World Liberty Financial's Struggles
The Donald Trump-linked crypto project, World Liberty Financial (WLF), aimed to shake the crypto world with a grand vision but has fallen short.
Token Sale Underperformance
Initially hoping to raise $300 million by selling 20% of its token supply at a $1.5 billion valuation, WLF has only managed to gather $13.5 million, which is less than 5% of its goal.
Investor Concerns
Several factors contributed to this lack of investment:
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Revenue Sharing: WLF's recently released 13-page “gold paper” stated that DT Marks DEFI LLC, associated with the Trump family, would receive 75% of net protocol revenues and $337.5 million in WLFI tokens.
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Credibility Issues: Jehan Chu, co-founder of Kenetic Capital, noted these statements raised doubts about the project's viability.
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Investment Restrictions: The sale was limited to accredited U.S. investors, excluding retail participation, which dampened overall interest.
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Controversial Co-founders: Co-founders Chase Herro and Zak Folkman have faced scrutiny for their past, including a $2 million hack at Dough Finance and lawsuits regarding unpaid rent.
Weak Project Foundations
WLF's project features several red flags:
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Planned features include launching an instance of Aave’s v3 platform with liquidity for various digital assets, but it was described as just another borrow/lending app.
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The non-transferability of WLFI tokens for at least one year raises liquidity concerns. After that, trading depends on governance approval.
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Technical issues during the sale, such as website crashes, compounded the struggles.
Conclusion
Although some buyers may have circumvented the platform to purchase tokens directly from the team, WLF's beginnings signal a challenging path ahead for this project.
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