What Is World Liberty Financial (WLFI)?
World Liberty Financial emerged in 2024 as a decentralized finance project with unprecedented direct ties to a sitting U.S. president's family, launching its native governance token WLFI on September 1, 2025. Within four days, the token achieved a $5.18 billion market capitalization, securing its position as the 38th largest cryptocurrency by market value.
I'll examine World Liberty Financial's core infrastructure and stated objectives, analyze WLFI's token distribution and governance model, and assess the project's early market performance alongside the broader implications of politically-connected DeFi platforms.
What Is World Liberty Financial?
World Liberty Financial is a DeFi project founded in 2024 with the stated goal of "bridging legacy finance and the open economy with purpose-built, on-chain products". It aims to blend traditional finance with the transparency and efficiency of the blockchain, making DeFi more accessible for both institutions and individuals.
In March 2025, the project launched its US dollar-pegged stablecoin called USD1, which is fully backed by US dollars and government money market funds, with reserves custodied by BitGo. This was followed recently by the WLFI token on September 1, which serves as the ecosystem's native coin. World Liberty Financial also has plans to launch lending and borrowing services and a dedicated mobile application in the future.
World Liberty Financial is most known for its direct connection to the Trump family. Co-founders listed on its website include Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Barron Trump, with Donald J. Trump listed as "Co-Founder Emeritus". According to the project's legal disclosures and Gold Paper, a corporate entity affiliated with the Trump family owns a significant equity stake in the company and holds 22.5 billion WLFI tokens. The project's close ties to a sitting U.S. president have drawn significant media attention and criticism from ethics watchdogs concerning potential conflicts of interest.
What Is WLFI?
WLFI is the native token of the World Liberty Financial ecosystem. Its primary purpose is to function as a governance token, giving holders a direct say in the future of the protocol.
The project is designed to be community-governed, meaning that WLFI token holders can propose, review, and vote on key decisions that shape the platform. This includes proposals for protocol upgrades, fund allocations, new partnerships, and changes to tokenomics, such as the recently proposed buyback-and-burn program.
By holding and staking WLFI, users can actively participate in the governance process, helping to steer the direction of the project. The token is available across multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Smart Chain.
WLFI Tokenomics
The WLFI token launched with a total and maximum supply of 100 billion. As of September 5, 2025, the token's key market statistics were as follows:
Market Cap: $5.18 billion
24-Hour Trading Volume: $1.4 billion
Circulating Supply: 27.3 billion WLFI
Source: World Liberty Financial Medium
According to a blog from the World Liberty Financial team, the initial circulating supply at launch was around 24.67 billion tokens. This included allocations for the project's ecosystem fund, liquidity and marketing, corporate treasury, and the initial 20% unlock for public sale participants. A significant portion of the total supply, including tokens allocated to the team and strategic partners, remains locked and is subject to future vesting schedules to be decided by community governance.
WLFI Price
Despite its rapid climb to a multi-billion-dollar market cap, WLFI's price has experienced significant volatility since its launch. The token debuted on exchanges on September 1, 2025, briefly hitting a high of around $0.33.
However, since its launch, WLFI's price has been in a downwards trend. It fell to a bottom of $0.1672 on September 4 before initiating a slight recovery. As of September 4, the price stood at $0.1894, representing a 38.65% decrease since the token's inception.
This price action reflects a mix of initial hype, early investor profit-taking, and broader market reaction to the large-scale token unlock. In response to the price drop, the project has already seen governance proposals to initiate token burns to reduce the circulating supply.
How much is 1 WLFI in South African rands (ZAR)?
As of today, 1 WLFI = 0.000000 South African Rands (ZAR).
Market data last updated: Aug 11, 2025, 05:12 (GMT)
Common ZAR to WLFI Conversions
| Amount (ZAR) | WLFI Amount as of MMM XX, YYYY at HH:MM (GMT) |
|---|---|
| 5 | X.XXXXXX |
| 10 | X.XXXXXX |
| 25 | X.XXXXXX |
| 50 | X.XXXXXX |
| 100 | X.XXXXXX |
| 500 | X.XXXXXX |
| 1,000 | X.XXXXXX |
| 5,000 | X.XXXXXX |
| 10,000 | X.XXXXXX |
| 25,000 | X.XXXXXX |
| 50,000 | X.XXXXXX |
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The Road Ahead for World Liberty Financial
World Liberty Financial has made a notable entrance into the crypto market, backed by a prominent name and an ambitious goal to merge traditional and decentralised finance. With its governance token WLFI, it aims to build a community-led ecosystem complete with a stablecoin, lending services, and other financial tools.
The project's initial days have been marked by a significant valuation and notable price volatility, highlighting both the high level of interest and the market's uncertainty. As the platform continues to develop and its locked tokens are gradually released, the market will be watching closely to see if its long-term utility and adoption can match its high-profile launch.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes, you can sell WLFI tokens. WLFI is actively traded on several major cryptocurrency exchanges, including VALR, allowing holders to buy and sell the token much like any other digital asset. However, prices have shown notable volatility since launch, so it is wise to check current market conditions before making any transactions.
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WLFI is listed on multiple leading cryptocurrency exchanges, including VALR, enabling trading across several blockchains such as Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Smart Chain. The project aims for broad accessibility, so additional listings may occur as the ecosystem expands.
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WLFI is the native token of World Liberty Financial and is designed to be community-governed. However, a corporate entity affiliated with the Trump family holds a significant equity stake and owns 22.5 billion WLFI tokens, according to the project's legal disclosures. The remaining supply is distributed among the public, ecosystem participants, and strategic partners.
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Yes, WLFI is available on Solana, as well as Ethereum and BNB Smart Chain. This multi-chain launch is intended to provide flexibility and accessibility for a wide range of users and investors.
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WLFI was created by World Liberty Financial, a DeFi project founded in 2024. The project is directly associated with the Trump family, with Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Barron Trump named as co-founders, and Donald J. Trump listed as "Co-Founder Emeritus."
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No, WLFI and USD1 are not the same. WLFI is the governance token for the World Liberty Financial ecosystem, while USD1 is a US dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by the project. USD1 is fully backed by US dollars and government money market funds, whereas WLFI is used for governance and staking in the protocol.
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WLFI is the native governance token of World Liberty Financial, a decentralised finance platform. It gives holders the ability to vote on proposals, upgrades, and other key decisions within the ecosystem. It is tradable on major exchanges like VALR and operates on multiple blockchains, serving as the foundation for the project’s community-led governance.
Risk Disclosure
Trading or investing in crypto assets is risky and may result in the loss of capital as the value may fluctuate. VALR (Pty) Ltd is a licensed financial services provider (FSP #53308).
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article are the personal views of the author and should not form the basis for making investment decisions, nor be construed as a recommendation or advice to engage in investment transactions.