World Liberty Financial (WLF), which is a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform backed by Donald Trump and his family, launched its WLFI token sale today. Investor interest was strong, as it attracted around 2,900 investors despite early website issues. Indeed, over 344 million WLFI tokens were sold within the first hour. The platform aims to raise $300 million and values the project at $1.5 billion with 100 billion tokens launched on Ethereum (ETH-USD).
WLFI tokens will be used for platform governance and DeFi activities like lending and borrowing. It will also help create liquidity on the platform and allow token holders to propose governance changes. Furthermore, World Liberty Financial will focus on supporting U.S. dollar-based stablecoins while aiming to attract Web2 users to Web3 using the Trump brand. However, the tokens will remain locked in a smart contract and non-transferable in order to comply with U.S. regulations.
In addition, Donald Trump will serve as the Chief Crypto Advocate, while Eric and Donald Jr. will act as Web3 Ambassadors. At the same time, Barron Trump holds the title of DeFi Visionary.
Is WLFI a Cash Grab?
Unsurprisingly, as Chief Crypto Advocate, Trump himself promoted the sale of the token by calling it a chance for people to “shape the future of finance.” However, some people in the crypto world are calling the project a “cash grab.” This is because of the token’s status as a governance token, meaning that buyers won’t be able to resell for at least a year, which has raised some eyebrows.
Nevertheless, it does make sense to have a lockup period for those interested in governing the platform, as it will create more internal stability and attract those who are more seriously interested in the project.
