President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency ventures continue to expand with the launch of a stablecoin by his crypto project, World Liberty Financial. The stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a steady value by being pegged to a fiat currency, such as the U.S. dollar. This stability is generally achieved by holding reserves in cash or Treasury bills on a one-to-one basis with the issued coins.
Stablecoins are frequently used as a cash equivalent and are favored by traders for their ability to hedge against volatility without necessitating conversion from cryptocurrency to fiat currency. The leading stablecoins in the market, USDT and USDC, have substantial market capitalizations, around $143 billion and $60 billion, respectively.
The Trump family’s entry into the stablecoin market is seen as a strategic move in a lucrative industry. Tether, responsible for the USDT stablecoin, reportedly earned $13 billion in 2024. Circle, managing the USDC stablecoin, is also considering a public offering. Issuers of stablecoins, such as Tether and Circle, back their coins with U.S. treasuries and can earn yields of up to 5% on their reserves. This model allows for substantial profits with relatively few employees compared to traditional corporations such as Cisco, which employs 90,000 people for similar earnings.
World Liberty Financial, announced in August, is among Trump’s crypto initiatives, which also include NFTs and a memecoin. The project focuses on decentralized finance (DeFi), an area that aims to provide banking-like services such as lending and borrowing on blockchain platforms. Although comprehensive details about the platform’s functions are scant, its “gold paper” indicates plans to offer various DeFi applications, positioning itself as a hub for decentralized services. Trump is designated as the “Chief Crypto Advocate” for the project.
Although the details of World Liberty Financial’s products remain largely undisclosed, the company has launched its cryptocurrency, $WLFI, which allows holders to vote on proposals related to the still-undeveloped DeFi platform. Recently, the project announced a significant achievement, raising $550 million through token sales. However, this success has not been without controversy. Ethics experts have expressed concerns about the potential for the cryptocurrency to facilitate influence peddling, citing examples such as Justin Sun, who reportedly purchased $75 million worth of WLFI amidst legal challenges from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The World Liberty Financial team features members of the Trump family and individuals with close ties to the former president. Trump’s sons—Barron, Eric, and Donald Jr.—are listed as “Web3 Ambassadors.” Real estate mogul and Trump ally Steve Witkoff, alongside his sons Alex and Zach, are cofounders, as well as DeFi developers Zak Folkman and Chase Herro, who were involved in a previous crypto venture that experienced a security breach in July.
This article originally appeared on Fortune.com.
