent investors in the project. His controlled TRON DAO subscribed to 3 billion WLFI tokens for $30 million in November 2024, at a transaction price of only $0.01, far below the market price at that time.

Recently, the Web3 native fund Aqua1 Fund announced a strategic purchase of $100 million worth of WLFI, with its on-chain address holding 800 million tokens, replacing Justin Sun as one of the largest external holding addresses.

Additionally, the Abu Dhabi market-making institution DWF Labs also invested $25 million to purchase the token. Other notable investors include Mike Dudas, founder of 6th Man Ventures, among others.

What risks and controversies exist?

Despite its sophisticated design, the launch of WLFI is still accompanied by risks and ethical scrutiny.

According to CryptoNews, the GENIUS Act, signed by Trump to regulate stablecoins, did not include provisions to prevent conflicts of interest, which has raised concerns about potential ethical issues behind the simultaneous launch of WLFI, deeply involving his family.

For investors, WLFI presents unique risk-return characteristics: its systemic collapse risk is significantly reduced due to a solid RWA foundation, but market gaming risks, as well as the risk of macro policy shifts on which its value heavily depends, have become new focal points.

The long-term value of the project depends not only on its own operations but also on unpredictable political and regulatory trends. As trading officially begins, the market will face its first comprehensive test of this complex financial innovation product