The much awaited decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol World Liberty Financial (WLFI) officially launched its public token sale on Tuesday morning. The project gained broad attention due to the support from former President Donald Trump, and sold early on with strong numbers, but there were also mixed reviews in the broader crypto community.
By 7:25 p.m. ET on Tuesday, around 610 million WLFI tokens had already been sold, which meant that something around $9.15 million had been raised. The sale is priced at $0.015 per token, and there’s still a long way to go; nearly 19.4 billion tokens are still available to be purchased. According to a roadmap shared with prospective investors, the token sale is intended to raise $300 million, selling 20% of its total supply.
Donald Trump Endorses World Liberty Financial as Crypto Advocate
The token sale, which went live between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, was an experience of high demand. The World Liberty Financial site also allegedly experienced intermittent downtimes since eager buyers rushed for tokens that raised another $5 million in its first hour of sale.
The WLFI token will be a governance token for the platform, which means holders will have their say in the decisions that drive the protocol’s ongoing development. However, according to the project’s roadmap, the tokens will be non-transferable for the first year after purchase, meaning early investors are tied to the platform’s long-term vision.
Donald Trump is one of the most high-profile endorsements of World Liberty Financial; this sets it apart from other DeFi protocols. He’s been a crypto advocate through and through, even taking on the title of chief crypto advocate for the project. Trump celebrated the token sale in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday.
“Big news! Trump wrote: “The World Liberty Financial token sale is now live.” “Crypto is the future. We should embrace this great technology, move our economy online and show the world how it’s done.”
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Trump’s Crypto Involvement Surprises after Previous Digital Asset Criticism
Trump’s foray into crypto space comes as a surprise, especially after he had been one of many politicians who bash digital assets openly. However, his interest in the sector is consistent with the messaging of his wider campaign, which is about innovation and American leadership in the latest frontier of technology. Trump’s three sons, Donald Jr., Eric, and Barron, also signed on as web3 ambassadors for the project, continuing to give it a high profile.
The excitement from the token sale and early Trump endorsement was tempered by a mixed reception from the cryptocurrency community toward World Liberty Financial. Project critics say that the project linking Trump could scare away investors, and advocates say it could help mainstream cryptocurrencies.
In the recent strength of the cryptocurrency market, analysts at Bernstein say that part of the reason Trump’s election odds have risen, as he campaigns for the Republican nomination, may have something to do. For instance, the price of Bitcoin has shot up by about 15% in October, on the back of Trump’s improved electoral prospects.
Bernstein analysts in a note to clients on Tuesday said they think Bitcoin’s recent strength is being driven by the return of Bitcoin’s correlation to Trump’s election odds. While both Trump and his democratic rival Vice President and nominee Kamala Harris have backed the crypto market, the crypto market is still going with Trump’s bidding.
Conclusion
World Liberty Financial’s token sale is still ongoing, and its success will depend on raising $300 million and walking the fine line between what the crypto community wants to hear and what it thinks it already knows. The future of WLFI and the DeFi space, in general, is doubtful after WLFI has influenced market trends with rising election odds and Trump’s backing.
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