The Trump family continues to establish a significant market presence in cryptocurrency operations. World Liberty Financial (WLF) became the focus of new attention on Monday, March 31, 2025, in a Reuters article, which revealed a Trump family purchase of at least 60% ownership through their new holding entity. Original co-founders Zak Folkman and Chase Herro? Sidelined. News about the Trump family controlling 75% of net revenues from WLFI cryptocurrency token sales has sparked widespread interest in the crypto world because the token sales generated $550 million. Trump World Liberty Financial is taking shape according to the following details.
Trump Family Takes the Reins
The ownership of World Liberty Financial underwent an immense transformation after Donald Trump took office. WLF Holdco LLC’s new company functions as the controlling authority because Reuters found this entity listed as the parent entity in WLF’s official documentation. A substantial 60% of DT Marks DeFi LLC’s ownership belongs to Donald J. Trump’s family, which claims 22.5 billion out of 100 billion WLFI tokens. Who’s got the other 40%? That’s still a mystery. The managerial role at WLF now belongs to Eric Trump, and Folkman and Herro, who previously maintained their positions as sole directors and members but have since transitioned to different leadership functions. Donald launched WLTC in October 2024 alongside his executive roles as “chief crypto advocate” while redistributing team leadership that included Eric and Don Jr. as “web3 ambassadors” and Barron as “chief DeFi visionary” across this family business.
The change intensified during January, coinciding with Donald Trump taking office as president. On January 19, WLF released an additional 5% of its token supply worth $250 million following its initial sale of $300 million from 20 billion WLFI tokens, which they distributed to investors. That’s $550 million total from 85,000 investors. The Trump World Liberty Financial stake entitles them to $400 million from past investments, while they hold the rights to 60% of operating revenue when lending and financial features launch. The co-founders collect their portion of revenue, but development keeps only 5% of the financial assets. Talk about a cash cow.
Token Sales and Treasury Twists
WLF obtained a significant $550 million in tokens through its token sale, 70% of which was sourced from large $100K contributions, and more than half came from million-dollar transactions as per onchain data. Justin Sun from Tron Networks invested $75 million into WLFI as part of his acquisitions. At the same time, both Movement and Ondo Finance joined him in acquiring MOVE and ONDO tokens through WLF’s treasury holdings. That stash hit $360 million at its peak, heavy on ETH, WBTC, USDT, and USDC. Then, poof—90% sold off. The current price stands at $80 million after the figure rose again from its initial decline. Why the rollercoaster? People remain silent about the matter while many raise their eyebrows in curiosity.
The platform adopts Aave’s open-source lending code to construct itself during its current development phase. Octavian Lojnita and Bogdan Purnavel serve as developers on the project after both worked on the failed Dough Finance project alongside Folkman and Herro. The team’s upcoming developments include an Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain USD1 stablecoin, a personal finance application, and a “lend and borrow” market. Some investors perceive major issues with the “DeFi revolution” concept that Trump World Liberty Financial promotes.
Power Play or Payoff Scheme?
Here’s where it gets spicy. The 60% stake and a 75% revenue cut worth $400 million continue to worry Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin and other critics. According to Vitalik Buterin, politicians involved with token sales might conceal hidden payoffs through token relationships. The legal shield protecting Donald Trump comes from multiple entities, which would prevent direct liability if Trump World Liberty Financial ends in failure, according to Reuters. The founders who bring Trump World Liberty Financial to life include Zach Witkoff, and Paxos co-founder Rich Teo, while both have direct ties to Donald Trump through his Middle East envoy position.
