Trump-DeFi project WLFI sets ICO record

The Trump family's DeFi project, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), has completed its ICO completed and raised a total of US$590 million. According to data from ICO-Drops belongs this capital raising among the largest crypto-ICOs in history.

WLFI co-founder Zak Folkman, during a panel at the Consensus Hong Kong 2025, pointed to the participation of Tron founder Justin Sun as a deciding factor in its success. Sun invested $30 million in the project in November 2024, which in turn encouraged other investors to buy tokens.

Due to the unclear scope of the DeFi platform, the usual venture investors within the crypto world initially kept away. In addition, the rules for WLFI token sales stipulated that only accredited investors could participate. Furthermore, the WLFI tokens were not allowed to be resold or traded on the public market. A date for a listing on the major crypto exchanges is still unknown.

Meanwhile, several crypto experts repeatedly criticize the Trump project's business model. Indeed, in addition to established Ethereum DeFi tokens such as AAVE and LINK, WLFI also has young niche projects such as SEI and MOVE in its portfolio. Many observers argue that WLFI is guilty of dubious token trading, promising preferential treatment to other projects. The deal involves requiring other blockchain companies to buy at least $10 million in WLFI tokens, with a 10 percent commission, after which WLFI in turn invests the same amount in their tokens.

Recent reports indicate that the Trump family has now suffered a loss of more than $50 million with the WLFI portfolio.