Share this article

TRON, Movement Labs Deny ‘Token Swap’ Deal for World Liberty Financial Inclusion

A report alleges that projects were pitched on a $10 million - $15 million buy-in on the Trump-backed project.

Feb 4, 2025, 5:18 a.m.
Screen grab from Trump's teaser of the new World Liberty Financial crypto company (Rug Radio, modified by CoinDesk using PhotoMosh)
Screen grab from Trump's teaser of the new World Liberty Financial crypto company (Rug Radio, modified by CoinDesk using PhotoMosh)

What to know:

  • TRON says it was never pitched on a token swap deal for inclusion in WLFI.
  • MOVE also says that its inclusion in the project's treasury was just market buying.

Representatives from two protocols that have tokens held by the treasury of , a crypto project backed by President Donald Trump and his family, are denying the existence of a token swap agreement that required a $10 million - $15 million buy-in to get included in the project.

A report from Blockworks on Monday alleged that representatives from WLFI had pitched protocol teams on a deal to get included in the project’s treasury. The deal was they could buy $10 million WLFI tokens plus a 10 percent fee, and WLFI will purchase the same amount of their protocol’s tokens.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters

“There is no token swap agreement,” a spokesperson from TRON told CoinDesk.

TRON’s TRX is the second largest holding in WLFI’s wallet, according to on-chain data curated by Arkham.

(Arkham Intelligence)

The WLFI wallet currently holds 40.7 million TRX worth $9.3 million. WLFI made these buys in tranches throughout January.

Movement Labs, which saw its MOVE token jump in late January when WLFI purchased $2 million of it, and rumors swirled that the team was in discussion with Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, also denied that there was a swap agreement in place.

Rushi Manche, co-founder of Movement Labs, told CoinDesk earlier that they did not send tokens to anyone including WLFI.

"There weren't any deals — any back door deals. It was purely just market buying," Manche told CoinDesk.


More For You

Crypto custodian BitGo a potential acquisition target for Wall Street firms, analysts say

BitGo at NYSE. (X/Matt Ballensweig)

Compass Point and Canaccord call BitGo a potential acquisition target and defend the stock despite its weak debut, citing growth in institutional crypto infrastructure.

What to know:

  • Wall Street analysts say BitGo’s expansion into full-service institutional crypto finance could drive long-term growth and make it an attractive acquisition target for traditional financial firms.
  • Analysts argue that investors are overlooking BitGo’s potential to cross-sell prime brokerage-style services, which could significantly boost revenue if it can narrow the gap with rivals like Galaxy and Coinbase.
  • Despite BitGo’s stock falling more than 40% since its January IPO, some analysts view the selloff as an overreaction and maintain buy ratings, citing the company’s solid competitive moat and strategic value to big banks entering crypto.