“Trump’s crypto project brought the family $6 billion in wealthThe Trump family earned up to $6 billion through the World Liberty crypto project, drawing criticism regarding potential political
influence. The company claims independence from politics, and its value has surpassed Trump’s real estate holdings.
”, — write: unn.ua
On Monday, the Trump family accumulated a paper fortune of up to $6 billion after their flagship cryptocurrency company opened trading in a new digital currency.
The World Liberty crypto project has become the center of discussions. Critics believe that the company’s growth is stimulated by partners and investors who expect favors from the White House.
One example cited is the market for the USD1 stablecoin, pegged to the US dollar and issued by World Liberty. It is largely supported by the crypto exchange Binance, whose founder was convicted and is now seeking a presidential pardon.
The White House rejects these accusations. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized: “neither the president nor his family have ever had or will ever have a conflict of interest.”
The company’s head, Zach Witkoff (son of presidential envoy Steve Witkoff), emphasized that World Liberty is a private business and not connected to politics, though he added: “undoubtedly, President Trump is the greatest president of all time.”
The company states that the long-term value of their cryptocurrency will be ensured by ambitious development plans, including the launch of a mobile application.
“This is not some meme coin,” Donald Trump Jr. tweeted after the project’s launch.
Among those who supported World Liberty is Lorenzo Protocol. Its chief operating officer, Ted Tobar, announced that he plans to invest in the WLFI token. It gives holders voting rights in certain company management processes but does not provide a share in profits.
Launch of a new cryptocurrencyThis launch is similar to an initial public offering, in which a cryptocurrency called WLFI can now be bought and sold on the open market, like shares of a publicly traded company. Previously, people who privately bought WLFI from Trump’s venture fund, World Liberty Financial, could not exchange their tokens.
The trading debut is likely the biggest financial success for the president’s family since the inauguration, the publication notes. The Trump family, including President Trump himself, owns just under a quarter of all existing WLFI tokens. Three of Trump’s sons are co-founders of World Liberty, and the president himself is named an “honorary co-founder.”
World Liberty claims that the tokens of founders and team members remain “locked,” meaning they still cannot sell them. But the launch of trading now determines the real valuation of their assets, which was previously estimated based on private sales.
WLFI is likely now the Trumps’ most valuable asset, surpassing their long-standing real estate portfolio. Although the president’s family continues to strike real estate deals around the world since taking office, the biggest initial impact has been the rapidly growing crypto business.
President Trump helped launch World Liberty a year ago during the election campaign, stating that it would help “make America great again, this time with cryptocurrency.”
World Liberty’s growth this year came after the president oversaw the growth of the crypto industry from the White House, curbing regulation and promoting the potential of private digital currencies to revitalize the US economy.
Before WLFI’s trading debut this summer, World Liberty acquired a publicly traded company and raised $750 million in cash from investors to buy cryptocurrency.
“This deal, an unusually cyclical transaction with one party as both buyer and seller, could bring the Trumps about $500 million, as they retain up to three-quarters of the proceeds from token sales,” The Wall Street Journal previously reported.
According to data site CoinMarketCap, WLFI trading on cryptocurrency exchanges surged on Monday, with about $1 billion in tokens changing hands within an hour.
On Binance, the most popular exchange, WLFI traded at prices ranging from 24 to 30 cents per token, consistent with prices implied by futures contracts linked to the cryptocurrency that traded there last week. At the higher price, the Trumps’ stake is worth over $6 billion.
The addition of stakes in other crypto businesses makes the Trump family’s total crypto fortune even larger.
“Trump-affiliated entities control about 80% of $Trump, a so-called memecoin, worth several billion dollars.
A trust owned by Trump owns just over half of the shares in Trump Media, which is listed on the stock exchange and operates his Truth Social platform, and also buys and holds cryptocurrencies. The value of this stake is about $2.5 billion.
Of course, cashing out this newfound wealth can prove difficult, as even a small amount of cryptocurrency sales can lead to price drops.
Earlier, UNN wrote that Donald Trump received over $57 million from the cryptocurrency platform World Liberty Financial. He also earned millions from golf clubs and merchandise sales, leveraging his popularity.