World Liberty Financial is an Ethereum-based decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol backed by Donald Trump and his family. The protocol announced plans to begin the sale of tokens on Tuesday, October 15, 2024. ^[1][2][3]

@WorldLibertyFi Token Sale goes live on Tuesday morning, October 15th! This is YOUR chance to help shape the future of finance - former president Donald Trump tweeted on Oct. 12

Overview

Initially announced as The DeFiant Ones, World Liberty Financial, Inc. (“WLFi”) states its aim to bring permissionless and peer-to-peer digital asset systems to its audience. WLFi is also launching the WLFi governance platform, a DeFi platform for $WLFI token holders to help shape the WLFi protocol through governance. ^[7]

"The WLFi protocol aims to become the one-stop-shop for DeFi across the globe. It is being designed and built by leading pioneers in the crypto industry. The WLFi protocol aspires to bring together leading technology in the blockchain industry with strategic partnerships and broad distribution channels built for mass adoption in order to redefine the landscape of DeFi" - the blogpost stated

World Liberty Financial is spearheaded by Zachary Folkman and Chase Herro, who worked previously on the DeFi platform Dough Finance, which saw $2 million of crypto assets drained through a July exploit. They are listed on the whitepaper as World Liberty Financial's head of operations and its data and strategies lead, respectively. ^[5]

Members of the Trump family, including Donald Trump, publicly supported the project on social media, with the former president titled "Chief Crypto Advocate". Two of his sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., are involved as "Web3 Ambassadors," while his other son Barron Trump is listed as "DeFi Visionary." ^[1][7]

A draft white paper seen by CoinDesk suggests that World Liberty Financial will sell 30% of the WLFI tokens generated, with the remaining 70% held by founders, service providers, and other team members. ^[6]

"WLFi believes that the promise of DeFi is permissionless access to peer-to-peer information and digital asset systems that are ultimately controlled by the DeFi community, including its users.Many aspects of traditional finance move at a glacial pace. DeFi can help shatter this paradigm. On-chain transactions are final — no more pending states or unexpected reversals. DeFi operates 24/7, putting users in control of their digital assets around the clock. Through the WLFi token voting governance platforms, community members can shape the WLFi protocol." - WLFi's vision

On October 9, 2024, World Liberty Financial (WLFi) project submitted on the Aave governance forums a proposal to deploy an Aave v3 instance. ^[8]

"Through this proposed Aave instance, the WLFi protocol has the potential, if approved, to provide users access to one of DeFi’s pre-eminent, battle-tested, non-custodial, peer-to-peer, borrowing, and lending platforms." - the team wrote

This collaboration will aim to combine the peer-to-peer and permissionless lending and borrowing that forms the backbone of DeFi with the usability and UX of web2. ^[7]

WLFi Advisors

• Corey Caplan - Co-founder, Dolomite
• Alexei Dulub - Founder, PixelPlex
• Cryptogle - Cofounder, Glue
• Rafael Yakobi - Managing Partner, The Crypto Lawyers
• Luke Pearson - General Partner, Polychain Capital
• Sandy Peng - Cofounder, Scroll
• Matthew Morgan - CEO, Mixie Studios & Mixie Media
• Ryan Fang - Founder, Tomo Wallet^[9]

Developments

WLFI x Ethena Labs

On December 18, 2024, [Ethena Labs](https://iq.wiki/wiki/usde) organized a strategic partnership with World Liberty Financial in order to integrate Ethena’s sUSDe token — a staked version of its USDe “synthetic dollar” — with World Liberty Financial’s Aave instance, enabling users to deposit USDe and receive rewards in both sUSDe and World Liberty’s WLF token. ^[10]

"Excited to announce the collaboration between World Liberty Financial (WLFI) and Ethena Labs! First step: exploring sUSDe integration into WLFI’s lending platform, bringing new opportunities for DeFi users worldwide." - the WLF team tweeted

Ethena Labs also tweeted;

"A governance proposal has been submitted to add sUSDe to WLFI's upcoming Aave instance as a core collateral asset.

Should it pass, this proposal will enable World Liberty Financial users to benefit from sUSDe rewards and also WLF token rewards. This integration will increase stablecoin liquidity and utilization rates on the protocol, as sUSDe's integration has on Aave's Core instance.”

According to the statement, Ethena and WLF will explore the potential implementation of sUSDe as the first new token available as collateral on the WLFI protocol, which is backed by Aave.

"Introducing sUSDe into WLFI’s forthcoming Aave instance ... would enable the instance to benefit from the large TVL and user base of Ethena." - statement continues.

WLFi to launch USD1

On March 25, 2025, World Liberty Financial (WLFI) confirmed that it will launch its USD1 stablecoin, which it claims will be backed 1:1 with the US Dollar. This comes after the DeFi platform initiated several test transactions using the stablecoin on the Binance BNB Chain ^[14]

WLFI’s USD1 will be 100% backed by short-term US government treasuries, US dollar deposits, and other cash equivalents. Initially, USD1 tokens will be minted on the Ethereum (ETH) and Binance Smart Chain (BSC) blockchains, with plans to expand to other protocols in the future. Each token is intended to maintain a value of $1 USD, fully backed by a reserve portfolio audited regularly by a third-party accounting firm. ^[14]

“USD1 provides what algorithmic and anonymous crypto projects cannot — access to the power of DeFi underpinned by the credibility and safeguards of the most respected names in traditional finance,” said Zach Witkoff, WLFI co-founder. “We’re offering a digital dollar stablecoin that sovereign investors and major institutions can confidently integrate into their strategies for seamless, secure cross-border transactions.” - the press release stated

USD1 reserves will be custodied by BitGo, the world’s largest independent qualified custodian and leader in digital asset security, custody, and liquidity. BitGo provides the operational backbone for thousands of institutional clients in multiple international jurisdictions. BitGo Prime, BitGo’s prime brokerage service, will also support USD1 — providing institutional clients with access to deep liquidity and trading, all from insured and regulated qualified custody.

“The launch of USD1 represents a significant advancement in institutional-ready digital assets,” said Mike Belshe, BitGo CEO.

“Our clients demand both security and efficiency, and this partnership with WLFI delivers both — combining deep liquidity with the assurance that reserves are securely held and managed within regulated, qualified custody.” ^[14]