Trump-Endorsed World Liberty Financial Unveils Cryptocurrency Lending Platform

World Liberty Financial Unveils New DeFi Lending Platform

World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance organization with backing from former U.S. President Donald Trump and his sons, has introduced a new platform for lending and borrowing called World Liberty Markets, according to a company announcement on Monday.

This new service operates on Dolomite, a multi-chain decentralized exchange protocol, enabling users to earn returns by lending their digital assets or borrowing against their holdings. Supported assets include the platform’s own WLFI token, its USD1 stablecoin, as well as USDC, USDT, Ethereum (ETH), and Coinbase’s wrapped Bitcoin asset, cbBTC.

According to a post on X, the company stated, “WLFI Markets is designed to advance tokenized finance by offering access to both third-party and WLFI-branded real-world asset products, supporting new tokenized assets as they emerge, and expanding the reach of USD1 throughout all WLFI platforms. The goal is to eventually provide access to WLFI’s broader roadmap for real-world assets.”

Since its debut on Monday, the platform has attracted approximately $20 million in deposits, with the USD1 stablecoin leading the way. Users who deposit at least $1,000 in USD1 can benefit from a 27% incentive rate and earn USD1 rewards points.

“A year ago, our aim was to develop a stablecoin that could rival the top players in the crypto space, and USD1 has surpassed all our expectations,” said Zak Folkman, co-founder and COO of World Liberty Financial.

“Now, we’re offering USD1 holders even more opportunities to utilize their stablecoins. World Liberty Markets marks a significant milestone, and it’s just the beginning—we have many more products planned for release over the next year and a half.”

Currently, World Liberty Markets is available as a web application, with future plans to integrate it into the WLFI mobile app. Decisions about new asset support and incentive programs will be made through decentralized governance, allowing both users and WLFI token holders to participate in the process.

Growth of USD1 and WLFI Token

World Liberty Financial introduced its USD1 stablecoin on several blockchains in March of last year. Since then, USD1 has become the seventh-largest stablecoin, with a circulating supply exceeding $3.4 billion, based on data from DeFiLlama.

The platform’s governance token, WLFI, was launched in September. Over the past 24 hours, the token’s value has increased by about 1.2%, trading just below $0.17. While it has gained 18% in the last two weeks, it remains 49% below its peak price of $0.33.

Leadership and Public Scrutiny

World Liberty Financial has faced criticism from lawmakers and other observers due to its ties to the Trump family. Donald J. Trump is listed as “Co-Founder Emeritus,” and although the Trump family reduced their ownership stake last June, President Trump and his sons Eric, Don Jr., and Barron continue to be prominently featured on the company’s leadership page.

Recent Developments

Last week, World Liberty Financial submitted an application for a national bank charter with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. This move follows in the footsteps of other crypto and stablecoin companies such as Circle and Ripple, who received approval in December after applying last year.

A spokesperson for World Liberty Financial did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.

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