Trump-linked crypto backers face losses as insiders profit

A new report by Wall Street Journal claims investors tied to Donald Trump’s crypto ventures “didn’t always fare so well,” even as Trump-linked insiders amassed billions in paper wealth.

The report centres on World Liberty Financial, a DeFi platform fronted by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, whose WLFI token now trades near $0.11 on Binance, implying a market capitalisation of about $2.94 billion.

According to the Journal, “sons of senior Trump administration officials have quietly turned a four-year crypto experiment into a dynastic cash machine,” while many later-stage token buyers are left exposed to volatility.

World Liberty Financial raised more than $550 million through token sales and recently sold a 49% stake to a UAE-backed firm for $500 million just days before Trump’s inauguration, intensifying geopolitical and ethics concerns.

Reporting by Reuters and Forbes shows the project’s token structure channels outsized upside to Trump-linked insiders while smaller investors shoulder most of the downside risk.

The WLFI token is marketed as part of a stablecoin-centric DeFi ecosystem, but critics say governance and cash-flow mechanics favour founders rather than the broader holder base.

The Journal said the episode underscores growing scrutiny around political families in crypto, where access, timing and structure can determine who profits and who absorbs the losses.

At the time of reporting, World Liberty Financial price was $0.108.