Key Takeaways
- Less than 900 million WLFI tokens have been sold. 20 billion were allocated for the sale.
- A Trump-owned entity will receive $22.5 billion in WLFI tokens and 75% of the platform’s net revenues.
- WLFI is a non-transferrable governance token.
World Liberty Financial (WLF) has finally published its version of a whitepaper called the gold paper. Still, it appears to have revealed a troubling token allocation and revenue split.
WLF Revenues
According to the 13-page gold paper, Trump’s family could receive 75% of the platform’s revenues via a Trump-linked firm DT Marks DEFI LLC. The Trump family will receive 22.5 billion WLFI tokens, valued at $337.5 million.
Despite this, Trump and his family assume no liability. The paper’s disclaimer explicitly states that Donald Trump, his family, and affiliates/executives, etc., within the Trump Organization, DT Marks DEFI LLC, or other entities are not an:
“[…] officer, director, founder, or employee of, or manager, owner or operator of Word Liberty Financial or its affiliates or the WLF Platform. $WLFI tokens and use of the World LibertyFinancial platform are offered and sold solely by World Liberty Financial or its affiliates.”
It’s worth noting that they have misspelled “World” and “Word” in this instance.
Axiom Management Group, owned by WLF’s Chase Herro and Zachary Folkman, receives the remaining 25% of net revenues, or 7.5 billion WLFI.
Regardless, having sold just 874.45 million WLFI, or roughly $13.11 million worth, the project has a long way to go before it hits its target of $300 million or anyone sees any meaningful revenues.
WLFI Token Allocation
The WLF has allocated 35% of the 100 billion WLFI token supply to the token sale. A further 32.5% will have been assigned to “community growth and incentives,” with an additional 30% going to initial supporters. A final 2.5% will go to the team and advisors. But don’t forget to read the small print:
“*Anticipated token distribution amounts are subject to change, and distributions require the consent of initial Supporters, WLF and/or the $WLFI governance community.”
The WLFI token is a governance token used to create and vote on proposals such as protocol upgrades. That’s all the information available for now. It’s also non-transferable, potentially for the first twelve months following the token sale.
Indeed, the gold paper notes that the platform will function as a DeFi borrowing/lending/liquidity pool protocol with stablecoins and collateralization. Still, all the important details on how it functions are missing.
Other Concerns
The pseudonymous co-founder of G8keep, a decentralized token launch/security platform, revealed some even deeper troubles rooted within the platform’s code. According to Pop Punk, WLFI devs can burn user tokens “for any reason at any time.”
There is also one particularly standout line from the gold paper that unwinds any ambitions to promote the decentralization aspect of DeFi in any way, as it writes:
“There may be restrictions and other requirements for accessing certain features in particular countries and jurisdictions.”
If a protocol is truly decentralized, nothing can prevent a user from interacting with its smart contract.
Eddie is a gaming and crypto writer at CCN. Covering the often weird and wonderful world of Web3 with an adoring, but skeptical eye.
Prior to CCN, Eddie has spent the past seven years working his way through the crypto, finance, and technology industry. He began with PR and journalism with Bitcoin PR Buzz and BitcoinNews.com, eventually working his way to become a copywriter with a dozen firms, including the likes of Polkadot before returning to journalism in 2023.
Having studied Radio production and journalism at University in the UK, Eddie spent a few years making podcasts and presenting on a local London radio station as he built up his writing chops.
A lifelong skateboarder, Eddie can often be found at the skatepark or touring the streets looking for something new to try. That, or kicking back playing JRPGs on his original PSP.
