U.S. President Donald Trump-backed new cryptocurrency venture, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), made waves in the decentralised finance (DeFi) sector. With an emphasis on supporting USD-pegged stablecoins, WLFI aims to strengthen the dollar’s global dominance in DeFi space.
Trump and his family members’ support for WLFI appears to be aligned with his economic and geopolitical vision, as well as his strategic interest in boosting the American financial sector through innovation in blockchain technology.
Traditional finance has mainly been dominated by centralized institutions that limit individual’s accessibility. Further, high transaction fees and slow processing time have created a demand for decentralized and advanced financial institutions.
In recent years, the DeFi projects have emerged to fulfil several user needs. But, many of them are quite complex. Hence, in order to provide financial freedom and increase accessibility, World Liberty Financial, has been a widely accepted DeFi platform.
What is World Liberty Financial?
World Liberty Financial is a decentralised finance (DeFi) project built on Ethereum blockchain. The project is linked to Donald Trump and his immediate family members including Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Barron Trump.
In September 2024, World Liberty Financial was launched by DT Marks DEFI and WLF Holdco. It aims to make DeFi tools accessible for users. It also enables them to borrow, lend and invest in digital assets without depending on traditional banking systems.
WLFI will include smart contracts and blockchain-based lending and borrowing platforms. It uses the Aave V3 infrastructure to ensure hassle-free operations for users while also maintaining security and efficiency.
Involvement of Donald Trump’s Family
World Liberty Financial was announced just two months before the U.S. election by Trump, his three sons and one of his top advisors, the billionaire real estate businessman Steve Witkoff. The project became popular as it was endorsed by Donald Trump and his family members including Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Barron Trump (the youngest son).
Donald Trump and the World Liberty Finance team have announced that World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token sale will go live on October 15, 2024. Barron Trump, an 18-year old New York University freshman has been appointed as the chief DeFi visionary.
The launch of WLFI represents the family’s first significant foray into decentralized finance, a sector of cryptocurrency focused on peer-to-peer financial services without traditional intermediaries like banks.
Key Offerings of World Liberty Financial
Decentralized Lending and Borrowing
This DeFi project will help users to lend and borrow cryptocurrencies directly. This will eliminate traditional intermediaries and reduce associated fees.
Governance Token – WLFI
The project has a native governance token, WLFI, that gives voting rights to holders on important decisions boosting community involvement.
Multi-Blockchain Support
WLFI protocol operates on multiple blockchain ecosystems that enhance accessibility and interoperability for the users.
Simplified User Experience
This platform is designed in such a manner to offer a user-friendly interface which makes DeFi services reaching a wider audience.
Aave V3 integration
WLFI has planned to integrate the Aave V3 protocol. It will allow users within the WLFI ecosystem to access Aave’s lending and borrowing functionalities.
WLFI’s Partnerships
World Liberty Financial has partnered with various blockchain-based firms to provide greater experience in the DeFi ecosystem. WLFI has partnered with Ethena labs to enhance stablecoin liquidity and user rewards. The partnership integrates Ethena’s staked synthetic dollar (sUSDe) with World Liberty Financial’s Aave instance.
WLFI has also collaborated with TRON blockchain because of its high throughput and scalability features. Chinese-born crypto billionaire and the founder Justin Sun invested $30 million in WLFI and he is also an official advisor to the project. The project’s development is managed by Chase Herro and Zachary Folkman, who previously managed the now-defunct DeFi project Dough Finance.
Holdings of World Liberty Financial
Let us explore WLFI’s crypto portfolio holdings:
The WLFI project has diversified their holdings across various popular blockchain networks. According to Arkham Intelligence data, WLFI holds tokens such as Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), Ethereum (ETH), Aave (AAVE), Chainlink (LINK), Ethena (ENA), and Ondo Finance (ONDO) and more.
The cryptocurrency that WLFI holds the most is Ethereum, with a total of over 60,000 ETH which highlights WLFI’s reliance on Ethereum’s smart contract capabilities. Further, it has investments in ERC-20 tokens like Chainlink (LINK) which shows its investment in DeFi protocols.
WLFI Token and its Utility
WLFI is the native governance token of the World Liberty Financial that is built on the Ethereum blockchain as an ERC-20 token. These tokens are solely used for governance, allowing holders to vote on decisions like protocol upgrades, marketing strategies, and governance structure changes. This promotes a community-centric approach.
However, because of the non-transferable nature of tokens, these cannot be traded or used for transactions which limit their utility.
As of January 2025, WLFI raised $1 billion in token sales, with token priced at $0.05.
How to Buy WLFI Token
Here is a step-by-step guide to buy WLFI Token:
- Step 1: Visit the official website of World Liberty Financial.
- Step 2: Connect Your Web3 wallet to the website, which will act as a gateway to buy $WLFI.
- Step 3: You need to select one of the supported payment tokens, such as ETH, USDC, USDT, and WETH. Then you need to swap it for the $WLFI token.
- Step 4: Specify buy quantity. Make sure that you have sufficient funds for the supported tokens.
- Step 5: After reviewing the details, click the “Buy” button. To proceed with the transaction, double-check the details and confirm.
World Liberty Financial Roadmap
In the first quarter of 2025, WLFI plans to introduce a staking feature which will enable users to stake their WLFI tokens and earn rewards. In Q2, it aims to boost blockchain interoperability by collaborating with several different blockchain networks.
By end of year, WLFI intends to broaden its market reach by entering into strategic partnerships and exchange listings for greater liquidity.
Conclusion
For new crypto investors, WLFI provides a glimpse into the world of crypto-powered lending and borrowing. World Liberty Financial appears unique because it combines decentralized finance with the Trump brand.
However, despite its high-profile backing and innovative goals, WLFI comes with risks and concerns.