In a significant development in early 2025, the Trump family officially consolidated its control over the decentralized finance project World Liberty Financial (WLFI), securing up to 60% of its shares and surpassing other co-founders. This move marks a pivotal moment in the Trump family’s investment strategy and has sparked debates within the global cryptocurrency community. Let’s dive into the details of this event and its potential impact on the DeFi market.
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Trump family takes control of world liberty financial
According to Reuters, in January 2025, the Trump family increased its influence over World Liberty Financial by acquiring a 60% stake through the newly formed WLF Holdco LLC. This company is controlled by DT Marks DeFi LLC, an entity directly linked to the Trump family. Meanwhile, the two original co-founders, Zak Folkman and Chase Herro, have been ousted from leadership positions, losing their roles as “chief directors” or “key members” of the project.
World Liberty Financial launched in September 2024 with the support of a high-profile advisory team from the Trump family, including Donald Trump (Senior Crypto Advisor), Eric Trump (Web3 Ambassador), Donald Trump Jr., and Barron Trump (DeFi Advisor). The project also attracted Zach Witkoff, the son of Middle East envoy Steven Witkoff, and Paxos founder Richard Teo. However, just months after its launch, the Trump family quickly took full control, overshadowing the roles of the co-founders.
Impressive fundraising and massive revenue potential
World Liberty Financial made headlines by raising a total of $550 million from the cryptocurrency community, including $250 million from an additional WLFI token sale that took place just before the Trump family solidified its control. According to the project’s information, the Trump family is entitled to receive up to 75% of the revenue from these token sales, though it remains unclear if this percentage will change after the restructuring of control.
Reuters further revealed that the Trump family could earn up to 60% of the revenue generated by the WLFI protocol once products like lending and personal finance services are implemented. This means the Trump family could potentially rake in $400 million from the capital raised, plus profits from future token sales or transaction fees. However, only 5% of the funds raised will be used for protocol development—an amount that has raised controversy, especially considering that WLFI uses open-source code from Aave and the development team was involved in a $1.8 million hack at Dough Finance in July 2024.
Involvement of major investors
Two WLFI token sales attracted more than 85,000 investors from the U.S. and around the globe. Notably, 70% of investors spent over $100,000, with 50% purchasing at least $1 million in tokens. The largest investor on the list was Justin Sun, the founder of TRON, who invested $75 million to support WLFI in its early stages. In return, Sun was appointed as an advisor, raising questions about potential conflicts of interest between him and the Trump administration, especially with rumors suggesting that the SEC might cease its lawsuit against Sun.
However, the WLFI token sale in October 2024 faced difficulties due to a lack of investor confidence in the governance token, which couldn’t be traded immediately. Only after Donald Trump was elected president and took office did demand for WLFI surge, reflecting the political influence of the Trump family on the cryptocurrency market.
Controversial investment strategy
With the funds raised, World Liberty Financial spent nearly $350 million to acquire major cryptocurrencies such as ETH, WBTC, TRX, LINK, AAVE, MOVE, ENA, MNT, AVAX, ONDO, and SEI, in a bid to build a “MacroStrategy” reserve fund. However, many argue that this is simply a “cross-promotion” tactic to push related projects and capitalize on Trump’s reputation. Unfortunately, as of late March 2025, these investments have incurred losses of more than 30% due to the downturn in the cryptocurrency market.
The community has also voiced frustration over statements made by Eric Trump, who once advised investors to “buy ETH” when the price was $2,900 in early February 2025. The price of Ethereum then dropped sharply by 37% to $1,830, prompting questions about the transparency and responsibility of the WLFI advisory team.
Stablecoin USD1 and expanding influence
Recently, World Liberty Financial launched the USD1 stablecoin on Ethereum and BNB Chain to encourage the use of DeFi, as the U.S. government is preparing legislation to regulate stablecoins. This move represents a strategic step to solidify the project’s position in the decentralized finance market.
Not stopping with WLFI, the Trump family is also expanding its influence in the crypto industry by launching memecoins TRUMP and MELANIA, registering NFT trademarks, building crypto-related financial products and ETFs, advising Metaplanet, and establishing a Bitcoin mining company called American Bitcoin. These actions highlight the Trump family’s ambitious plans to dominate the crypto market.
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