Donald Trump's Crypto Venture World Liberty Financial Has Quietly Launched a US Dollar-Pegged Stablecoin Called USD1

President Donald Trump’s crypto venture World Liberty Financial has quietly launched a US dollar-pegged stablecoin called USD1

President Donald Trump’s crypto venture World Liberty Financial has launched a US dollar-pegged stablecoin called USD1 on both the Ethereum and BNB Chain networks.

The token, which currently has a supply of around $3.5 million, appeared on blockchain networks in early March. However, the venture did not make a formal announcement of the launch.

Instead, the token’s debut was brought to public attention by former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao. On Friday, CZ posted about the stablecoin to his 10 million followers on X.

“Welcome to @BNBChain!” CZ wrote, tagging the platform and linking to the token’s smart contract on BscScan.

According to data on the blockchain explorer, the smart contract was deployed 20 days ago.

“Great to see new projects launching on BNB Smart Chain. According to the token data, this token has a total supply of 3.5M USD1 and 1M WLFI tokens,” he added.

After posting about the token, Zhao wished the project well, adding: “May the best projects win!”

World Liberty Financial then confirmed the token’s existence but warned that “USD1 is not currently tradeable” and urged users to “beware of scams.”

A spokesperson for the venture said the project is still in its testing phase.

“We are still in the testing phase of the project and are not yet ready for public trading,” the spokesperson said.

“In the meantime, we encourage users to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity.”

Trump’s crypto venture began its journey in August as one of several Trump-family backed digital asset projects to emerge this year.

The venture, which focuses on decentralized finance (DeFi), aims to recreate banking services like lending and borrowing on blockchain networks.

The project has already conducted two public token sales for its governance token $WLFI. These sales have brought in a combined $550 million from investors.

Trump is listed as “Chief Crypto Advocate” for the project.

The Trump family maintains control of 60% of the company’s equity interests, according to the project’s website.

This family-heavy involvement includes the president’s sons—Barron, Eric, and Donald Jr.—who serve as “Web3 Ambassadors” for the platform.

Other key players include Trump loyalist and real estate magnate Steve Witkoff and his sons Alex and Zach as cofounders.

DeFi developers Zak Folkman and Chase Herro, who previously worked on Dough Finance, are also listed as cofounders of the venture.

Stablecoins represent one of the most profitable areas of the cryptocurrency market. These tokens maintain a steady value by being backed with reserves like cash or Treasury bills.

Major stablecoin issuers have reported massive profits with minimal staff.

For example, Tether, the company behind the largest stablecoin USDT, reported $13 billion in profits for 2024 with only about 100 employees.

Meanwhile, Circle, which issues USDC, is planning to go public this year following its success in the stablecoin market.

The launch also comes as lawmakers in Washington are making progress on legislation to regulate stablecoins.

The GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins) moved out of the Senate Banking Committee on March 13 and is expected to reach a full floor vote soon.

Bo Hines, executive director of the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, said he expects the GENIUS bill to reach Trump’s desk by June.

The timing suggests the administration is moving quickly to establish a regulatory framework that could benefit its own crypto ventures.

Addresses linked to major crypto firms Wintermute and BitGo have interacted with the USD1 token, blockchain data shows.

These interactions suggest the team may be testing the stablecoin with industry partners before making it available for public trading.

However, ethics experts have raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest with the president’s involvement in cryptocurrency projects.

“There are clear ethical concerns with the president engaging in cryptocurrency endeavors while also having a bearing on the regulatory landscape for these emerging technologies,” said Robert Siegel, a professor of political science at Princeton University.

“It creates an impression of favoritism towards any project he chooses to get involved in, and it could be seen as an attempt to capitalize on his public office for personal gain.”

Critics also point to the case of Tron founder Justin Sun, who announced a $30 million investment in World Liberty shortly after Trump won the 2024 election.

Following Trump’s inauguration and the appointment of Mark Uyeda as acting chair of the SEC, the regulator asked a federal court to pause its case against Sun “to explore a potential resolution.”

Sun had been facing allegations of selling unregistered securities and misusing customer funds.

The SEC case arose after Trump’s campaign announced that blockchain and Web3 technologies would be a key