World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance (DeFi) project backed by former President Donald Trump and his family, is set to begin the public sale of its WLFI tokens on Tuesday.
In a recent announcement on social media, the project revealed: “Big news! @WorldLibertyFi public sale starts Oct. 15th, open to everyone who qualifies through the whitelist. Join us for a Twitter Spaces on Oct. 14th at 8 AM EST to learn more. Stay tuned for updates!” The whitelist process opened on September 30, and the project claimed “thousands” of sign-ups within just one day.
The roadmap for World Liberty Financial (WLF) outlines plans to raise $300 million during this “initial sale” phase. Around 20% of the total token supply will be available at a fully diluted valuation of $1.5 billion. Overall, 63% of WLFI tokens will be sold to the public, with 17% allocated for user rewards and 20% reserved for the team’s compensation. Accredited investors in the U.S. and qualified investors in the U.K., as well as those outside these regions, will have access to the token sale.
WLF is led by co-founders Steve and Zach Witkoff, Zach Folkman, and Chase Herro. Their goal is to promote the widespread adoption of digital assets through a fully compliant platform that provides alternative financial services.
DeFi Lending Platform Aave to Be Integrated in WLF’s Initial Phase
As part of its early development, World Liberty Financial plans to roll out a version of the popular DeFi lending platform Aave on both the Ethereum mainnet and the Layer 2 network, Scroll. Users will be able to lend and borrow assets such as bitcoin, ether, and stablecoins through this system. According to an official proposal posted on the Aave governance forum, WLF’s Aave v3 instance will allow borrowing and lending of tokens such as ETH, WBTC, USDC, and USDT. Like Aave, lenders will earn interest through fees paid by borrowers.
The WLF team plans to onboard assets not typically available in the main Ethereum market, capitalizing on its strong connections to institutional finance. This could allow for a wider range of investment opportunities within its ecosystem.
Trump Family’s Role in the Project
The involvement of Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., the sons of the former president, has drawn significant attention. They first teased the project in August, sparking a mix of reactions from both crypto enthusiasts and skeptics. Critics argue that the Trump family’s involvement may create political obstacles for advancing regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrencies.
In a note by Jaret Seiberg of TD Cowen Washington Research Group, it was mentioned that the potential success of World Liberty Financial could complicate efforts to pass cryptocurrency market legislation. Seiberg noted that Democrats might resist supporting bills that could be seen as financially benefiting the Trump family, especially if Donald Trump were to win another term in office.