DeFi project World Liberty Financial: Backed by the Trump family and crypto figures, over 60% of governance tokens offered to the public
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DeFi project World Liberty Financial: Backed by the Trump family and crypto figures, over 60% of governance tokens offered to the public
DeFi lending project World Liberty Financial officially launches and will be regulated by the SEC.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy Chloe, PANews
Since last month, former U.S. President Donald Trump and his family have been promoting the DeFi project World Liberty Financial (WLFI), even claiming they will ensure America becomes the global hub for cryptocurrency. On September 17, the Trump family announced that World Liberty Financial had officially launched, aiming to promote stablecoin adoption and strengthen the dominance of the U.S. dollar. To meet regulatory compliance requirements, WLFI plans to become a fully regulated entity under the SEC, meaning only investors accredited by the United States will be eligible to purchase tokens.
Backed by the Trump Family and Crypto Figures, Yet Lacking Substantive Details
At the end of last month, Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of Donald Trump, announced the launch of a DeFi-based crypto project, stating its mission is to "Make Finance Great Again" and return power to the American people. On August 29, WLFI went live, offering cryptocurrency lending services on the Ethereum blockchain—functioning similarly to a decentralized finance platform akin to a crypto banking service—and gradually released partial information afterward.
During the official launch event, Zak Folkman, who oversees strategy and operations at WLFI, stated that the project does not aim to create entirely novel or unprecedented financial instruments. Instead, the team intends to adopt existing concepts and technologies proven effective, focusing on simplifying and improving current solutions rather than inventing new financial products. "Our goal is to build something simple and easy to use—something you don’t need to call your friend to figure out how to operate," he said.
However, WLFI has not disclosed further operational models, technical roadmaps, or other substantive details, relying instead on the high-profile backgrounds of its team members for publicity.
The team includes not only members of the Trump family but also several figures from the crypto industry. According to the whitepaper, various Trump family members hold key roles within WLFI. Donald Trump himself is listed as the "Chief Crypto Advocate," endorsing the project during its launch with statements expressing optimism about cryptocurrencies. After the event, he posted “FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT” on X and pinned it, attempting to stir community sentiment, though he did not comment directly on WLFI’s specifics. Barron Trump, Donald Trump’s 18-year-old son, is named a "DeFi Visionary," while Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. are both referred to as "Web3 Ambassadors." Eric Trump is reportedly one of the leading figures behind WLFI.
Crypto professionals also play significant roles in WLFI. According to CNBC, sources revealed that apart from Eric Trump, real estate investor Witkoff is also a decision-maker at WLFI—marking a new entrant into the crypto space. Additionally, there are several seasoned crypto veterans involved. Some WLFI team members previously worked at Dough Finance, a DeFi project hacked earlier this year. The whitepaper lists Zachary Folkman and Chase Herro, founders of that project, as operating executives and heads of data and strategy at World Liberty Financial.
The Wall Street Journal criticized Folkman and Herro, noting their unconventional backgrounds compared to traditional entrepreneurs in finance or tech. The report mentioned that Chase Herro has a criminal record, having been incarcerated in his youth for unspecified offenses and once describing himself as an "internet dirtbag." He claims to have reformed since then and built wealth through business ventures.
Herro and Folkman have a long-standing partnership. Folkman founded a company called "Date Hotter Girls," which offered seminars teaching men how to attract beautiful women for dating purposes. The two have engaged in multiple joint business ventures, initially based in the U.S. Virgin Islands before relocating to Puerto Rico. Public records show both own property in Puerto Rico, which offers tax incentives attracting many crypto enthusiasts. Government databases list Folkman among thousands of residents in Puerto Rico benefiting from these tax breaks.
Moreover, according to CCN and CoinDesk reports, WLFI's operational model closely resembles that of Dough Finance. An analysis of a now-deleted GitHub repository suggests WLFI may have directly copied Dough Finance's codebase in its early stages. The whitepaper also "hints" that WLFI will utilize Dough Finance’s codebase—an unconfirmed claim that nonetheless sparked controversy, especially given that Dough Finance suffered an $1.8 million loss from a flash loan attack in July.
Besides these two, WLFI’s official announcements name Corey Caplan, co-founder of Dolomite, as an advisor. Dolomite is a DeFi platform launched in 2022, positioning itself as a money market and decentralized exchange (DEX) offering trading, lending, and portfolio management. Initially deployed on Arbitrum One, it now operates across multiple blockchains. Alexei Dulub, founder of Web3 Antivirus and PixelPlex, also joined as an advisor. WLFI describes him as "a blockchain pioneer since 2013, building custom L1 and L2 solutions powering today’s Web3 projects."
In terms of security, WLFI claims to have hired top-tier experts to conduct "thorough reviews" of its codebase, including audits by smart contract and EVM auditing firm BlockSec and blockchain analytics and security company PeckShield. WLFI also intends to collaborate with Aave in developing its DeFi platform, with a mission to make crypto—and America—"greater again" by driving mass adoption of stablecoins and advancing DeFi. Its ultimate goal is to promote dollar-pegged stablecoins globally, a strategy aimed at preserving the U.S. dollar’s dominance and ensuring America maintains leadership and influence in global finance.
Beyond this, the WLFI team has provided minimal concrete details about the project itself, emphasizing usability above all. In response, Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett commented on X, noting that due to the lack of substantive information about the platform and its actual utility, feedback she gathered from community listeners (following a recent Trump-hosted X Space) indicated widespread disappointment with the Trump family’s DeFi initiative, World Liberty Financial.
Under SEC Oversight: Over 60% of WLFI Tokens to Be Sold
WLFI will launch a governance token, $WLFI, which will be non-transferable and confer no additional economic rights—likely designed to avoid classification as a security under U.S. law. Given the strict U.S. crypto regulatory environment, the $WLFI token sale will fall under the jurisdiction of the SEC. Only accredited investors recognized by U.S. regulations will be allowed to purchase $WLFI, and the sale will proceed under SEC Regulation D exemption rules.
Under U.S. securities law, any issuance or sale of securities must comply via one of two paths: either registering the securities with the SEC, or applying for a registration exemption. The former—akin to a traditional IPO—involves high compliance costs and is generally unsuitable for crypto token launches. Therefore, most cryptocurrency projects opt for the latter route: seeking exemptions under regulations such as Regulation D, Regulation S, or Regulation A+.
In short, WLFI aims to raise funds through Regulation D, allowing it to bypass full SEC registration by selling tokens exclusively to qualified investors or via private placements.
According to Decrypt, there will be no pre-sale or venture capital/early-bird allocations for $WLFI. Unlike many typical DeFi launches, the initial token distribution is described as highly equitable. The majority of the supply will be allocated through the upcoming token sale, with a portion of the proceeds directed into a multi-signature treasury wallet controlled by the project.
Based on leaked whitepaper content and disclosures made during livestreams, approximately 62.66% of the total $WLFI supply will be distributed in the upcoming token sale. Another 17.33% is reserved for user rewards and community growth initiatives, while the remaining 20% will go to the core team, advisors, and future employees. An undisclosed portion of $WLFI will also be allocated to the WLF Foundation, affiliated entities of the Trump Organization, and the Witkoff Group. The team emphasized that the $WLFI sale and all buyers will undergo KYC screening equivalent to standards used by major U.S. crypto exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken.
Although $WLFI has not yet launched, numerous fake tokens bearing its name have already appeared in the market. In response, Eric Trump warned the public to remain vigilant against fraudulent tokens falsely associated with the Trump family. "The only official project will be announced directly by us," he stated. "Don’t be fooled—stay tuned for the real token launch."
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