The decentralized finance (DeFi) project World Liberty Financial supported by U.S. President Donald Trump passed a key governance vote on July 16, 2025, with an overwhelming support rate of 99.94% to unlock its native governance token $WLFI as a tradable asset. This decision marks a significant shift for the project from a closed ecosystem limited to qualified investors to an open participation model, allowing ordinary users to soon purchase and trade WLFI tokens through exchanges. This move not only introduces new possibilities for the DeFi space but also raises widespread attention and controversy due to the Trump family's deep involvement and potential conflicts of interest.
From Closed to Open: Approval for WLFI Token Trading
The $WLFI token of World Liberty Financial was initially launched in October 2024 as a non-transferable governance token, exclusively for qualified investors as defined by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (i.e., individuals with a net worth exceeding $1 million or an annual income exceeding $200,000, as well as institutions with assets over $5 million). These tokens grant holders voting rights on project governance but cannot be traded on secondary markets, limiting their liquidity and price discovery capabilities.
According to a statement on the World Liberty Financial official website, the proposal to "make $WLFI tokens tradable," submitted on July 9, sparked heated discussions in the community forum and was passed on July 16 with 1.11 billion tokens (99.94% of total votes) in favor. This result allows early supporters to unlock their tokens first, supporting peer-to-peer trading and secondary market listings, thus transforming the project from a closed system to an open participation model. The official website states that this milestone will "open the next phase of community ownership and participation," paving the way for broader community involvement, protocol development, and ecosystem expansion.
However, tokens held by founders, team members, and advisors (including the Trump family) will follow a longer unlocking schedule, with release plans to be determined through future community votes to demonstrate their commitment to the project's long-term success. Currently, World Liberty Financial has not disclosed specific trading platforms or listing details but has stated that trading functionality will be implemented as soon as possible.
World Liberty Financial: The Trump Family's DeFi Ambitions
World Liberty Financial is a decentralized finance platform based on the Ethereum blockchain (utilizing Aave V3 infrastructure), aimed at providing cryptocurrency lending, payment, and liquidity pool services, and promoting the widespread adoption of its dollar-pegged stablecoin USD1. The project is co-led by members of the Trump family (including Donald Trump, Eric Trump, and Donald Trump Jr.) along with DeFi veterans Chase Herro and Zak Folkman, with real estate mogul Steve Witkoff's son Zach Witkoff also participating as a co-founder.
Since its launch in October 2024, World Liberty Financial has raised approximately $550 million through token sales, with 2.5 billion $WLFI tokens sold in two batches at prices of $0.015 and $0.05 each. Additionally, the circulating market cap of the USD1 stablecoin has exceeded $2.2 billion, making it the eighth largest stablecoin globally, demonstrating the project's initial impact in the market. The platform also plans to launch a mobile application for retail users to simplify the use of crypto assets and drive broader adoption.
Governance and Community Participation: Core Functions of $WLFI
As the governance token of World Liberty Financial, $WLFI grants holders voting rights on protocol upgrades, token issuance, ecosystem incentives, and fiscal policies. The success of this vote not only unlocks the trading functionality of the tokens but also marks a further step towards a community-driven governance model. Community members will be able to decide on token release plans, incentive mechanisms, and fiscal allocations in future votes, thereby enhancing the platform's transparency and decentralization.
World Liberty Financial emphasizes that its governance process focuses on fairness and transparency, employing mechanisms such as wallet voting caps to prevent centralized control and ensure that results reflect the broad will of the community. The project also plans to further enhance trust and accessibility through regular audits of the USD1 stablecoin and user-friendly application development.
Controversies and Conflicts of Interest: The Role of the Trump Family
The high-profile launch of World Liberty Financial and its close ties to the Trump family have sparked widespread controversy. It has been revealed that the Trump family holds 22.5 billion $WLFI tokens (accounting for 22.5% of the total supply) through DT Marks DeFi LLC and has earned approximately $390 million from token sales, with Donald Trump personally profiting $57.3 million. Bloomberg estimates that Trump's crypto-related projects (including $WLFI, $TRUMP meme coin, and NFT sales) have contributed about $620 million to his net worth, representing 9% of his total wealth of $6.4 billion.
Democratic lawmakers, such as Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Maxine Waters, have expressed strong concerns about the financial ties between the Trump family and the project, stating that the "unprecedented conflicts of interest" could blur the lines between public duties and private interests. An investigation by The New York Times further pointed out that World Liberty Financial had offered foreign investors, companies, and individuals with criminal records opportunities to connect with Trump through secret payments and currency swaps, with at least one investigation being dropped after millions of dollars were paid. These allegations have intensified scrutiny over the project's transparency and legitimacy.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly responded that Trump's assets are held in a trust managed by his children, and there are no conflicts of interest. The Trump Organization also stated in an ethics white paper released in January 2025 that the Constitution does not restrict the president from owning or managing private enterprises. Nevertheless, Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff's proposed COIN Act seeks to limit the president and his immediate family from issuing or promoting specific cryptocurrencies to curb potential conflicts of interest.
The opening of trading for the $WLFI token provides new opportunities for investors and may drive its liquidity and price discovery. Some market analysts predict that the fully diluted valuation of $WLFI could reach $8-12 in the future, making it one of the most promising tokens of 2025. However, the inherent risks in the DeFi space cannot be overlooked, including hacking, investor losses, and technical complexities. Additionally, the centralized token distribution of $WLFI (with the Trump family and its affiliated entities holding 60% of the company's revenue and a significant amount of tokens) raises questions about the degree of decentralization and the authenticity of community governance.
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