World Liberty Financial Debuts DeFi Lending Platform Amid Scrutiny Over Trump Family Ties
January 12, 2026
Finance

World Liberty Financial Debuts DeFi Lending Platform Amid Scrutiny Over Trump Family Ties

Launch of USD1 Stablecoin Lending Service Raises Questions on Potential Conflicts of Interest with Trump’s Crypto Earnings

Summary

World Liberty Financial, a company affiliated with President Donald Trump’s family, has introduced World Liberty Markets, a decentralized finance platform supporting lending and borrowing via its USD1 stablecoin, now valued at $3.4 billion in circulation. This development comes as the Trump family reportedly earned over $800 million from crypto-related ventures in 2025, drawing attention to conflicts of interest concerns due to the president’s connection.

Key Points

World Liberty Financial launched World Liberty Markets, a DeFi lending platform using its USD1 stablecoin now valued at $3.4 billion in circulation.
The platform permits lending and borrowing with USD1, accepting collateral including Ethereum, USDC, USDT, tokenized Bitcoin, and WLFI governance tokens, powered by the Dolomite protocol.
The Trump family, named co-founders, earned over $800 million from crypto ventures in 2025, with $463 million from WLFI token sales specifically, drawing conflict of interest concerns.
World Liberty applied for a national bank charter to issue and custody USD1 stablecoin directly, potentially placing it under federal supervision connected to the president’s regulatory umbrella.

World Liberty Financial, a crypto company associated with President Donald Trump and his family, recently launched World Liberty Markets, a decentralized finance (DeFi) lending platform utilizing its USD1 stablecoin. This stablecoin has reached a circulation value of $3.4 billion, solidifying its position as one of the largest dollar-backed stablecoins following industry leaders such as Tether, Circle, and PayPal’s PYUSD.

The platform enables users to engage in lending and borrowing digital assets through USD1, while accepting collateral including Ethereum, USDC, USDT, tokenized Bitcoin, and the WLFI governance token. Operationally, World Liberty Markets is powered by the Dolomite protocol, facilitating these transactions on its DeFi infrastructure.

Currently, borrowers can acquire USD1 on the platform by paying approximately 0.83% interest, whereas lenders may earn about 0.08% interest from lending USD1, although these rates are subject to fluctuation as the volume of funds committed to the platform changes.

The platform's launch coincides with a broader resurgence in crypto lending, as evidenced by a November report from Galaxy Digital, showing active DeFi loans increasing to nearly $41 billion by the end of the third quarter of 2025, contributing to an all-time high total crypto lending value of approximately $74 billion.

World Liberty Financial publicly acknowledges President Trump and his sons as co-founders, directly linking the president to the company’s operations and earnings. A Reuters investigation published in October revealed that the Trump family generated hundreds of millions of dollars from the company and associated token sales during the first half of 2025. Specifically, token sales related to WLFI accounted for approximately $463 million, with their total crypto-derived income exceeding $800 million across enterprises connected to the Trump family.

Notably, these crypto earnings surpass income from the Trump family’s traditional business ventures such as golf courses and real estate licensing. Additionally, President Trump earned tens of millions from WLFI sales in 2024 prior to assuming office.

Despite this, World Liberty claims that President Trump is not involved in the daily operational management of the company—a responsibility delegated to crypto industry executives including co-founder Zach Folkman. However, critics argue that this division of roles is insufficient to mitigate concerns given the president’s acknowledged association with the project and substantial financial gains.

Adding complexity to potential conflicts of interest, World Liberty filed an application for a national bank charter recently. This would provide regulatory approval to issue and custody the USD1 stablecoin internally, removing reliance on external entities. If authorized, USD1 would fall under federal banking oversight.

This application was submitted to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a regulatory body under the Treasury Department, which ultimately reports to the president. Observers view this intertwining of regulatory jurisdiction and presidential connections as an additional layer highlighting possible conflicts.

Looking ahead, Folkman indicated plans to expand the lending platform to accept a wider range of collateral options, with potential inclusion of tokenized real estate assets linked to the Trump Organization. The company also intends to introduce a mobile application and a debit card for the USD1 stablecoin within the current year.

Examining the market performance of the WLFI token, it has experienced a recovery of approximately 86% from an October low of $0.09 after a significant drop of 82% from a September peak of $0.28. Key resistance levels to watch include $0.18791, the immediate resistance point, followed by the psychological barrier at $0.20, then a range between $0.22 and $0.24. Surpassing $0.25 could target the earlier peak of $0.28. Conversely, downside support is noted at $0.15681, with a break below $0.14 risking a retest of $0.12892, and a further drop under $0.12 potentially threatening the ongoing recovery momentum.

Risks
  • Potential conflicts of interest due to President Trump profiting extensively from a crypto business he is publicly linked with.
  • The national bank charter application may present regulatory and ethical concerns given its reporting structure ultimately leading to the president.
  • Fluctuating interest rates on the lending platform could affect user engagement and platform stability.
  • WLFI token remains volatile, with recent sharp declines and partial recovery, exposing investors to price risk.
Disclosure
Education only / not financial advice
Search Articles
Category
Finance

Financial News

Ticker Sentiment
WLFI - neutral
Related Articles
Treasury Secretary Highlights Urgency for Crypto Regulatory Clarity Amidst Coinbase Opposition

In light of recent fluctuations in cryptocurrency markets, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emp...

XRP's Market Prospects in 2026: Assessing the Path Toward $1

The cryptocurrency sector is experiencing significant downturns at the beginning of 2026, with XRP, ...

Ripple Joins Forces with UAE Digital Bank Zand for Stablecoin Integration Amid XRP Decline

Ripple has announced a partnership with UAE-based digital bank Zand to collaborate on stablecoin ini...

Significant Declines in Dogecoin and Shiba Inu Prompt Technical Analysis on Key Support Levels

Dogecoin and Shiba Inu experienced notable price drops recently, with both cryptocurrencies losing g...

Cryptocurrency Market Holds Steady Amid Anticipation of US-Iran Developments

The cryptocurrency market demonstrates a cautious stance as Bitcoin approaches the $69,000 mark. Oth...

Interactive Brokers Broadens Crypto Trading with New Coinbase Derivatives Launch

Interactive Brokers has introduced new nano-sized Bitcoin and Ethereum futures through a partnership...