World Liberty Financial (WLF), a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform tied to U.S. President Donald Trump, made waves on Jan. 20 by purchasing over $100 million worth of cryptocurrency. Data from Arkham Intelligence revealed that WLF’s wallet executed large-scale transactions within just four hours, including $46.8 million in Ether and $46.7 million in wrapped Bitcoin, with individual purchases often exceeding $4 million.
The wallet also acquired smaller market-cap tokens such as Ethena, wrapped Tron, Chainlink, Aave, and Uniswap, utilizing the decentralized exchange CoW for its transactions. By the end of the day, WLF’s total cryptocurrency holdings reached $326.2 million, predominantly in Ether, USD Coin, and wrapped Bitcoin.
On Jan. 19, the day before Trump’s inauguration, WLF purchased Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domains for several Trump family members, sparking speculation on social media about the potential for more Trump-branded memecoins. Two days prior, Trump launched the Official Trump token on the Solana blockchain. The token initially reached a $15 billion market capitalization but dropped 40% by inauguration day. Meanwhile, First Lady Melania Trump introduced her self-titled memecoin, MELANIA, during the same weekend.
World Liberty Financial has also been active in its token sales. The platform, led by Zachary Folkman and Chase Herro, both formerly of Dough Finance, sold 20% of its 100 billion tokens before the inauguration. On Jan. 20, it released an additional 5% of tokens with a 230% markup.
The Trump family’s involvement in WLF is significant, with Donald Trump holding the title of “chief crypto advocate” and his sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., acting as Web3 ambassadors. The family’s support for the platform, combined with its high-profile purchases and token launches, has drawn intense interest and sharp debate within the cryptocurrency community.
While WLF’s actions have solidified its financial position, its ventures, including the Trump and Melania tokens, have generated polarized reactions. Some see the developments as bold innovations in the DeFi space, while others question the implications of intertwining crypto with political figures.