Donald Trump's Family-Owned Crypto Project, World Liberty Financial, Raises More Questions Than Excitement

Billed as a groundbreaking decentralized finance (DeFi) project, WLF’s recent launch not only failed to meet expectations but also left many questions

Donald Trump has officially launched his family owned crypto project, called World Liberty Financial (WLF). Billed as a groundbreaking decentralized finance (DeFi) project, anticipation for WLF's launch was high. However, the recent event failed to meet expectations and left many questioning the project's viability.

The official launch of World Liberty Financial, took place on September 16 during a live-streamed audio event on X  Spaces (formerly Twitter). Hosted by Farokh Sarmad, co-founder of Rug Radio, the event began with an audience of over 170,000 listeners.

As the conversation progressed, it largely strayed from crypto topics and provided minimal details about the project, causing the audience to quickly dwindle. By the time Donald Trump himself mentioned WLF, the audience had already dropped by more than 50%.

The much-hyped project reveal was also vague. Donald Jr. briefly mentioned a possible tie to real estate and WLFI, the governance token. Even then, the details were limited.

To make matters worse, the project's own Telegram channel failed to post any updates throughout the event, further adding to the confusion and disappointment.

At the heart of WLF's ecosystem is the WLFI token, which project operations lead Zak Folkman revealed is strictly a governance token. During the live stream, Folkman revealed that WLFI tokens will provide holders with the ability to make proposals and vote on matters related to the platform. However, the token offers no economic benefits such as dividends. It’s also non-transferable, meaning it can't be traded on secondary markets.

Folkman also mentioned that 63% of WLFI's supply will be sold exclusively to accredited investors in the U.S., with 17% set aside for user rewards and 20% allocated to the project's team. This decision, while likely motivated by regulatory concerns, severely limits the token's accessibility and appeal. With no direct financial incentive tied to holding WLFI, it raises the question: What will drive user engagement?

Adding to the skepticism is World Liberty Financial's connections to Dough Finance, a DeFi project that was hacked for $1.8 million in a flash loan attack in mid-2023. Several key figures behind Dough are now part of WLF's leadership team, including Folkman, Chase Herro, and Octavian Lojnita.

Their involvement, especially given Dough Finance’s past security vulnerabilities, raises concerns about the integrity and safety of the WLF platform. While there's no concrete evidence that WLF contains the same code vulnerabilities that led to Dough’s downfall, the shared team members create unease.

An early iteration of World Liberty Financial reportedly lifted code from Dough Finance, which doesn't help matters.

The project's leadership also raises eyebrows. Former president Trump's role as “Chief Crypto Advocate” seems largely symbolic, as do the roles of Eric Trump and Donald Jr., who are listed as “Web3 Ambassadors.” Even Barron Trump, at just 18 years old, is branded a “DeFi Visionary.”

While these titles generate media buzz, they don't instill confidence in the project's ability to deliver on its promises. More troubling is the involvement of individuals like Chase Herro, whose previous ventures include a boat named “Clickbait” and a platform called Subify, which aims to compete with Patreon and OnlyFans by offering censorship-free membership.

None of these credentials inspire confidence in a project that seeks to play a significant role in the financial markets. Folkman, the founder of Date Hotter Girls LLC, further undermines the project's seriousness.

Moreover, other listed team members, such as Steve Witkoff and his son Zach, lack any significant crypto experience, leaving investors wondering if the project is more of a publicity stunt than a serious blockchain endeavor.

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