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The digital asset initiative promoted by Donald Trump has hit its goal of raising $1 billion through a token sale and offers more to the public, as it capitalizes on enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies backed by the incoming US president.
World Liberty Financial, a project supported by Trump and his three sons, said Monday that it had sold 21 billion tokens, surpassing its October launch goal of selling 20 billion, or $1 billion worth.
The WLF, which was founded in the run-up to the election by Trump’s longtime business partner and others, added that it would make another 5 billion tokens available out of a total supply of 100 billion “due to overwhelming demand and overwhelming interest.”
The surge in demand for WLF tokens marks a sharp contrast to the lackluster sales it experienced in the initial months since launch, and the Trump family has increased its exposure to the cryptocurrency ahead of his inauguration.
Both Donald Trump and his wife Melania launched over the weekend memecoinsWhich increased in value, when Eric Trump, an ardent promoter of the WLF, attended a crypto industry gala in Washington to celebrate his father’s inauguration.
Trump eagerly courted the crypto industry in the run-up to the election, and executives have warmed to him, believing he will end the regulatory crackdown they faced under the Biden administration.
The WLF has not yet developed its plans. Coins give holders only limited voting rights and no economic rights and cannot be returned or sold to WLF.
Justin Sun, who is a crypto entrepreneur He bought and ate 6 million dollars worth of bananas Artwork, in November, said last week that it had invested another $45 million in WLF. The purchase by Sun, which was sued by US securities regulators for fraud and other violations of securities laws, brought its total investment to $75 million.
Trump has already appointed several crypto-friendly names to top jobs, including Paul Atkins as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission and venture capitalist David Sachs in the new role of AI and crypto czar.
In return, crypto companies and billionaires have provided financial support to Trump, with stablecoin operator Circle and blockchain payments group Ripple among the companies that paid the inaugural committee. Bitcoin briefly hit a new record high above $109,000 on Monday, before retreating, on expectations that Trump will issue executive orders in the coming days that will boost the industry’s fortunes in the United States.
However, many big names in the crypto market are concerned that Trump’s move to the digital asset could be seen as solicitation extract value From supporters. The Trump MemeCoin co-owned company is affiliated with the Trump Organization, and will receive a share of the trading revenue associated with the token.
“Basically, we’ve had an informal rule that presidents don’t start or run businesses that could create a conflict of interest,” said Nick Carter, a venture capitalist at Castle Island Ventures, in X.
Donald Trump’s MemeCoin fell to $52 on Monday, down from a weekend high of $75. Melania Trump MemeCoin, whose launch briefly sent Donald Coin down 40 percent, was at $8.43, compared to Sunday’s high of $13.64.
Memecoins have no business model, cash flow or fundamental value, and they do not give their owners a share of any physical assets and rely on their popularity among traders for their value.
“A new chaotic crypto era has arrived,” Bernstein analysts wrote in a note, adding that Trump’s launch of MemeCoin is “a huge paradigm shift” that “signals a new regulatory era, where governments see crypto as a technology that reaches people directly”.
