The cryptocurrency venture backed by President Donald Trump and his sons has begun public trading, giving their stake in the project an estimated value of around $5 billion.
The Trump family launched World Liberty Financial (WLFI) in the middle of last year’s presidential campaign, raising concerns about conflicts of interest as the then-candidate positioned himself to regulate an industry he had pledged to support.
The company issued its own digital tokens, initially restricting early investors from selling.
In July, investors voted to allow those early backers — excluding the Trump family — to sell up to 20% of their holdings. As of Tuesday, WLFI was trading at $0.22 on major exchanges including Binance and Coinbase, down about 50% from its opening price on Monday but still above the initial cost for many buyers.
Eric Trump hailed the debut on social media, saying: “We’re setting a new standard for financial freedom; built on trust, speed, and U.S. values. This is a huge moment for the future of money!”
Financial disclosures show Donald Trump himself controls about 15.75 billion WLFI tokens, worth more than $3.4bn at current prices, making cryptocurrency the largest source of his personal wealth.
The family collectively holds just under a quarter of the 100 billion WLFI tokens issued last year, valuing their stake at roughly $5bn.
The Trumps also receive a share of revenue from token sales, an arrangement that has already generated more than $500m, according to Reuters estimates.
That figure was bolstered by a recent deal in which World Liberty Financial partnered with a listed company that raised $750m to buy WLFI tokens — leaving the Trump venture in the unusual role of both buyer and seller.
Democrats have repeatedly raised alarm about the project, describing it as a vehicle for corruption and conflicts of interest. The administration has rejected such claims.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the government’s policies were “driving innovation and economic opportunity for all Americans,” dismissing media scrutiny as “irresponsible.”
Under President Biden, token offerings like WLFI came under tighter oversight, with regulators classifying them as securities subject to disclosure rules. Trump has taken the opposite approach, promising to make the US the “crypto capital of the world.”
Last month, the Justice Department disbanded its task force on crypto crimes, while the Securities and Exchange Commission — under Trump appointee Paul Atkins — explicitly rejected earlier guidance, saying: “Despite what the SEC has said in the past, most crypto assets are not securities.”
The WLFI token’s debut signals both Trump’s deepening ties to the industry and the sharp policy shift that has accompanied his presidency.
Source: BBC
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