Digital assets may have become an important component of Trump's wealth structure.

Written by: Ye Zhen, Bao Yilong

Source: Wall Street Insights

Based on the current futures price of $0.20 to $0.30, the fully diluted valuation of WLFI has exceeded $40 billion, enough to rank among the top 45 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Early investors can unlock and sell 20% of their total token holdings, which accounts for about 5% of the total supply. Some analysts believe that by limiting early liquidity, the project team can reduce short-term selling pressure, thereby maintaining price stability, while others argue that "a lower circulating supply makes it easier to drive up prices."

A cryptocurrency project deeply tied to the Trump family is pushing its tokens to the public market, marking a significant event in the crypto world and serving as the ultimate test of Trump's influence in the fintech sector.

Today (September 1), the World Liberty Financial project, publicly supported by the Trump family, will officially begin trading its governance token WLFI. At 12 PM UTC, the token generation event (TGE) will start, allowing early investors to unlock and sell 20% of their total token holdings, which represents about 5% of the total supply.

This debut will take place on mainstream cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase, and the market is highly attentive.

Based on the current futures price of $0.20 to $0.30, the fully diluted valuation of WLFI has exceeded $40 billion, placing it among the top 45 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. However, as of Tuesday's Asia-Pacific session, the WLFI/USDT perpetual contract price has already plummeted over 30% compared to Monday morning's quote of $0.3151.

WLFI/USDT has continuously declined over 30% during the day

It is estimated that the tokens held by Trump himself through associated entities may be worth over $6 billion, surpassing the previous estimate of his net worth by Forbes.

This series of actions comes at a time when the Trump family's influence in the crypto space is growing. Since Trump's return to the White House, he has signed stablecoin legislation, and his son has been deeply involved in the crypto business. The launch of WLFI trading will be the market's first comprehensive test of this politically charged financial innovation product.

What exactly is WLFI?

WLFI is the governance token of the decentralized finance project World Liberty Financial, with a total supply of 100 billion tokens. The project was founded last September under the guidance of real estate mogul Steve Witkoff and his son Zach, with co-founders including active figures in the crypto space, Chase Herro and Zak Folkman.

The Trump family occupies a core position in the project. Trump himself is listed as a "Distinguished" member and "Chief Cryptocurrency Advocate" on the project website, while his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump serve as "Web3 Ambassadors." An entity associated with the president and family members, DT Marks DEFI LLC, holds 38% of the shares in World Liberty Financial Holdings and possesses 22.5 billion WLFI tokens.

The project's technical team is also noteworthy, including seasoned professionals such as Rich Teo, founder of stablecoin company Paxos, and Corey Caplan, co-founder of DeFi platform Dolomite.

How high is the valuation of this token?

Market expectations for WLFI's valuation are extremely high.

In two rounds of token sales in October 2024 and January 2025, WLFI tokens were priced at $0.015 and $0.05, raising a total of $550 million. On decentralized platforms like Whales Market that offer pre-launch trading, WLFI's futures price has been trading in the range of $0.20 to $0.30.

According to Cryptonews, if calculated at the current futures price, WLFI's fully diluted valuation (FDV) has surpassed $40 billion. The entity associated with Trump, DT Marks DEFI LLC, holds 22.5 billion WLFI tokens, with Trump's personal holdings of 15.75 billion tokens expected to be worth over $6 billion. This figure suggests that digital assets may have become an important component of Trump's wealth structure.

What is special about the design of this project?

Wall Street Insights previously mentioned that WLFI's enormous valuation is primarily based on its "financial foundation, market dynamics, and macro narrative" design.

First is its solid financial foundation. According to analysis from the public account "Weisman Notes," the stablecoin USD1 within the WLFI ecosystem is 100% backed by high-credit real-world assets (RWA), with about 85% being government money market funds. Its reserves are managed by the U.S.-regulated custodian BitGo and are subject to independent verification reports from accounting firm Crowe LLP, with WLFI serving only as the brand. This "separation of operations and branding" design significantly reduces systemic risk.

Second is the unique market dynamics mechanism. Reports indicate that Nasdaq-listed company ALT5 Sigma has committed to purchasing up to $750 million worth of WLFI tokens. According to documents submitted by ALT5 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), this acquisition commitment "has no specific time or price constraints," which an analyst from The Block views as a "strategic arsenal" serving long-term goals, usable for stabilizing prices or deterring short sellers during market fluctuations.

Finally, there is its macro narrative. WLFI is seen as a model to showcase "American compliant innovation" to global regulators. In the current context of the U.S. pushing for cryptocurrency compliance, this identity deeply tied to regulatory guidance gives WLFI a significant "regulatory certainty" premium.

Why only release 20% of the tokens?

According to the unlocking rules, only early investors who purchased tokens in the presale can unlock 20% of their holdings, while the shares of founders, team members, and advisors will remain locked. This arrangement is viewed by the market as a carefully crafted strategic design.

Messari analyst Dylan Bane referred to this as a "standard circulation management strategy." In an interview with Bloomberg, he stated, "By limiting early liquidity, the project team can reduce short-term selling pressure, thereby maintaining price stability and enhancing market perception."

However, some traders have a different view. Trader Morten Christensen, who holds WLFI tokens, believes that "a lower circulating supply makes it easier to drive up prices," calling it "a good, explosive cocktail."

Retail investors' expectations have also diverged; in a survey of a WLFI holder community, some small holders plan to sell when the price reaches 47 cents, while larger holders expect the price to reach $1 or more, with some jokingly stating their target is to buy a Lamborghini.

Who are the big players?

The list of WLFI investors brings together capital and industry influence.

In addition to the Trump family entities holding large amounts of tokens, information disclosed by Accountable.US and Bloomberg reveals that TRON founder Justin Sun is one of the largest independent investors in the project. His controlled TRON DAO subscribed to 3 billion WLFI tokens for $30 million in November 2024, at a price of only $0.01, far below the market price at the time.

Recently, the Web3 native fund Aqua1 Fund announced a strategic purchase of $100 million worth of WLFI, with its on-chain address holding 800 million tokens, replacing Justin Sun as one of the largest external holding addresses.

Additionally, Abu Dhabi-based market-making institution DWF Labs also invested $25 million to purchase the token. Other notable investors include Mike Dudas, founder of 6th Man Ventures, among others.

What risks and controversies exist?

Despite its sophisticated design, the launch of WLFI still comes with risks and ethical scrutiny.

According to CryptoNews, the GENIUS Act, which Trump previously signed to regulate stablecoins, did not include provisions to prevent conflicts of interest, raising concerns about potential ethical issues behind the simultaneous launch of WLFI, which is deeply involved with his family.

For investors, WLFI presents unique risk-return characteristics: its systemic collapse risk is significantly reduced due to the solid RWA foundation, but market dynamics risk and the risk of a macro policy shift, on which its value heavily relies, have become new focal points.

The project's long-term value depends not only on its own operations but also on unpredictable political and regulatory trends. As trading officially begins, the market will face its first comprehensive test of this complex financial innovation product.

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