Coin columns · Ethereum City (Capital)
WLFI: Governance Token of the Trump-Linked DeFi Project
Launched 2024, the USD1 stablecoin, trading since 2025
WLFI is the governance token of World Liberty Financial, a crypto business linked to the family of US President Donald Trump. It was first sold as a non-transferable token, and exchange trading began in September 2025.
1. What the project is
World Liberty Financial is a decentralized finance (DeFi) project unveiled in September 2024, with Zach Witkoff, Zak Folkman and Chase Herro among its co-founders. Donald Trump was presented as its ‘chief crypto advocate’, and his sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. as ‘Web3 ambassadors’.
WLFI went on sale in October 2024, with a maximum supply of 100 billion. Disclosures and reporting show that a company linked to the Trump family holds part of the tokens and receives a large share of token-sale revenue. On the Crypto Nation map, WLFI stands in Ethereum City (the capital), because it was first issued on Ethereum.
2. The token and USD1
WLFI is used to vote on the project’s direction. Early buyers could not move their tokens at first; on 1 September 2025, 20% of early purchases was unlocked and trading began. Holders later approved buying back and burning WLFI with fees from liquidity the project itself supplies.
The flagship product is USD1, a dollar stablecoin launched in March 2025. Its reserves are short-term US Treasuries and cash, held by the custodian BitGo, and it is issued on Ethereum, BNB Chain and others. It drew wide attention in May 2025 when the Abu Dhabi investor MGX paid for a $2 billion investment in Binance in USD1.
3. Uses and milestones
In November 2024 TRON founder Justin Sun bought a large amount of WLFI and joined as an adviser. In 2025 the US-listed company ALT5 Sigma announced a large deal to hold WLFI as a treasury asset, and WLFI was listed on several exchanges, including Binance. It is issued on Solana and BNB Chain as well as Ethereum.
The project says it is building lending, payments and other services around USD1, and holders vote on proposals such as how fees are used. But much of the voting power sits with the founding team and related parties, so many observers say the core team largely decides outcomes.
4. Things to know
Because the business benefits a sitting president’s family, some members of the US Congress and ethics watchdogs have repeatedly raised conflict-of-interest concerns. Each time money from foreign investors or state-linked entities came to light, worries grew that policy and business interests could become entangled, and opinions on the project split sharply with the news.
Much of the supply is held by the team and affiliates, and in September 2025 the project froze tokens at addresses linked to Justin Sun, sparking debate over its blacklisting power. Its documents state that the token gives no equity in the company or rights to its profits. Changes in regulation or politics could reshape the business.
Written from information public up to October 2026. It does not recommend or rate any coin and is not investment advice. If something is wrong, please tell us through the contact page.