Trump-backed crypto business to expand token sale after raising $1bn

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The digital asset business promoted by Donald Trump has reached the goal of raising $1bn in a token sale and has given more to the public, as it boosts enthusiasm for the cryptocurrency backed by the incoming US president.

World Liberty Financial, project supported by Trump and his three sons, said that on Monday it sold 21bn tokens, exceeding its goal of starting in October to sell 20bn, or a value of $1bn.

WLF, which was formed during the election by long-time business partners of Trump and others, added that it will also issue another 5bn tokens of the total supply of 100bn “due to demand great and great interest”.

The increase in demand for WLF tokens marks a stark contrast to the unusual sales it experienced in the first months since its launch, and comes as the Trump family has become increasingly involved in cryptocurrencies before his swearing-in ceremony.

Over the weekend Donald Trump and his wife Melania started memecoinswhich rose in value, when Eric Trump, an ardent supporter of the WLF, attended a prestigious crypto industry event in Washington to celebrate his father’s inauguration.

Trump enthusiastically courted the crypto industry on the election trail and executives have also warmed to him, believing he will end the regulatory pressures they faced under the Biden administration.

The WLF has yet to outline its plans. The coins give holders only limited voting rights and no economic rights, and cannot be sold or traded in WLF.

Justin Sun, a crypto entrepreneur who he bought and ate $6mn worth of bananas artwork in November, said last week it had invested an additional $45mn in WLF. The purchase by Sun, who is being sued by the US financial regulator for fraud and other breaches of securities laws, brought his net worth to $75mn.

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 Sacks in the new role of AI and crypto tsar.

On the other hand, crypto companies and billionaires have provided financial support to Trump, with stablecoin operator Circle and blockchain payments group Ripple among the companies that paid to the inauguration committee. Bitcoin briefly notched up a new record higher than $109,000 on Monday, before falling, with the expectation that Trump will issue executive orders in the coming days that will boost industrial assets in the US.

However, many big names in the crypto market are worried that Trump’s move to digital assets could be seen as an attempt to extract value from sponsors. The company behind Trump memecoin is partnered with the Trump Organization, and will receive a share of the trading capital associated with the token.

“Basically, we had an unspoken rule that presidents should not start or run businesses that would create a conflict of interest,” said Nic Carter, a venture capitalist at Castle Island Ventures. to X.

Donald Trump memecoin fell to $52 on Monday, from a week-end high of $75. Melania Trump memecoin, whose launch caused the Donald coin to briefly drop by 40 percent, is was $ 8.43, compared to Sunday’s high of $ 13.64.

Memecoins have no business model, cash flow or intrinsic value, and do not give their owners a share of any physical assets, and rely on their reputation among traders for value. they see.

“A new era of crypto chaos has arrived,” Bernstein analysts wrote in a note, adding that Trump’s memecoin proposal “is a major paradigm shift” that “signals a new era of regulation, where governments see crypto as a technology to reach more people directly”.