World Liberty Financial (WLFI) Token Sale Goes Live on Oct. 15

• The WLFI public token sale will go live on Oct. 15, 2025.
• WLFI tokenomics will see 63% of the supply available for public purchase, 20% for the team, and 17% for rewards.
• The World Liberty Financial project has proposed to use the Aave V3 platform for its Ethereum mainnet launch.

Donald Trump’s decentralized finance (DeFi) crypto project, World Liberty Financial, has officially announced the sale of its native governance token, WLFI.

World Liberty Financial

As per posts from World Liberty Financial and Trump, the WLFI token public sale will go live on Oct. 15, 2024, officially kicking off the contentious— yet anticipated—DeFi project.

Those interested can now connect their wallet of choice and undergo know-your-customer (KYC) verification to qualify for the whitelist. On Monday, Oct. 14, at noon UTC, the World Liberty Financial team will discuss  the project and the WLFI token launch on X spaces.

Naturally, the launch of a crypto project backed by a former U.S. President just weeks before the next election has drawn concerns from onlookers. Mark Cuban, rather cynically posted to X:

https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1845292354934051218

It’s also worth noting that several large impersonator accounts are flooding social media with links to fake sites with wallet drainers. It’s quite easy to get caught out, so be sure to double—and triple-check links you see on social media sites.

World Liberty Financial on Aave

World Liberty Financial has submitted a governance proposal  to deploy an “Aave V3 instance” centered on firstly, “providing stablecoin utility” for Ethereum (ETH) and Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC). Secondly, it will be focused on expanding Aave’s user base.

Citing Aave’s “best-in-class” capabilities as a lending and borrowing protocol, as well as its sterling security record, World Liberty Financial believes an Aave partnership would be the perfect fit for its mission. More specifically, the proposal writes it will use Aave V3 to:

“[…] provide liquidity for Ethereum, Wrapped Bitcoin, stablecoins, and potentially other digital assets, as determined by WLF governance”

Users will also be able to deposit Ethereum (ETH), USD Coin (USDC), and Tether (USDT). It also plans to introduce a new governance token, WLFI, which has an interesting tokenomics setup. It states that 63% of its total supply will be available to the public.

It says that 20% will be reserved for the team, and a further 17% will be allocated for user rewards. By participating in World Liberty Financial governance, liquidity mining, and promoting World Liberty Financial decentralization, Aave DAO users will be eligible for said rewards. Generously, World Liberty Financial is offering to return 20% of the interest earned through borrowing and lending services back to the Aave community. It has also offered to carve out 7% of WLFI’s token supply for the AaveDAO.

Looking ahead, World Liberty Financial writes  that it:

“[..]foresees onboarding assets that may not be compatible with the main market on Ethereum Mainnet, leveraging its ties to traditional finance and institutional investment.”

The proposal is now awaiting approval from Aave DAO governance and the World Liberty Financial community.

In Discussion

Speaking on X spaces with Farokh , the founder of the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO)/non-fungible token (NFT) media agency Rug Radio, the Trump family discussed the project alongside World Liberty Financial teammates.

In a lengthy and somewhat meandering conversation, Trump and the World Liberty Financial founders explained their project is a crypto banking platform with DeFi features.

The team, offering little details on the actual project itself, emphasized accessibility. As far as we know, World Liberty Financial intends to promote DeFi, establish the U.S. as the leader in digital assets, spur stablecoin adoption, and boost U.S. dollar dominance.

Regarding borrowing, lending, and investing, Zak Folkman, who is reportedly heading up strategy and operations at World Liberty Financial, said that the project isn’t trying to “rebuild the wheel” but instead create “simple products.”

“Our goal is to build projects that are easy and simple to use and where you don’t need to phone a friend to get a walkthrough,”

As for the WLFI governance token, Trump and his sons confirmed it would be non-transferable nor provide additional economic rights. Notably, they’re looking for governance participants, not get-rich-quick speculators.

For now, the token will be sold solely to accredited investors under a Regulation D exemption from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This exemption grants companies the right to raise capital without registering securities with the SEC.

Roadblocks Ahead

It’s hard to tell if the success of the World Liberty Financial project, overall, hinges on the results of Trump’s presidential ambitions.

However, there is no doubt that Trump’s many twists and turns over the coming weeks will influence the token’s price.

Trump Jr. discussed how DeFi is “what our founding father intended” for the U.S., citing the equilibrium it can bring back to the current financial system.

Towards the end of the chat, Trump noted:

“Crypto is one of those things we have to do, whether we like it or not, we have to do it.”

