The Trump family gained as much as $6 billion in paper wealth on Monday following the trading launch of a new digital currency from their flagship crypto venture.
This launch resembles an initial public offering, allowing the cryptocurrency named WLFI to be traded on the open market just like shares of a publicly listed company. Prior to this, individuals who had privately purchased WLFI from the Trump venture, World Liberty Financial, were unable to exchange their tokens.
This trading debut is likely the most significant financial achievement for the president’s family since he took office. The Trump family, including President Trump, owns nearly a quarter of all WLFI tokens available. Trump’s three sons are co-founders of World Liberty, and the president is recognized as a “Co-Founder Emeritus.”
World Liberty indicates that the tokens held by founders and team members are still “locked,” meaning they cannot sell them yet. However, the launch of trading now establishes a real-world valuation for their holdings, which were previously assessed based on private transactions.
WLFI is probably now the most valuable asset for the Trumps, surpassing their long-standing property portfolio. While the president’s family has continued to engage in property deals globally since taking office, the rapidly evolving crypto sector has had the most significant early influence.
President Trump was instrumental in launching World Liberty a year ago during his campaign, stating it would contribute to making “America Great Again, this time with crypto.”
World Liberty has experienced significant growth this year, largely due to the president's efforts to advance the crypto industry from the White House, where he has been implementing regulations and promoting the potential of private digital currencies to boost the U.S. economy.
Ahead of the WLFI trading launch, World Liberty acquired a publicly traded company this summer and secured $750 million in funding from investors to purchase the cryptocurrency.
This transaction, which is notably circular with the same entity acting as both buyer and seller, is expected to generate approximately $500 million for the Trumps, as they retain up to 75% of the revenue from the token sales, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
WLFI trading surged on crypto exchanges early Monday, with around $1 billion worth of tokens exchanged within just an hour, according to CoinMarketCap.
On Binance, the leading exchange, WLFI was trading between 24 cents and 30 cents per token, consistent with the prices suggested by futures contracts linked to the cryptocurrency that were traded there the previous week. At the higher end of that range, the Trumps' investment is valued at over $6 billion.
When factoring in their interests in other crypto ventures, the Trump family's total crypto assets are even more substantial. Entities associated with Trump hold approximately 80% of $Trump, a so-called memecoin valued at several billion dollars.
A trust owned by Trump possesses just over half of the publicly traded Trump Media, which operates his Truth Social platform and invests in cryptocurrencies. This stake is estimated to be worth around $2.5 billion.
Cashing in on this newly generated wealth may indeed be challenging, as even minor sales of cryptocurrencies can lead to a decline in prices.
The current price of WLFI on Monday represents a significant premium over the 1.5 cents that investors initially paid last year to acquire the token from World Liberty, providing them with a chance to realize substantial profits. World Liberty indicated that those early investors would initially be allowed to trade only 20% of their holdings.
Cryptocurrencies are known for their extreme volatility, which means the actual value of the Trump fortune could vary dramatically. The $Trump memecoin, which was launched in January, experienced an initial surge before experiencing a sharp decline.
Critics of World Liberty argue that it could serve as a means to sway the Trump family and that its expansion is fueled by partners and investors looking for assistance from the White House. For example, the market for a dollar-pegged stablecoin called USD1, issued by World Liberty, has been significantly supported by Binance, whose founder, facing conviction, has been pursuing a presidential pardon, as previously reported by the Journal.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated, "neither the president nor his family have ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest."
Zach Witkoff, the CEO of World Liberty and son of presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, mentioned last week that the company operates strictly as a private entity and does not involve itself in politics, although he added, "clearly President Trump is the greatest president of all time."
World Liberty has asserted that the long-term value of its cryptocurrency will be bolstered by its ambitions to become a significant player in the industry. Alongside the issuance of USD1, the initiative plans to launch a mobile application. "This isn’t just a meme coin," tweeted Donald Trump Jr. shortly after the launch.
Tad Tobar, the chief operating officer of the cryptocurrency company Lorenzo Protocol, which has partnered with World Liberty, stated his intention to purchase and retain WLFI. This token provides its holders with voting rights on certain operations of World Liberty, referred to as governance rights, but it does not entitle them to any share of the profits.
"Its durability is genuine because it is intended to serve as the governance token for this emerging open economy," Tobar remarked.
