Former President Donald Trump’s family-backed cryptocurrency project, World Liberty Financial (WLF), has been making waves in the crypto community with its ambitious plans. According to recent code tests and a draft white paper obtained by CoinDesk, WLF aims to raise a staggering $537 million by selling 30% of its WLFI token supply at a $1.8 billion valuation.
The project’s white paper specifies that while Trump and his family members are not directly involved in the ownership, management, or operation of WLF, they may still receive compensation from the venture. This potential windfall comes at a crucial time for Trump, who still owes $454 million in fines to the state of New York from a business fraud lawsuit.
However, the project’s connection to a previously hacked DeFi protocol, Dough Finance, has raised concerns among onchain sleuths and industry experts. Four members listed in WLF’s white paper previously worked on Dough Finance, which lost $2.1 million in a flash loan attack in July.
World Liberty Financial has reassured potential investors on Telegram that their code has been thoroughly reviewed and that they are “not taking any chances”. But some, like Castle Island Ventures founding partner Nic Carter, believe the project is an “unnecessary distraction” that could cause embarrassment and legal trouble for Trump.
The outsized allocation of tokens to insiders, with 70% reserved for the project’s founders, team members, and service providers, has also raised eyebrows. For comparison, Ethereum’s Genesis block reserved a total of 16% for the Ethereum Foundation and early contributors, while Cardano’s creators retained 20% of ADA at its inception.
As the crypto community continues to scrutinize World Liberty Financial’s plans, it remains to be seen whether the project will succeed in its mission to “make crypto and America great by driving the mass adoption of stablecoins and decentralised finance”. However, the potential for hundreds of millions of dollars in token sales has certainly captured the attention of the public and regulators alike.