There’s also the, perhaps even more ambitious, desire to be fully regulated under the SEC. Given the regulators’ many lawsuits and enforcement actions against the crypto industry, this hope may also be pinned on Trump’s potential political success.

World Liberty Financial Launch Announcement

In a Sept. 12 post to X, Donald Trump officially announced that the World Liberty Financial project will be launching on Sept. 16, 2024.

“We’re embracing the future with crypto and leaving the slow and outdated big banks behind,” the Presidential hopeful said.

Though little is known about the project, it appears to place focus on stablecoins, borrowing and lending, and governance.

Interestingly, the project has publicly said it is committed to “spreading U.S.-pegged stablecoins around the world” to boost the U.S. dollar’s dominance around the world.

A DeFi Project?

In a string of posts to X on Sept. 3, World Liberty Financial has taken to social media to rather ambiguously provide the “real story” of the project.

To begin with, World Liberty Financial claimed to be tapping top security experts who have “thoroughly reviewed” the project’s code. This includes the likes of smart contract and EVM auditors BlockSec, blockchain analytics and security firm PeckShield, and others.

World Liberty Financial confirmed it is working with Ethereum-based Aave for the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) project. Outlining its mission, World Liberty Financial says it is to make crypto and America “great” through the “mass adoption of stablecoins” and DeFi.

“By spreading U.S.-pegged stablecoins around the world, we ensure that the U.S. dollar’s dominance continues, securing America’s financial leadership and influence on the global stage.”

Interestingly, World Liberty Financial placed emphasis on stablecoins, stating that the project wants to see U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins as the “world’s settlement layer for the next 100 years.”

Trump Endorsed

After Donald Trump Jr. teased the crypto world with the prospect of a Trump-backed DeFi project in early Aug., the Trumps are going ahead with it.

World Liberty Financial will reportedly offer borrowing and lending services similar to those of Dough Finance, where several World Liberty Financial team members originally worked. Those familiar with the matter say that the project will include a new crypto token, though it will be a non-transferable governance token.

In his endorsement post , Trump declared that he will work to ensure the U.S. is the “crypto capital of the planet,” further embedding himself in the crypto world ahead of this year’s election.

The Roster

Again, though details are scarce, there are plenty of clues about the people World Liberty Financial is bringing on board. Headhunting for World Liberty Financial is underway. Notably, Donald Trump Jr. is named as the project’s “Chief Crypto Advocate,” with other Trump sons listed as “Web3 Ambassadors”.

As per an official announcement from World Liberty Financial, Corey Caplan has been named as an advisor for the project.

Caplan is the co-founder of Dolomite, a DeFi platform launched in 2022 that positions itself as a money market platform and decentralized exchange (DEX) offering trading, lending, and portfolio management. Initially launched on Arbitrum One, it is now present in several other blockchains.

According to circulating portions of the whitepaper, Zacahry Folkman and Chase Herro are listed as World Liberty Financial’s head of operations and strategies lead. They are reportedly former developers of DeFi liquidity protocol Dough Finance.

As such, the “whitepaper” suggests they’ll be lifting Dough Finance’s codebase for World Liberty Financial, though this is yet to be confirmed. Other Dough Finance devs are also named, which has come under some scrutiny as the DeFi protocol suffered a $1.8 million loss through a flash loan attack in July this year.

Trump Jr.’s DeFi Project

In early Aug., Trump Jr. provided some sparse details  on the project, placing plenty of emphasis on inequality within the financial system.

https://twitter.com/MrStevenSteele/status/1821702706337390949

Describing his own experience with being debanked, he explained that it “[…] isn’t about creating a memecoin” and is instead designed to challenge, or at least compete with, traditional banking systems.

There was speculation as to whether or not the project would involve real-world assets (RWAs) following earlier posts from Trump Jr.  and his younger brother , who had said he’d “truly fallen in love with Crypto / DeFi.”

No Memecoins

Naturally, this would be the perfect time for scammers and fraudsters to capitalize on the hype by launching some fresh memecoins. Taking to X younger brother, Eric Trump, urged caution.

While the eldest of Trump’s sons is rather pleased with how enthusiastically the crypto community has rallied behind his father, he also advised his followers to pay close attention and not get scammed, writing :

“[…] but beware of fake tokens claiming to be part of the Trump project. The only official project will be announced directly by us, and it will be fair for everyone. Don’t be fooled—stay tuned for the real deal.“

During the Locals Q&A, the Trump brothers also addressed rumors surrounding the Solana-based Restore The Replublic (RTR)  crypto that launched on Aug. 8, 2024. The pair denied having any connection to the project and called the rumors “absolutely false.”