tl;dr
World Liberty Financial, a crypto project backed by former President Trump, has secured a $100 million investment in WLFI tokens from UAE-based Aqua 1 Foundation to develop a blockchain-powered financial ecosystem bridging traditional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi). WLFI is the project's g...
World Liberty Financial, a crypto project backed by former President Trump, received a substantial $100 million investment in WLFI tokens from the UAE-based Aqua 1 Foundation. This funding aims to accelerate the development of a blockchain-powered financial ecosystem designed to bridge traditional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi) through an institutional-grade marketplace.
WLFI, the project's governance token, is currently accessible only to accredited investors, while World Liberty's stablecoin, USD1, is available on major cryptocurrency exchanges. The platform aspires to offer DeFi borrowing and lending services, enabling users to earn rewards in cryptocurrency, although detailed technical specifics remain limited.
The USD1 stablecoin has recently attracted scrutiny concerning its role in settling a $2 billion investment involving Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund MGX and the leading crypto exchange Binance. Concerns over transparency and governance have intensified amid investigations and political scrutiny surrounding the project's leadership and affiliations.
World Liberty Financial is spearheaded by DeFi developers Chase Herro and Zak Folkman alongside the Trump and Witkoff families, the latter having close ties to President Trump, including Steve Witkoff's role as a White House special envoy to the Middle East. These connections have raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest, especially given President Trump’s reported earnings of $57.3 million from the token sale.
In response to growing investigations, including one initiated by Senator Richard Blumenthal into the project's ties to President Trump, the Trump-linked entity DT Marks DEFI LLC recently reduced its ownership stake in World Liberty Financial from 60% to approximately 40%, signaling shifts in the project's ownership structure amidst mounting scrutiny.