The Trump family sketches the future of finance… World Liberty Financial [Hwang Duhyun's Web3+]

Trump·Witkoff family's DeFi 'World Liberty Financial'

A global experiment pledging financial democratization and defense of dollar hegemony

Token 'WLFI', market cap rose to 8 billion dollars immediately after issuance

WLF's core product, stablecoin 'USD1'

CEO's first visit to Korea on the 22nd… major announcements expected in Seoul

World Liberty Financial (WLF), a decentralized finance (DeFi) project founded last year centered on the Donald Trump family that drew attention, has once again become the focus of the crypto asset market. This is because, following the launch of the stablecoin USD1, it issued the token WLFI and began a full-fledged move as a financial platform.

Market reaction was hot. WLFI was listed on major global exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase, and Bitget immediately upon issuance on the 1st, and intraday rose to 0.478 dollars. Within a day its market capitalization reached 8 billion dollars, placing it within the global crypto market cap top 20. As of the 11th (local time), CoinMarketCap shows WLFI's price adjusted to the 0.2 dollars range, but it still ranks 28th by market cap (about 5 billion dollars). It remains at a high level compared with the initial offering price ($0.015).

The domestic market also reacted strongly. WLFI was simultaneously listed on Upbit and Bithumb, drawing large buy orders. Last week WLFI trading volume on Upbit reached 1.17 billion dollars, ranking third after Ethereum (ETH·1.4 billion dollars) and XRP (XRP·1.28 billion dollars). Blockchain research firm INF Crypto Lab evaluated, "WLFI's listing on Korean exchanges is one of the most talked-about events of the year."

As WLFI investors and trading volume have rapidly increased, natural attention has turned to the project's plans and goals. So what objectives does the Trump family set through WLF?

Trump·Witkoff family backs WLFI…aims to be America's representative DeFi

WLF, based on President Donald Trump's vision, has set two goals: democratization of financial opportunities and maintaining the dollar's dominant currency status. The plan is to make DeFi and stablecoins easily accessible to ordinary Americans while preserving dollar hegemony for the next 100 years through the spread of dollar-based stablecoins.

To this end, WLF is developing the 'WLF protocol.' Through digital wallet service providers, custody and transfer of dollar-based stablecoins and non-security digital assets will be possible, and asset supply using liquidity pools and collateralized lending will also be supported. WLF emphasized in its white paper that "such financial opportunities are intrinsic advantages of decentralized finance," and that it "will support a strong dollar, eliminate the need for central bank digital currencies (CBDC), and enable direct financial transactions without traditional financial intermediaries."

The white paper also focuses on simplifying user experience (UX) and user interface (UI). The platform is designed so that anyone from beginners to experienced users can navigate intuitively and smoothly, minimizing the complexity characteristic of DeFi. In other words, WLF aims to achieve both the popularization of DeFi and broader crypto adoption through WLFI.

Another WLF strategy is to actively leverage the Trump family's popular influence. Based on the recognition of former President Trump, dubbed the 'Chief Crypto Advocate,' the goal is to draw people who have been unfamiliar or passive about DeFi into the web3 world.

The participants are indeed notable. President Donald Trump is listed as an honorary co-founder of WLF, and his three sons—Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Barron Trump—joined as co-founders. Steve Witkoff (U.S. special envoy to the Middle East), a close aide of President Trump and a real estate development magnate, and his sons Jack and Alex Witkoff are also named as co-founders.

WLF's core governance token 'WLFI'

WLFI, issued on the 1st, is WLF's core governance token. Total issuance is 100 billion tokens, issued on the Ethereum mainnet. WLFI's sole utility is governance participation; holders are not granted any financial rights such as profits, dividends, or airdrops.

Initially, all tokens are locked and non-transferable, and only a portion will be unlocked through governance votes. Future unlocks will also be decided by community votes. This design intends to strengthen the token's function as a community decision-making tool rather than for speculation.

The distribution structure is △token sale 33.893% △community growth and incentives 32.6% △co-founders' share 30% △team and advisory 3.507%. In particular, the sale portion was allocated to eligible participants to expand the governance base of the WLF protocol. Governance follows the '1 token = 1 vote' principle, but each individual wallet can exercise at most 5% to prevent power concentration.

DWF Labs said in a report, "The WLFI token launch carries meaning far beyond a typical token issuance," and analyzed that "the fundraising of more than 500 million dollars and the rapid entry into the upper ranks of market capitalization show the potential to connect traditional financial capital and crypto liquidity."

It added, "WLFI's success signifies structural change in the digital asset environment, could accelerate institutional adoption, and enable regulated capital inflows," and "could even attract countries that want to participate in a regulated blockchain ecosystem."

WLF stablecoin 'USD1'

Launched earlier in May, WLF's stablecoin USD1 is expected to become a core product of the WLF protocol. USD1 is dollar-pegged and can be used across various platforms, exchanges, and multiple blockchains, and is expected to be used for retail payments in the future. Integrated into the WLF protocol, qualifying holders will be able to participate in financial activities such as lending and borrowing.

USD1's redeemability is also guaranteed. BitGo users who meet eligibility requirements can directly exchange USD1 for an equivalent value in dollars, and exchanges and regulated custodians will also facilitate conversion. Specific exchange conditions vary according to each institution's terms and eligibility requirements.

Primary revenue for USD1 and related entities comes from interest on reserve assets. BitGo and WLF affiliates have the right to receive interest on reserve assets, and DT Marks, an entity associated with Donald Trump and some family members, is a major shareholder of WLF affiliates and receives indirect economic benefits. Interest generated from USD1 reserve assets is also included among recipients.

USD1, a dollar-pegged stablecoin, can be issued additional supply once reserves are secured, and there is no cap on maximum issuance. It is exchangeable with U.S. dollars at a 1:1 ratio and is 100% collateralized by short-term U.S. Treasury bills, dollar deposits, and cash-equivalent assets. Reserves are managed by BitGo Trust, a licensed trust company in South Dakota, and BitGo Technologies, a financial services firm approved by the federal government.

Issuance of USD1 is also handled by BitGo, and the branding rights are held by WLF and its affiliates. BitGo provides initial purchase/redemption services as well as related technical infrastructure and services to support wide global adoption of USD1.

WLF CEO visiting Korea…what will he say?

As WLF continues aggressive moves by sequentially launching the stablecoin and token, Jack Witkoff, WLF CEO, will visit Korea on the 22nd. WLF is co-hosting the 'Eastpoint Seoul 2025' event in Seoul that day.

On the 3rd (local time), CEO Witkoff said, "I am very pleased to be a co-host of the Eastpoint event in Seoul. We are preparing several major announcements."

The industry says this is symbolically significant as WLFI's first official visit to Korea. In particular, the event is planned as a private meeting attended only by key decision-makers, giving it a kind of 'web3 summit' character. An industry source said, "The industry is watching what major announcements WLF will make at this meeting," and added, "If you hold WLFI, you should watch closely."

Duhyun Hwang BloomingBit reporter cow5361@bloomingbit.io