All news is rigorously fact-checked and reviewed by leading blockchain experts and seasoned industry insiders.
- On paper, the Trump family controls over $6 billion in WLFI, with strict trading limits in place for token sales.
- Reports indicate that World Liberty Financial facilitated a $750 million Alt5 Sigma funding round, potentially granting the Trump family $500 million, raising concerns over circular transactions.
WLFI, the native cryptocurrency of Donald Trump’s decentralized finance (DeFi) project – World Liberty Financial – is all set to kickstart trading on the world’s largest crypto exchange Binance, starting September 1. However, the project is drawing scrutiny of an alleged $750 million deal, surrounding WLFI, with Trump-backed entities being on both sides of the transaction.
World Liberty Financial (WLFI) Token Launches on Binance
Earlier today, crypto exchange Binance announced that it will be listing WLFI, the native governance token of Trump’s family crypto project World Liberty Financial. The latest listing will happen along with a seed tag, which hints at major volatility ahead. Some market analysts believe that WLFI will see a similar rally to the TRUMP meme coin, as seen earlier this year.
As per the announcement from Binance, WLFI token will trade on the platform against top two stablecoins, USDT and USDC. In South Korea, leading crypto exchanges are adding the token to their platforms. Bithumb, the nation’s second-largest exchange, confirmed the WLFI/KRW trading pair.
Similarly, Upbit, South Korea’s largest exchange, announced listings for World Liberty Financial USD (USD1) with KRW, BTC, and USDT pairs, in addition to WLFI trading pairs in KRW, BTC, and USDT.
On paper, the Trump family’s WLFI holdings are valued at over $6 billion, with former President Trump controlling about two-thirds of the total. In addition to WLFI, Trump-linked entities hold substantial stakes in other digital assets, including the TRUMP meme coin and various positions through Trump Media.
However, liquidity remains limited, as insiders face strict trading restrictions, allowing only a small portion of tokens to be sold at launch. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., founders of World Liberty Financial, will have their WLFI tokens locked until holders vote on a release schedule. Additionally, DT Marks DEFI LLC, a Trump family–linked entity, reportedly owns 38% of WLF Holdco.
Alt5 Sigma Takeover Raises Doubt
According to the Wall Street Journal, World Liberty Financial (WLF) facilitated a takeover of payments firm Alt5 Sigma. Soon after, Alt5 raised $750 million from external investors and used the funds to purchase WLFI tokens directly from World Liberty.
The deal could provide the Trump family with an estimated $500 million payout, as a family-linked entity reportedly controls up to 75% of revenues from token sales.
While such “circular transactions,” where the same group acts as both buyer and seller, are relatively common in crypto, they are rare in traditional finance. Former regulators caution that these arrangements can obscure transparency and create potential conflicts of interest.
Corey Frayer, a former senior SEC official said: “This structure brings the worst practices of the crypto ecosystem into regulated public markets”.
