Will Trump Gain $390M From $550 Million $WLFI Token Sales? Crypto Users Blast 'Audacity'

U.S. President Donald Trump and his associates have reportedly netted $390 million from the second round of token sales by the World Liberty Financial (WLFI) DeFi project, but questions are being raised on whether there has been a misinterpretation of the project's much-debated "gold paper."

WLFI announced that it secured $550 million from its second round of WLFI crypto token sales, marking a major milestone in the DeFi protocol's blockchain journey.

Several outlets have reported on the matter, but some cryptocurrency users are concerned reports may be misinterpreting the project's tokenomics.

Other crypto users couldn't care less about the reporting but are more concerned about the "sheer audacity" the Trumps have if the percentage of revenues stated in the project's tokenomics are to be followed.

WLFI Hails Token Sales Milestone

WLFI, whose development is being overseen by a team of entrepreneurs closely tied to Trump, including his three sons, announced the successful token sale Monday.

"This milestone proves that those who truly understand crypto and finance recognize what we're building – and that WLFI is on track to supercharge DeFi as it transforms global finance in the coming years," said WLFI Co-founder Zach Witkoff in a statement.

Witkoff added that the team is thankful to early supporters and partners who saw WLFI's vision. "The token sales are just the beginning. We're gearing up to launch a wave of disruptive technology that will redefine the boundaries of what's possible with digital assets," he said.

Crypto Analyst Raises Issue with $WLFI Sales Reporting

Multiple crypto outlets have reported on the development, as well as mainstream outlet Bloomberg, which wrote that a company affiliated with the U.S. president "receives 75% of net revenue as a fee, including the proceeds of token sales, according to the offering document for World Liberty's initial token sale."

As per the project's "gold paper" released last year, DT Marks DEFI LLC, and entity closely associated with Trump, will receive $22.5 billion WLFI tokens as well as "a right to receive 75% of the net protocol revenues as defined in the services agreement after deduction of agreed operating expenses and the initial treasury reserve."

If the Trump-linked entity gets 75% of the token sales, then the president and his associates will net $390 million. WLFI was the first ever crypto project Trump officially promoted – the second was his own meme coin, TRUMP.

For prominent crypto analyst Tyler, the president "isn't getting 75% of the WLFI token sale proceeds," at least based on his interpretation of WLFI tokenomics.

He explained in a series of posts on X that while some interpret the tokenomics as Trump receiving the "full 75%" of the token sales proceeds, he believes there is "some confusion" around how much Trump will actually get from the WLFI token sales.

While Tyler is concerned about the accuracy of reports around the allocation for Trump and his associates, others are more frustrated with the tokenomics itself.

Crypto Users Call Out Trump Family's 'Audacity'

One user said 75% going to the Trump-linked entity is quite an "interesting model" that defies "conventional financial wisdom," given the massive allocation for the U.S. leader and his partners.

"Still, one has to admire the sheer audacity – it's almost impressive in a twisted sort of way," the user said.

Another user blamed the Trumps for causing "suffering" to the crypto market since they joined the industry. "Pretty sure during next leg up, they will make sure only the WLFI tokens benefit. The Trump family [are] the real grifters of this cycle," the user said.

This is not the first time questions were raised about the massive percentage of revenues the Trumps and their associates will gain from the DeFi protocol.

In the early days of the project, there were concerns that the project will turn out to be just one of those in the crypto space that ended bad for investors amid alleged code security issues among others.

Originally published on IBTimes