Recent documents suggest that former President Donald Trump secretly sold a portion of his interest in a cryptocurrency venture known as World Liberty Financial (WLF), raising questions about the Trump family’s involvement in the crypto sector and their financial strategies behind the scenes.
According to a letter submitted by an independent monitor overseeing Trump’s business activities, the Trump Organization revived an existing entity to facilitate a deal involving World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance (DeFi) project that reportedly raised over $550 million through token sales. The letter states that on January 5, 2025, the monitor was informed that a part of this entity would be sold to a third party, though specifics about the buyer, the stake size, or the transaction value were not disclosed. It remains unclear whether the sale was completed, as parties involved have declined to comment.
World Liberty Financial, co-founded by Trump and his sons, has been a focal point of the Trump family’s expanding crypto interests. The venture has raised significant funds, with the Trump family reportedly entitled to 75% of the net income from token sales, which critics say disproportionately benefits insiders. The tokens sold are governance tokens that grant holders voting rights on project decisions but are non-tradable, limiting public investor influence. The project’s structure and the family’s large share have drawn scrutiny for potential conflicts of interest, especially given Trump’s regulatory role during his presidency.
The crypto venture’s token sales surged dramatically around Trump’s 2024 election victory and inauguration, with notable investments from crypto entrepreneurs like Justin Sun, who invested tens of millions into WLF. Despite public promotion of the project by Trump and his sons, the revelation of a possible stake sale suggests a more complex and possibly opportunistic approach to their crypto holdings.
This development adds to the ongoing narrative of the Trump family’s deepening yet controversial engagement with cryptocurrency, including the launch of a stablecoin called USD1 and earlier meme coin projects. While publicly endorsing these ventures, the family appears to be managing their crypto assets strategically behind closed doors.
In summary, the documents imply that the Trump Organization may have quietly divested part of its stake in World Liberty Financial shortly after the 2025 inauguration, highlighting a nuanced and somewhat opaque involvement in the cryptocurrency industry that contrasts with their public enthusiasm for the sector.
