Crypto firm backed by Trump family sells $550 million worth of tokens amid ethical concerns

The token sales were only open to accredited investors. WLFI tokens cannot be transferred or traded via crypto exchanges as the company is not yet listed, according to a report by CoinDesk. “WLFI is on track to supercharge DeFi [decentralised finance],” Zach Witkoff, the co-founder of the venture, was quoted as saying.

Launched in October last year, WLFI describes itself as a crypto banking platform. The Trump family’s stake in WLFI means that they could take home 75 per cent of the platform’s net revenue, according to a report by CNBC.

WLFI’s token sales come amid Trump’s recent efforts to bolster his crypto-friendly agenda. Earlier this month, he signed an executive order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

However, the US president’s foray into the cryptocurrency business has sparked ethical concerns over the intersection of political power, financial interests, and the rapidly growing world of digital assets.

For instance, Justin Sun, the founder of blockchain platform Tron, purchased around $75 million worth of WLFI tokens in January this year. Reports emerged a month later that Sun and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) were considering settling the civil fraud case lodged by the country’s markets regulator against the crypto entrepreneur.

Meanwhile, David Sacks, the Trump administration’s AI and crypto czar, reportedly sold over $200 million worth of digital asset-related investments before taking the job as he “didn’t want to even have the appearance of a conflict.”