World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a Donald Trump-backed crypto project, has attracted over 100,000 signups ahead of its highly anticipated public token launch on Tuesday, October 15. During an extended 90-minute X space on October 14, the project’s head of operations, Zak Folkman, reiterated that the WLFI token will function as the governance token for its decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, which enables users to borrow, lend, and trade crypto.
The platform’s WLFI token, an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token, will play a pivotal role in the governance of the World Liberty Financial ecosystem. Folkman, along with team members Chase Herro and Zach Witkoff, shared few new insights during the X space, choosing instead to review the project details previously discussed in an October 11 blog post. The team emphasised that the platform is currently only available to accredited investors in the United States — those pre-approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission to invest in unregistered securities, which typically requires an income exceeding $200,000 per year or assets of over $1 million.
Key Project Details and Team Announcements
Herro made a notable announcement during the X space, revealing that Paxos co-founder Rich Teo would join World Liberty Financial as the lead for stablecoin and payments. His addition to the team is expected to bolster the platform’s capabilities in the stablecoin space.
Folkman also clarified the tokenomics of the WLFI token. According to a white paper leaked prior to the launch, 63% of the WLFI tokens will be sold to whitelisted members of the public, with 17% allocated for user rewards and 20% reserved for the project team. Although WLFI tokens will be non-transferable for 12 months post-distribution, holders can immediately use them to participate in governance decisions on the platform.
The project aims to raise $300 million from its token sale, which would value World Liberty Financial at approximately $1.5 billion. The WLFI token launch coincides with a crucial moment for Trump, with the sale beginning just three weeks before the US elections on November 5.
WLFI’s DeFi Ambitions and Aave Partnership
World Liberty Financial will debut as a DeFi lending platform, using Aave for its borrowing and lending functionality. During the X space, Aave CEO and founder Stani Kulechov expressed his excitement about World Liberty Financial’s decision to integrate Aave into its platform. The partnership marks an important step as World Liberty Financial seeks to establish itself in the competitive DeFi space.
The project will initially operate as an instance of Aave on the Ethereum network but has plans to expand to Ethereum layer-2 network Scroll as part of its future development.
Trump Jr. Praises World Liberty Financial’s Mission
Donald Trump Jr., listed as the project’s “Web3 Ambassador,” made a brief appearance during the October 14 X space to praise World Liberty Financial’s mission to introduce a more inclusive financial system. Trump Jr. sharply criticised the traditional US banking system, describing it as a “Ponzi scheme,” while promoting the World Liberty Financial platform as a more equitable solution for everyday citizens.
Trump’s Crypto Vision Ahead of Elections
With the WLFI token sale launching in the lead-up to the November elections, Trump’s alignment with the World Liberty Financial project further solidifies his commitment to making the United States the “crypto capital” of the world if he wins the presidency. He continues to outpace Kamala Harris by 9% on the decentralized betting platform Polymarket, despite trailing her by 2.4% in national polls according to 538 polling data.
As World Liberty Financial prepares for its token launch and public rollout, the project will be closely watched, not only for its potential impact on the DeFi space but also for the political ramifications of Trump’s involvement in the burgeoning crypto sector.
