By Gage Skidmore from Peoria
A cryptocurrency venture launched by the Trump family has begun trading publicly, assigning a market value of about $5bn (£3.7bn) to the holdings of the U.S. president and his sons.
The Trumps established World Liberty Financial in the midst of last year’s presidential campaign, immediately sparking concerns over potential conflicts of interest given Donald Trump’s direct role in shaping financial and regulatory policy. The firm raised funds by issuing its own digital currency, WLFI, to investors, who were initially barred from offloading their coins.
That restriction eased in July when early buyers — excluding the Trump family — voted to permit sales of up to 20% of their original stakes. WLFI began trading this week on major exchanges including Binance and Coinbase. By Tuesday, the token was priced at about $0.22, down nearly 50% from Monday’s opening but still above the price paid by many initial investors, leaving them positioned for gains.
“We’re setting a new standard for financial freedom — built on trust, speed, and U.S. values,” Eric Trump declared in a celebratory social media post, calling the debut a milestone moment for the “future of money.”
Financial disclosure filings reveal that Trump personally holds around 15.75 billion WLFI tokens, a stash worth more than $3.4bn at current prices, making cryptocurrency the single largest contributor to his fortune. Together, the Trump family controls just under one-quarter of the roughly 100 billion WLFI tokens minted in 2024, translating into a combined holding valued at roughly $5bn.
Beyond token appreciation, Trump and his sons also collect a share of revenue generated by WLFI sales. According to Reuters estimates, that arrangement has already funneled more than $500m into their coffers. Revenues received an additional lift last month after World Liberty Financial struck a deal with a separate publicly listed company that had raised $750m from investors to purchase the coin — effectively positioning WLFI as both issuer and buyer of its own cryptocurrency.
The family’s deep involvement has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats, who warn that the venture is a vehicle for corruption, self-dealing, and regulatory conflicts of interest. Trump’s White House, however, has consistently dismissed such concerns.
Administration press secretary Karoline Leavitt accused the media of manufacturing controversy. “The media’s continued attempts to fabricate conflicts of interest are irresponsible and reinforce the public’s distrust in what they read,” she said in a statement. “Neither the President nor his family have ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest.”
World Liberty Financial’s token launch marks a stark policy reversal from the Biden era, when regulators subjected token offerings to intense scrutiny, likening them to stock sales that required strict disclosure and compliance. Trump, by contrast, campaigned on making the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world” and has adopted a lighter-touch regulatory approach since entering office.
The Department of Justice last month formally disbanded its crypto crimes task force, while financial watchdogs under Trump have rolled back previous guidance. “Despite what the SEC has said in the past, most crypto assets are not securities,” said Paul Atkins, Trump’s Securities and Exchange Commission chair, in a July speech. “We need a regulatory framework that allows crypto asset securities to grow and thrive within U.S. markets.”
