Donald Trump’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, claims to have secured over 100,000 sign-ups ahead of its public token sale, set for Tuesday, Oct. 15. The project, which aims to create a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, has also brought Paxos co-founder Rich Teo on board to lead stablecoin and payments operations.
WLFI Token and Platform Features
In an extended X (formerly Twitter) Space discussion on Oct. 14, the platform’s head of operations, Zak Folkman, revealed that the WLFI token will be based on Ethereum’s ERC-20 standard. Folkman reiterated that the token will serve as the governance asset for the platform, enabling users to borrow and lend crypto, create liquidity pools, and use stablecoins for transactions.
Folkman also confirmed details from an earlier blog post, outlining that the project is designed as a DeFi lending platform. Initially, it will launch on the Aave protocol, with future plans to expand to the Ethereum Layer-2 network, Scroll.
Token Sale Structure
The token sale will distribute 63% of WLFI tokens to whitelisted members of the public, while 17% will be reserved for user rewards, and 20% allocated to the project’s team. According to a leaked whitepaper, the WLFI token will be non-transferable for 12 months, though holders will immediately be able to participate in governance votes. The project aims to raise $300 million through token sales, giving it an estimated valuation of $1.5 billion.
High-Profile Endorsements and Aims
A brief appearance in the X Space by Aave CEO Stani Kulechov revealed his excitement about World Liberty Financial using Aave for its borrowing and lending functionality. Additionally, Donald Trump Jr., the project’s “Web3 Ambassador,” praised the platform’s mission to create a more equitable financial system, contrasting it with what he described as the US banking system’s “Ponzi scheme.”
US Elections and Trump’s Crypto Vision
The token sale comes just three weeks before the US elections on Nov. 5. Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, has pledged to make the US the global “crypto capital” if he wins. He currently leads Kamala Harris by 9% on the decentralized betting platform Polymarket, while national polls show Harris with a 2.4% lead.
