World Liberty Financial launched trading of its $WLFI token, creating as much as $5 billion in paper wealth for the Trump family as exchange volume hit around $1 billion in the first hour.
The family holds just under 25% of WLFI, with “founders and team” tokens locked and not currently saleable. The trading launch assigns a market value to those holdings for the first time.
WLFI token began trading around $0.30 on Binance before sliding toward $0.20, broadly in line with last week’s futures pricing. Early private buyers reportedly paid $0.015, implying an initial gain of around 13x–20x, though World Liberty says those buyers can initially sell only 20% of their tokens.
Ahead of the debut, World Liberty took over a publicly listed firm and raised $750 million in cash to purchase the cryptocurrency. The structure—described as unusually circular—could net the Trumps around $500 million, as they “keep up to three-quarters” of token-sale revenues, per a prior The Wall Street Journal report.
WLFI is presented as the family’s most valuable asset, eclipsing its real-estate portfolio. Trump-related entities control roughly 80% of the $TRUMP memecoin and that trust holds just over half of Trump Media, valued at around $2.5 billion.
Skepticism accompanied the debut, with critics arguing that World Liberty could become an influence vehicle. They point to the stablecoin market propped up by Binance and note its founder’s legal exposure and reported pursuit of a presidential pardon.
The White House said “neither the president nor his family have ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest.” World Liberty CEO Zach Witkoff called it a private business that doesn’t do politics, though he added, “clearly President Trump is the greatest president of all time.”
Information for this story was found via The Wall Street Journal and the sources and the companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
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The structure—described as unusually circular……