With the launch of the Trump family’s cryptocurrency token, the US president and his sons’ assets now have a total estimated value of $5 billion (£3.7 billion).
In the midst of last year’s presidential campaign, the Trumps established the cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial, raising concerns about possible conflicts of interest as he got involved in a sector he would soon be able to control.
Initially prohibited from selling, the firm raised funds by offering its eponymous digital tokens for sale to investors.
However, investors agreed in July to permit early buyers to sell up to 20% of their holdings of the coin, which is traded as WLFI, excluding founders like the Trump family.
As of Tuesday, WLFI was priced at approximately $0.22 on platforms like Binance and Coinbase, having dropped about 50% since trading began on Monday.
Although the decline suggests weak demand, the coin continues to trade at a price above what many initial buyers paid, positioning them for profit.
“Eric Trump posted on social media, ‘We’re establishing a new benchmark for financial independence; founded on trust, efficiency, and American principles.'” “This is a significant turning point for the future of currency!”
As per financial reports, Trump personally possesses around 15.75 billion WLFI tokens valued at over $3.4 billion, positioning cryptocurrency as the primary contributor to his wealth.
The Trumps collectively hold just under 25% of the approximately 100 billion WLFI coins they produced last year, which amounts to assets valued at around $5 billion, based on Tuesday’s prices.
Trump and his sons also receive a portion of the earnings from coin sales, a setup that has reportedly generated over $500 million, based on calculations from Reuters.
Last month, that revenue received a lift when World Liberty Financial partnered with another publicly traded company that secured $750m from investors to purchase the cryptocurrency, positioning World Liberty Financial in the rare role of being both a buyer and seller of the WLFI token.
Democrats have repeatedly expressed concern over Trump’s cryptocurrency transactions, claiming that World Liberty Financial and other cryptocurrencies he endorses serve as means for corruption, conflicts of interest, and scams.
The Trump administration has equally disregarded the criticism, even as the president has significantly changed the government’s stance on the industry.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the administration’s policies were “fostering innovation and economic opportunities for every American”.
“Ms. Leavitt stated that the ongoing efforts by the media to create conflicts of interest are reckless and further strengthen the public’s skepticism about their reading.” “Neither the President nor his family have participated, nor will they participate, in any conflicts of interest.”
Token offerings, such as that of World Liberty Financial, encountered significant examination under the Biden administration, which contended that they were fundamentally a form of stock sale and therefore subject to the current regulations overseeing publicly traded companies concerning matters like conflicts of interest and disclosure.
Trump, who stated in the campaign that he aimed to establish the US as the “crypto capital of the world,” promised a less interventionist strategy.
The Department of Justice dissolved its task force targeting cryptocurrency offenses last month.
Financial regulators have also clearly rejected the Biden administration’s guidelines on securities.
“Even though the SEC has previously stated otherwise, the majority of crypto assets are not classified as securities,” his leading financial regulator Paul Atkins, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, mentioned during a speech in July.
“A regulatory framework for crypto asset securities is necessary to enable these products to thrive in American markets.”