Trump-Backed Crypto Project WLFI Closes Token Sale After Raising $590 Million
World Liberty Financial Initiative (WLFI), the cryptocurrency project backed by former US President Donald Trump, has wrapped up its token sale, raising a staggering $590 million. This achievement places WLFI among the top ten largest token sales in history, according to data from ICODrops.
### WLFI Token Sale
WLFI’s token sale was unique in that its tokens were available exclusively to accredited investors, with strict limitations that prevent public trading or transfers. So far, no timeline has been set for an exchange listing, making the WLFI tokens largely inaccessible to the general public.
Launched in September 2024, WLFI aims to enhance decentralized finance (DeFi) while promoting US dollar-pegged stablecoins to uphold the dominance of the USD in global markets. The initiative’s core offering is a DeFi lending platform designed to support such stablecoins.
Initially launched for public sale on October 15, WLFI targeted a fundraising goal of $300 million. The sale included 20 billion tokens priced at $0.015 each. However, interest was tepid, resulting in the sale garnering only $11 million from 766 million tokens sold. As a result, the project was compelled to reduce its fundraising goal to $30 million.
The sentiment around WLFI shifted positively following the surge of interest in Trump-themed meme coins, such as Official Trump (TRUMP) and Official Melania (MELANIA). By January 20, the initial sale concluded with only 20% of the total token supply sold. Acknowledging an uptick in interest, WLFI subsequently released an additional 5 billion tokens at $0.05 each, which were nearly sold out by March 13.
Holders of WLFI tokens will have governance rights over the WLF Protocol, though tokens will remain non-transferable during the first year after the launch, emphasizing a locked-in investment strategy for early participants.
Notably, a significant investor in WLFI is Justin Sun, the founder of Tron. He made headlines by purchasing $30 million worth of tokens in late November, securing the largest individual investment stake at that time.
### WLFI Portfolio Faces Challenges
In tandem with its token sale, WLFI is grappling with a challenging market, as revealed by Lookonchain, which reported that the initiative’s portfolio of nine crypto assets has experienced a decline of $124 million. The most substantial losses have come from Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), Aave (AAVE), and Tron (TRX), driven largely by the recent volatility in the cryptocurrency market.
WLFI’s portfolio is heavily invested in Ethereum, which constitutes 65% of its total holdings. The firm purchased ETH at an average price of $3,240 per token, but with the current price plummeting to approximately $1,900, the depreciation has significantly impacted WLFI’s overall financial standing.
This scenario underscores the volatility inherent in the cryptocurrency markets, even as initiatives such as WLFI seek to revolutionize the finance landscape through innovative funding and governance structures.
