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Trump's Crypto Business Slashes Fundraise Goal by 90% After Lackluster Sales
The revised plan to sell only $30 million of WLFI tokens — instead of the originally planned $300 million — suggests Trump may not quickly see a big payday from World Liberty Financial.
Updated Oct 31, 2024, 4:18 p.m. Published Oct 31, 2024, 4:15 p.m.
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Donald Trump's crypto business World Liberty Financial slashed its fundraising goal after sales of its WLFI token fell dramatically short of the initial target, according to a regulatory filing.
The company now plans to raise up to $30 million from investors, a 90% cutback from the $300 million World Liberty Financial had originally sought. An SEC filing dated Oct. 30 says World Liberty Financial plans to "terminate" WLFI sales upon hitting $30 million.
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The change raises the possibility that former President Trump – who is running for election next week – may not quickly see any big payday from World Liberty Financial.
A Trump-owned entity called DT Marks DEFI LLC will get paid 75% of "net protocol revenues" (which include token sales) only after World Liberty Financial amasses a $30 million warchest to fund operations, according to public documents.
World Liberty Financial has struggled mightily to hit even half that. Since launching in mid-October, its wallet has received just over $14 million worth of cryptocurrencies from investors buying up the project's WLFI tokens. After a flurry of initial activity – including a period on launch day when its website crashed – demand fell off a cliff.
Lackluster demand may be the result of investors jittery about the World Liberty's fundamentals. As pointed out in a research note from Galaxy Digital, WLFI token has no mechanism to accrue value. It's a governance token over a protocol that doesn't yet exist.
An SEC filing dated Oct. 30 says World Liberty Financial has up to $288 million worth of "nontransferable digital tokens" available for sale. "The company currently only plans to sell tokens up to $30M in the offering before terminating sale," the filing said.
At press time, World Liberty's website reflected the old sales target of $300 million. The company sold just under 1 billion of the 20 billion WLFI tokens available. It sold them at a valuation of $1.5 billion. But sold tokens remain frozen until further notice, meaning no one who bought WLFI can cash out on secondary markets.
Trump's company DT Marks DEFI LLC is slated to get 22.5 billion WLFI tokens worth over $330 million at World Liberty's public sale valuation.
What World Liberty Financial will be isn't exactly clear. Its website describes something akin to a portal for accessing crypto-investment opportunities. There's some talk of opening a borrow-and-lending service. Decrypt recently reported World Liberty Financial plans to launch a stablecoin.
Representatives for World Liberty Financial did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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