The Trump family has turned cryptocurrency into its most significant financial venture, with holdings valued at around $6 billion following the trading debut of its World Liberty Financial token.
The launch of the digital asset marked one of the most high-profile crypto events of 2025 but also raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest between Donald Trump’s presidential duties and the accumulation of his family wealth.
What we know about World Liberty Financial
On Monday, World Liberty Financial (WLF) officially opened trading for its cryptocurrency token, $WLFI.
The company was created last October by Donald Trump’s three sons — Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump, and Barron Trump — with the US president named “Co-Founder Emeritus.”
The project was introduced during Trump’s presidential run as a new frontier for his campaign theme to “make America Great Again, this time with crypto.”
Before the launch, tokens had been sold privately to about 35,000 early investors who together spent approximately $550 million by spring this year, reported the Wall Street Journal.
Until recently, these early buyers were unable to trade their holdings on public markets. In July, WLF executives voted to allow the tokens to be listed, paving the way for their debut on major global cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, Bybit, and OKX.
The anticipation surrounding the launch was significant. At 8 am Monday, the token opened trading at 20 cents. Within minutes, the price doubled, reaching as high as 40 cents. The momentum was short-lived.
By 5 pm, the price had dropped back to around 22 cents, below the levels many observers had expected based on online discussions.
How it became a billion-dollar trading frenzy
Despite the volatility, trading activity was immense. According to data from CoinMarketCap, more than $1 billion worth of $WLFI tokens exchanged hands within the first hour of trading.
On Binance, one of the world’s most popular exchanges, the token moved between 24 and 30 cents, consistent with the values implied by futures contracts linked to $WLFI that had been active the previous week.
The immediate market value placed the Trump family’s holdings at more than $6 billion on paper. Their tokens, however, remain locked and cannot yet be sold.
World Liberty confirmed that founders and team members are restricted from trading their stakes, a rule designed to stabilize the token’s value.
Even so, early investors who purchased the tokens at just 1.5 cents last year stood to make significant profits. World Liberty allowed these buyers to sell up to 20 per cent of their holdings.
Many took advantage of that opportunity, turning early paper gains into real money.
What the Trump family stands to gain from this
The Trump family controls around 22.5 billion $WLFI tokens. Based on opening day prices, those holdings were valued between $5 billion and $6 billion.
This made $WLFI one of the family’s most valuable assets, surpassing the worth of Trump Organisation hotels, resorts and golf courses.
Beyond $WLFI, the Trumps
also maintain other cryptocurrency interests. Trump-owned entities operate a memecoin called
$TRUMP, which itself has a valuation in the billions.
Additionally, a Trump trust owns more than half of Trump Media, the company behind Truth Social. Trump Media also engages in crypto trading and holds digital assets currently worth about $2.5 million.
The rapid accumulation of crypto-based wealth has made digital finance the Trump family’s single largest source of personal fortune, eclipsing its real estate portfolio.
How Witkoff fits into all this
At the helm of World Liberty Financial is Zach Witkoff, son of Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
Witkoff became chief executive officer of the company, while other close associates, including Chase Herro and Zachary Folkman, were involved as key partners. Together, this group controls billions of additional tokens.
WLF’s decision to employ figures connected to the Trump administration raised questions about political influence.
Critics suggested the project created potential channels for investors to seek access to the US president. World Liberty, however, has maintained its independence from politics.
Witkoff himself said the company was apolitical but added that “clearly President Trump is the greatest president of all time.”
How the Trump family has ensured steady profits
While trading activity was underwhelming after the early surge, the Trump family had already structured a deal that ensured major financial benefits regardless of the market’s performance.
That deal centred on Alt5 Sigma Corporation, a Nasdaq-traded company based in Las Vegas.
In August, Alt5 announced that Zach Witkoff had become its chairman. At the same time, Eric Trump joined its board of directors, and Zachary Folkman became a board observer. These appointments placed three senior World Liberty executives in top roles at Alt5.
As part of that transition, Alt5 disclosed plans to use $1.5 billion it had raised to buy World Liberty’s tokens once trading began.
On launch day, more than 7.5 billion $WLFI tokens — about 8 per cent of the total supply — were allocated to Alt5, the largest single offering on the market. In total, 24.7 billion tokens were made tradable, while the remaining supply remains locked.
According to disclosure filings, a Trump family entity known as DT Marks DEFI is entitled to 75 per cent of the proceeds from token sales after expenses, reported the New York Times.
This structure effectively guaranteed the family hundreds of millions of dollars, even before considering the market value of their locked holdings.
When asked about the arrangement on CNBC, Witkoff confirmed Alt5 had purchased tokens at 20 cents apiece, though he did not specify the scale of expense deductions.
How markets & stakeholders responded
The launch drew immediate participation from prominent crypto investors. Justin Sun, a major token holder, sought to calm fears of price collapse by announcing that he had no immediate plans to sell his stake.
Sun, who faced securities investigations during the Biden administration, saw his case suspended once Trump returned to office earlier this year.
According to the New York Times, his decision to hold the tokens was seen as a move to stabilise early trading.
Still, the token’s slide from 40 cents to about 22 cents by late afternoon suggested that momentum had cooled after the opening spike. Analysts noted that the debut was weaker than some supporters had predicted.
While Trump did not comment on the launch and instead spent the day at his Virginia golf club — his 66th visit to a Trump course since returning to office in January — his sons actively promoted the new venture.
Donald Trump Jr hailed the trading debut on social media, writing, “Big day – @WorldLibertyFi just launched the $WLFI token. This isn’t some meme coin, it’s the governance backbone of a real ecosystem changing how money moves. Freedom + finance + America FIRST. Home Team.”
Big day – @WorldLibertyFi just launched the $WLFI token. This isn’t some meme coin, it’s the governance backbone of a real ecosystem changing how money moves. Freedom + finance + America FIRST. Home Team. 🦅
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 1, 2025
Eric Trump marked the occasion abroad, attending cryptocurrency events in Hong Kong and Japan, where he promoted World Liberty’s offerings.
Why questions of conflict linger
Some observers worry that the arrangement creates opportunities for undue influence or investor expectations of political access.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt rejected the allegations, saying, “neither the president nor his family have ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest.”
Nevertheless, the corporate overlap between Alt5 and World Liberty has fuelled speculation of potential regulatory concerns.
In previous administrations, similar arrangements might have invited investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Trump, however, appointed a crypto-friendly securities lawyer to lead the commission earlier this year.
John Reed Stark, a former SEC attorney, criticised the situation’s transparency. “They have this obvious conflict of interest, given Donald J. Trump’s role as president,” Stark told the New York Times.
“One thing you have to give them credit for: They are doing just everything in plain view. Way back when, you would hide these associations. The president’s family celebrates them like a badge of honour.”
Analysts note that even small insider sales could cause prices to tumble.
The project also stands apart from traditional presidential family business ventures. Previous first families sought to separate political life from personal profit.
With inputs from agencies
