The crypto project connected to United States President Donald Trump, World Liberty Financial (WLF), has raised $1bn in token sales, while a new Trump meme coin also soared to more than $10bn in market value as Trump took office for his second term.
WLF made the announcement on Monday, the day Trump was sworn in as president.
The boom in Trump-related crypto ventures comes as he promises to usher in a “golden age” for cryptocurrencies, in stark contrast with the regulatory scrutiny of the industry enforced under the administration of former President Joe Biden.
WLF, promoted and formed by Trump, his sons and Trump’s new special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, was launched two months before the US election.
Trump’s new meme coin, branded $TRUMP, was launched on Friday night during the first-ever Crypto Ball in Washington, DC, in conjunction with inauguration festivities. The coin surged on Monday from less than $10 on Saturday morning to as high as $74.59 before giving up some of its huge rise.
The new coin expanded Trump’s cryptocurrency interests beyond WLF.
Melania Trump launched her own coin, $MELANIA, on Sunday. Its rally pushed its market cap well beyond $1bn.
Four-fifths of Trump coin’s tokens are owned by CIC Digital, an affiliate of Trump’s business, and another entity called Fight, Fight, Fight, according to its website. It says the coins are “an expression of support for, and engagement with, the ideals and beliefs embodied by the symbol ‘$TRUMP’” and are not an investment or security.
The launch of WLF just two months before November’s US election raised concerns over ethics and conflicts of interest. The launch of the meme coin on Friday night also raised red flags, even among those in the cryptocurrency industry.
“While it’s tempting to dismiss this as just another Trump spectacle, the launch of the official Trump token opens up a Pandora’s box of ethical and regulatory questions,” said Justin D’Anethan, an independent crypto analyst based in Hong Kong.
Cryptocurrency lawyer Preston Byrne published a blog post on Sunday predicting a civil lawsuit opposing the coin.
“Someone will lose money, some lawyer will come up with a theory and file,” Byrne wrote. “The memecoin launch is, from a purely political perspective, an enormous unforced error.”
Byrne declined to comment further.
‘Crypto president’
The Trump Organization said this month that the president would hand daily management of his multibillion-dollar real estate, hotel, golf, media and licen