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The digital asset asset promoted by Donald Trump has reached the target of raising $ 1bn through a token sale and has given more to the public, as it benefits from the enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies supported by the incoming US president.
World Liberty Financial, project is supported by Trump and his three sons, said on Monday it sold 21bn tokens, surpassing its goal at launch in October to sell 20bn, or 1bn worth.
The WLF, which was founded in the run-up to the election by Trump's longtime allies and others, added that it will make available more than 5bn tokens of the 100bn total supply “due to great demand and great interest”.
The increase in demand for WLF's tokens represents a sharp contrast to the rare sales it has received in the opening months since its launch, and comes as the Trump family has stepped into cryptocurrencies ahead of his inauguration.
Over the weekend Donald Trump and his wife Melania launched memecoinswhich increased in value, while Eric Trump, the enthusiastic promoter of the WLF, attended a crypto industry gala event in Washington to celebrate his father's inauguration.
Mr. Trump has been eyeing the crypto industry with interest on the election trail and executives have warmed to him, believing he will end the administration they faced under the Biden administration.
The WLF has yet to set its plans. Coins give holders only voting rights and no economic rights, and cannot be sold or resold in WLF.
Justin Sun, crypto entrepreneur he bought and ate a $6mn banana artwork in November, said last week it invested an additional $45 million in WLF. The purchase of the Sun, sued by the US securities regulator for fraud and other violations of securities law, took his total investment to 75mn.
Trump has already appointed many crypto-friendly names to top jobs, including Paul Atkins as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and capitalist David Sacks in the new role of AI and crypto tsar.
In return, crypto companies and billionaires have provided financial support to Trump, with stablecoin operator Circle and blockchain payments group Ripple among the companies that have paid into the inauguration committee. Bitcoin briefly hit a new record high of more than $109,000 on Monday, before retreating, expecting Trump to issue executive orders in the coming days that will boost business wealth in the US.
However, many of the biggest names in the crypto market are concerned that Trump's move on the digital asset could be seen as ambitious extract the value for sponsors. The company that owns the Trump memecoin is affiliated with the Trump Organization, and will receive a share of the trading revenues associated with the token.
“Basically, we had an informal rule that presidents should not start or run businesses that could create a conflict of interest,” Nic Carter, venture capitalist at Castle Island Ventures, told X.
Donald Trump's memecoin fell to $52 on Monday, down from a weekend high of $75. The Melania Trump memecoin, whose launch caused the Donald's money to briefly drop 40 percent in value, was $8.43, compared to Sunday's high of $13.64.
Memecoins do not have a business model, cash flow or underlying value, and they do not give their owners a share of any tangible assets, and rely on their popularity among traders for their value.
“A tumultuous new era of crypto has arrived,” Bernstein analysts wrote in an article, adding that the launch of Trump's memecoin is a “major paradigm shift” that heralds a new era of governance, where governments see crypto as a technology to reach the masses. directly”.