The token sale for Trump's crypto bank will launch on Tuesday, but information about the bank's operations is still unclear.
- Donald Trump's World Liberty Financial launches its token on Tuesday.
- On Monday, during a Spaces event, the project's co-founders announced that 100,000 customers had been whitelisted.
- A crypto bank-like platform, World Liberty, has been described as an ideal destination for customers to borrow, lend, and invest in cryptocurrencies.
As his social media business rebounds and the presidential election approaches, Donald Trump is introducing his latest money-making venture in the crypto market.
On Tuesday, the former president and current Republican nominee plans to introduce WLFI, the token associated with his new crypto venture called World Liberty Financial. Over the weekend, Trump promoted the sale in a post on X, stating it as an opportunity for his followers to contribute to shaping the future of finance.
It's understandable for potential investors to lack understanding about the investment they're being asked to back.
WLF, a crypto bank, aims to promote borrowing, lending, and investing in cryptocurrencies. No official white paper or business plan has been released, and only voting rights for the yet-to-be-launched platform have been disclosed to investors.
The WLF proposal in a roadmap viewed by The Block states that the coin aims to raise $300 million at a $1.5 billion valuation during its initial sale. CNBC attempted to contact WLF for comment but did not receive a response.
The stock of Truth Social, a social media platform, has experienced volatility since its public trading debut in March.
Despite losing more than $16 million in the latest period and having revenue of less than $1 million a quarter, DJT shares are up close to 150% at $29.95, giving the company a market cap of $6 billion.
The digital coin WLFI will be a Regulation D token offering, which allows for capital raising without SEC registration, but only under certain conditions, such as limiting the sale size and restricting it to accredited investors, defined as having a net worth of over $1 million.
While Trump owns approximately 57% of DJT's outstanding shares, the extent of his potential control over World Liberty Financial is not entirely clear. WLF's website, which is currently a landing page for know-your-customer verification to purchase the coin, contains some of the fine print that suggests the financial incentives for the founders.
The co-founder of WLF, Zachary Folkman, who previously founded Date Hotter Girls and reportedly helped develop Dough Finance, has stated that 20% of the tokens will be allocated to the founding team, which includes the Trump family.
And there appears to be another way they can make money.
The website states that World Liberty Financial may provide tokens to DT Marks DEFI, LLC and its affiliates, including Donald J. Trump and his family members, and will be entitled to significant fees for services provided, the amount of which is yet to be determined.
The WLF team held a conversation on X Spaces about the sale of tokens, which was scheduled for Monday, just 24 hours before the launch. Approximately 12,000 people joined the more than hourlong chat to learn about the project's overarching goals.
Folkman emphasized during a recent Spaces event that WLFI is a governance token that enables holders to participate in protocol decisions, including partnership initiatives. He clarified that token ownership does not equate to equity or economic rights.
Folkman announced that the token sale will only take place on World Liberty's website and that only those who have been whitelisted after signing up will be able to participate. He stated that over 100,000 people are on the whitelist and that it's not too late to register. Folkman also revealed that WLF will publish its long-awaited roadmap for the project on Tuesday, along with the token sale.
Last week, WLF initiated the procedure for obtaining approval from the Aave ecosystem for its crypto bank.
One of the most trusted crypto lending platforms in DeFi, Aave is an open-source platform.
Stani Kulechov, the founder of Aave, stated in an interview at the Permissionless Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, that since the protocol itself is permissionless, he is less opinionated about integrations because that is the essence of decentralized finance.
Kulechov attended Monday's X event and expressed excitement about WLF's use and dependence on Aave.
He expressed excitement because the signal indicated that what they constructed was useful.
The WLF team presented a brief outline of its objectives in a 400-word post to Aave's governance forum. The objectives include promoting DeFi to a wider audience through marketing efforts and introducing a new class of users to over-collateralized borrowing and lending. The proposal is currently in the preliminary stage of consideration known as "Temp Check," and Aave's users are able to comment on the plan.
Concerns were raised about the project's ties to the Trump family by several users in the comments section.
"According to a deleted comment, one individual believed that the proposal posed a significant risk to the Aave protocol with little benefit. The commenter questioned the rationale of having "the largest and most trusted protocol in DeFi" collaborate with a group led by "people of questionable backgrounds, including several convicted criminals.""
WLF was founded by Folkman and his long-time business partner Chase Herro, who previously worked together on Dough Finance, a crypto project built on top of Aave that suffered a $2 million hack in July. Herro also launched another crypto trading business a decade ago called Pacer Capital, which appears to now be defunct.
In order for World Liberty to progress, it must undergo several stages of evaluation and endorsement, with each stage determined by a vote among current AAVE token owners.
The token sale is currently a placeholder for a future launch, and those who purchase now have a stake in the platform's success.
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