TLDR
- World Liberty Financial (WLFI), backed by Donald Trump, has closed its token sale with approximately $590 million raised
- Tron founder Justin Sun played a key role in the success, investing at least $75 million
- The project’s tokens were only available to accredited investors and cannot yet be transferred or sold on exchanges
- Initial sale momentum was slow but picked up after Sun’s investment in November 2024
- WLFI is a DeFi lending platform operating on Ethereum blockchain, supporting Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins
World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the crypto project backed by President Donald Trump, has completed its token sale, raising approximately $590 million. The project has now secured a place among the top 10 token raises of all time, according to data from ICODrops.
The token sale concluded on March 14, 2025, marking a major milestone for the project that faced early challenges. WLFI had initially struggled to gain momentum during its first phase of fundraising.
The project began its public sale on October 15, 2024, with an initial goal of raising $300 million. The sale offered 20 billion tokens at $0.015 each, available only to whitelisted individuals.
Early results fell short of expectations. The initial sale raised only $11 million from 766 million tokens sold, forcing the team to lower their target to $30 million.
Justin Sun invested $30 million into the project
The turning point came in November 2024 when Tron founder Justin Sun invested $30 million into the project. Sun later increased his investment by an additional $45 million on January 19, bringing his total stake to $75 million.
WLFI co-founder Zak Folkman credited Sun with the success of the token sale during a panel at Consensus 2025 in Hong Kong. “When we were launching this project, it was a very heated time,” Folkman said during the event.
Traditional crypto venture capitalists were reluctant to invest in the project due to its political connections. “[Sun] saw that regardless of the outcome, this project is a monumental move forward for the entire crypto community,” Folkman added.
The initial token sale closed by January 20, 2025, with 20% of the token supply being sold. Seeing increased demand, WLFI released an additional 5 billion tokens priced at $0.05 each on that same day.
By March 13, 99% of these additional tokens had been sold. The timing coincided with growing interest in Trump-related cryptocurrencies following the launch of Official Trump (TRUMP) token and Melania Meme (MELANIA).
WLFI is designed as a decentralized finance (DeFi) lending platform similar to Aave. It operates on the Ethereum blockchain and supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins.
The project focuses on promoting decentralized finance and US dollar-pegged stablecoins. Its stated goal is to maintain the dollar’s prominence in global finance.
Holders will be able to participate in decisions related to the Protocol
WLFI holders will be able to participate in decisions related to the WLF Protocol. However, the tokens remain non-transferable for the first 12 months after launch.
The project is fronted by members of the Trump family, including Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. Barron Trump is designated as the “DeFi visionary” for the project.
According to the project’s whitepaper, the Trump family does not own or manage WLFI. The document states that family members may receive compensation for their involvement.
Currently, WLFI tokens cannot be transferred or publicly sold on exchanges. No date has been set for an exchange listing.
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