The Trump family has ventured into cryptocurrency with the October 2024 launch of World Liberty Financial, a digital asset enterprise that grants them a commanding 60% ownership stake while positioning Donald Trump as “chief crypto advocate” and his youngest son Barron as “DeFi visionary”—titles that might raise eyebrows among those familiar with traditional finance hierarchies.
The venture’s financial architecture reveals an intricate web of value extraction: the family receives 75% of revenue from WLFI token sales while holding 22.5 billion coin units that confer voting rights reminiscent of traditional equity structures. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. assume management roles alongside key figures including Zachary Folkman, Chase Herro, and Zach Witkoff, orchestrating what amounts to a thorough cryptocurrency ecosystem. The operation maintains a lean structure with a 20 to 30 employee workforce managing the multi-billion dollar enterprise.
World Liberty Financial’s product suite centers on the USD1 stablecoin, pegged to the dollar and designed to generate revenue through investments in short-term U.S. treasuries—a time-tested strategy that becomes more interesting when one considers the $2 billion investment from a UAE sovereign wealth fund. The stablecoin has achieved a $2.2 billion market capitalization, while WLFI token sales have reportedly raised approximately $550 million by March 2025. According to investigative reporting, the Trump family has accumulated more than $2.3 billion from cryptocurrency-related activities during the presidency.
Perhaps most audacious is the partnership with ALT5 Sigma, a publicly traded company (with Eric Trump conveniently positioned on its board) that facilitated raising $1.5 billion to purchase WLFI tokens. This transaction valued the tokens at $20 billion, employing what promoters euphemistically call the “infinite money glitch”—issuing new token shares at premiums to acquire assets.
Financial experts have expressed skepticism about this model’s sustainability, noting that it violates fundamental finance principles while channeling most benefits directly to the Trump family, who reportedly gained over $400 million by mid-2025. This contrasts sharply with emerging platforms that offer 119% APY through more traditional staking mechanisms and transparent governance structures.
The venture positions itself as a portal for cryptocurrency investment, borrowing, and lending, targeting both traditional and crypto-native investors through aggressive promotion at industry events like the Las Vegas Bitcoin conference.
Critics highlight transparency concerns regarding WLFI governance structures and potential conflicts arising from foreign investments, particularly given the family’s political prominence and influence over potential regulatory frameworks that could benefit their cryptocurrency interests.
