World Liberty Financial, a new crypto platform pushed by Donald Trump and his sons, claims it’s all about giving regular folks a shot at controlling their finances.
They market it as a fix to the so-called “rigged” traditional banking system. Although, a closer look at the draft whitepaper for this project tells a different story. Reports say the power isn’t going back to the people. It’s staying with the insiders.
Apparently, 70% of WLFI, the platform’s governance token, will be kept by the founders, team, and service providers. The remaining 30% is set aside for a public sale, and even then, part of that cash is also heading to insiders. A small portion will go into a treasury to “support operations,” whatever that means.
Now, to put that in perspective, 70% is a lot. Compare that with other big names: Ethereum’s original plan set aside just 16.6% for its foundation and initial contributors. Bitcoin’s creator, the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, holds only about 5% of Bitcoin’s total supply. So, you get the idea—70% is a huge departure from the norm.
Unfinished plans and unanswered questions
World Liberty Financial hasn’t finalized all its plans, according to insiders. A statement from the team reportedly said:
“The team is working with a lot of contributors, and we’re not quite sure which version [of the white paper] you are referring to at the moment, but they have not finalized their tokenomics yet.”
Then there’s the matter of the WLFI token itself. Unlike many tokens out there, WLFI won’t be transferable. You can’t trade it between users. This might be a move to dodge the eyes of regulators—by keeping things in-house, they avoid some legal headaches.
Public token pre-sales aren’t what they used to be, either. Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), once the go-to for crypto startups to raise funds have fallen out of favor due to increased regulatory scrutiny and a flood of scams.
So, what World Liberty Financial is doing is unusual, but maybe that’s the point.
Despite all these red flags, Trump’s public stance on crypto remains bullish. He has pledged support for the industry, including promises made during a speech in Nashville. There, he vowed to set up a Bitcoin strategic reserve and back Bitcoin mining to boost energy production.
But there’s more to this than just a pitch. Data from a recent Fairleigh Dickinson University poll shows a link between crypto ownership and support for Trump.
Among those who own crypto, Trump leads Vice President Kamala Harris by 12 points (50% to 38%). Meanwhile, Harris is ahead by 12 points among those who don’t own crypto (53% to 41%).
