World Liberty Financial (WLFI), established in 2024 by Donald Trump and his family, has emerged as a notable decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol in the crypto world. Led by Trump under the title of “Chief Crypto Advocate,” this initiative is a family project featuring Barron Trump as the “DeFi Visionary” and Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. as “Web3 Ambassadors.” The project’s core mission is to promote the mass adoption of U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins and DeFi, aiming to strengthen America’s financial leadership in the digital realm. WLFI seeks to offer users opportunities to borrow, lend, and invest with crypto assets, promising an alternative to the traditional financial system.
The development process of WLFI stands out with its technical infrastructure and strategic partnerships. The platform operates with the WLFI token, an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token, and is built on the Aave v3 protocol. This enhances the platform’s capacity to provide secure and efficient lending and borrowing services. Additionally, collaborations with leading Web3 projects like Chainlink bolster the platform’s reliability and data integration. As of 2025, WLFI has taken a significant step toward expanding DeFi access by forming a strategic reserve and product development partnership with the Sui Foundation. This partnership involves integrating Sui assets into WLFI’s “Macro Strategy” reserve, supporting the project’s goal of developing diversified financial strategies.
The project’s tokenomics is another key highlight of its development. WLFI tokens are designed solely for governance purposes and are non-transferable. Each token grants holders voting rights on platform updates, marketing strategies, and governance structure changes. However, these tokens do not provide economic returns and are not open to speculative trading. While 20% of the total supply was offered in a public presale, the remainder is allocated for project development, community incentives, and the founding team. As of January 2025, WLFI raised $1 billion at a token price of $0.05 USD.
Throughout its development, WLFI has also pursued aggressive steps to diversify its portfolio and build a strategic reserve. For instance, in 2025, the platform made crypto purchases worth $103 million, investing in major assets like Ethereum (ETH) and Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), as well as innovative projects like Ondo Finance. However, the project has faced some controversies. Allegations that its technical infrastructure is based on the code of Dough Finance—a previously hacked DeFi project—and criticisms regarding a lack of transparency in management have been among the challenges encountered during development.
In conclusion, World Liberty Financial is striving to carve out a prominent place in the DeFi space, leveraging the Trump family’s brand. Its development process is driven by strategic partnerships, a robust technical foundation, and a vision to enhance the global influence of the U.S. dollar. Yet, the non-transferability of tokens, risks of centralization in governance, and past controversies remain factors that could impact its long-term success. As of April 10, 2025, WLFI continues to be a project closely watched by both the crypto community and political circles. Future developments will provide clearer insight into its standing within the DeFi ecosystem.
1 Like