Last week, former U.S. President Donald Trump announced the upcoming launch of World Liberty Financial, a crypto project he claimed would revolutionize the financial landscape.
In a video posted on September 12, Trump said “We are embracing the future with crypto and leaving the slow and outdated banks behind.” He also added that he is scheduled to go live on September 16 for the launch of the project.
However, when the day arrived, the much-anticipated livestream left many questions unanswered. Instead of detailing World Liberty Financial, the discussion primarily centered around the project's token, WLFI.
During the space on September 16 on X, Trump was interviewed by crypto influencer Farokh Sarmad.
Although the event was touted as a "State of Crypto address," it took Trump nearly 20 minutes to utter the word crypto, as he was instead focusing on broader political themes at the beginning of the X spaces.
He provided no concrete details about World Liberty Financial. It wasn’t until over two hours into the livestream that Zak Folkman, one of the project’s leaders, disclosed plans for the WLFI token.
WLFI Token Details and Regulatory Compliance
Folkman mentioned that WLFI would be a governance token, allowing holders to make proposals and vote on platform-related matters.
Folkman also outlined that the tokens would be non-transferable governance tokens available to accredited investors in the US, aiming to comply with regulatory guidelines.
Although he stated that they do not consider WLFI to be a security, the team is taking a cautious approach by limiting the token sale to accredited investors.
This decision was made in light of the regulatory uncertainties surrounding tokens and token sales in the United States. For non-US investors, participation would also be limited by relevant restrictions.
Folkman assured potential investors that WLFI's token distribution would be fair, with approximately 63% of the tokens allocated for public sale. He added that there had been no pre-sales or early buy-ins at discounted rates for venture capitalists.
However, 20% of the tokens would go to the platform’s team and advisers, while the remaining 17% would be set aside for user rewards.
This stands in contrast to an earlier draft of the project's whitepaper, which indicated that 70% of the token supply would be reserved for the team, raising questions about the project's commitment to a fair distribution model.
Unclear Future for World Liberty Financial
Despite the livestream's focus on the WLFI token, critical details about World Liberty Financial itself remain unclear. Recent reports suggest that the platform aims to be a DeFi platform for borrowing and lending.
Earlier drafts of the white paper hinted at plans for integrating credit systems for borrowing and lending, built on the popular DeFi application Aave. Additionally, the project has expressed an interest in driving mass adoption of stablecoins.
However, the lack of concrete information from Trump and his team has left the crypto community speculating about the project's true intentions and potential impact.
