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Journalist
Hassan Shittu
Journalist
Hassan Shittu
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Why Trust Cryptonews
Donald Trump’s highly anticipated cryptocurrency project, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), launched its initial public token sale to significant fanfare, with the former president proclaiming that “crypto is the future.”
Despite this bold assertion and the Trump brand’s backing, the WLFI token sale has stumbled out of the gate. After raising $5 million in the first hour, sales slowed dramatically, and technical glitches on the platform hindered progress.
The token sale, designed to raise $300 million by offering 20% of the total token supply, has yet to reach its goal. By late Tuesday evening, only $9.15 million had been raised.
The project, which positions itself as a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, aims to revolutionize how users engage in borrowing, lending, and other financial activities. However, early reactions have been mixed, with some critics questioning the project’s legitimacy and long-term prospects.
Trump’s WLFI Token Initial Sale: $5M in the First Hour
The WLFI token sale went live at around 8:40 a.m. ET, and early enthusiasm generated $5 million in the first hour.
However, the sale quickly lost momentum as the project’s website experienced significant downtime due to overwhelming traffic.
According to Sandy Peng, a WLFI advisor and co-founder of the Scroll blockchain network, the platform received 72 million unique visits within the first hour, far exceeding expectations and causing the site to crash multiple times.
Potential investors were left unable to access the site, which only added to the slow token sales that followed. By the end of the day, only 344 million tokens had been sold, representing just 1.7% of the total 20 billion tokens available for purchase.
The WLFI token, priced at $0.015 each, is intended to serve as a governance token for the World Liberty Financial platform. It allows holders to vote on platform changes and updates.
However, the tokens will remain non-transferable for the first year, locking them in smart contracts and limiting liquidity.
While Trump has positioned the project as a major step toward mainstream crypto adoption, the platform’s early struggles have shattered the $300 million fundraising goal.
Notably, the WLFI sale is restricted to non-U.S. persons and accredited U.S. investors, limiting the pool of potential buyers.
Despite over 100,000 accredited investors reportedly signing up for the sale, the technical difficulties and restrictive nature of the sale have led some to doubt whether the project will gain enough traction to meet its goals.
Mixed Reactions to Trump’s Crypto Push
While Trump and his team continue to promote World Liberty Financial as the future of decentralized finance, reactions from some in the crypto community have been less enthusiastic.
Critics have pointed out that the project’s association with Trump has done little to build confidence in its long-term viability.
Alex Miller, CEO of the Web3 platform Hiro, called the sale an “obvious pump scheme,” accusing Trump of using his influence to promote a project that may not be in the best interests of investors.
Meanwhile, prominent Bitcoin advocate Max Keiser also argued that Trump “failed” the so-called “Bitcoin IQ test,” suggesting that the former president lacks the necessary understanding of the cryptocurrency space.
Despite these criticisms, Trump remains a powerful figure within the industry, and his involvement in World Liberty Financial has helped boost the price of Bitcoin by roughly 15% in October.
Notably, amidst all these, a recent report shows that Trump is leading Harris by 10 Points in the Presidential race. A report also ranks Trump as the most favorable candidate for Crypto.
