Donald Trump unveils World Liberty Financial crypto project - but what is it?

Three years after deriding bitcoin as a “scam” and “disaster waiting to happen”, former US president and convicted felon Donald Trump has unveiled his own crypto project - one he promises will “revolutionise” finance.

Former US president Donald Trump has unveiled his own crypto project, led by his two sons Eric and Donald Jr, with 18-year-old son Barron as its “visionary”.

World Liberty Financial, which claims it will challenge the power of big banks and revolutionise finance through the launch of a brand new cryptocurrency, was unveiled at a 90-minute live event on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday (20 February) night from Trump’s Mar-A-Lago residence in Florida.

More than a million people tuned in to find out what exactly the new crypto project is.

Here is everything we know so far about World Liberty Financial and Trump’s crypto plans.

What is World Liberty Financial?

The launch event saw four members of the Trump family and various crypto figures associated with the venture in attendance, however little was actually revealed about what World Liberty Financial is.

More time was spent talking about the recent assassination attempt on Trump than the crypto project they were there to launch, though a few key details were confirmed.

The main announcement centred on a new crypto token called WLFi.

“We’re planning to sell and otherwise distribute governance tokens called WLFi in the future,” said Zak Folkman, one of the project's leaders.

“WLFi tokens are pure governance tokens only providing the right to make proposals and vote on matters related to the platform. WLFi will be non-transferrable and do not provide any economic rights such as dividends or other distributions, and we only want eligible people who actually plan to engage in the direction of World Liberty Financial governance to purchase the token. So this means not people who are motivated simply by an expectation for resale for profit.”

Not everyone will be able to buy the token, with regulations meaning that only accredited investors in the US are allowed to purchase WLFi.

Only 63 per cent will be sold to the public, with 17 per cent set aside for user rewards and 20 per cent reserved for “team compensation” for the likes of Trump and his sons.

Other details previously offered by Eric Trump suggest it will involve some kind of “digital real estate” – referring to either the digital tokenisation of real-world assets in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), or the creation of virtual property within the metaverse.

“It’s equitable. It’s collateral anyone can get access to and do so instantly,” he told the New York Post last month. “I don’t know if people realise what a shake up that is for the world of banking and finance.”

What is Trump's crypto plan?

Trump’s crypto plan has been shrouded in secrecy for months, with cryptic teasers and grandiose claims building up anticipation among his supporters and crypto enthusiasts alike.

The former president, who once called bitcoin a “scam” and a “disaster waiting to happen”, has now pivoted to embracing crypto and promising to revolutionise finance.

His involvement in crypto began last year with the launch of his own NFT collection, which quickly sold out and raised $7.2 million.

Trump has since promised to launch his own crypto project that will “make everyone rich”, with some speculating that it could be a crypto token or even a stablecoin.

“I’m very excited about crypto. I think it’s a very exciting moment. We’re going to be announcing something very big very soon,” Trump said in a video message last month.

“It’s going to be a very interesting moment. I think a lot of people are going to be very, very happy. I can tell you that.”

What happened at the World Liberty Financial launch event?

The launch event, which was streamed live on X, began with a montage of clips showing Trump’s recent endorsement of crypto and his claims that he will be launching a new crypto project.

The event was then hosted by four members of the Trump family – Donald Jr, Eric, Tiffany and Lara – as well as several crypto figures associated with the venture.

Among them were cryptocurrency lawyer John Deaton, who is representing XRP holders in the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s case against Ripple, and crypto influencer Cooper Turley, who is known for his pro-Trump and anti-vaccine views.

After teasing the audience with cryptic messages and talking about the recent assassination attempt on Trump, the hosts finally announced the launch of a new crypto project called World Liberty Financial.

“We’re here tonight to announce something that’s going to change the world of finance as we know it,” said Donald Trump Jr.

“Something that’s going to put the power back in the hands of the people, something that’s going to challenge the status quo and revolutionise the way we think about money and finance.”

The hosts then went on to explain the basics of crypto, blockchain technology and Web3, before finally announcing that World Liberty Financial will be launching a new crypto token called WLFi.

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