The Trump family's flagship crypto venture, World Liberty Financial (WLF), is facing intense scrutiny ahead of the trading debut of its WLFI governance token on September 1, 2025. According to reports, WLF orchestrated a takeover of payments firm Alt5 Sigma, which subsequently raised $750 million from outside investors and used that capital to buy WLFI tokens directly from World Liberty. This circular transaction places Trump-backed entities on both sides of the deal and could net the Trump family an estimated $500 million payday.
The arrangement has drawn criticism from former regulators, with ex-SEC official Corey Frayer warning it "brings the worst practices of the crypto ecosystem into regulated public markets." The deal comes as Alt5 Sigma faces an SEC investigation focusing on potential fraud, including earnings inflation and stock manipulation. Despite these concerns, lawyers note the deal likely complies with US securities law if disclosures are complete.
Simultaneously, WLFI is preparing for a $483 million token unlock on September 1, transitioning from a governance-only asset to a tradable token. Early market chatter values WLFI at around 30 cents per token, potentially giving it a market cap that could rival top-45 digital assets. The token will debut on major exchanges including Kraken, OKX, HTX, MEXC, Gate.io, and KuCoin.
On paper, the Trump family's WLFI holdings exceed $6 billion, with President Trump himself holding roughly two-thirds. However, insiders face strict trading limits, with only a small portion of tokens eligible for sale at launch. Analysts warn that even modest selling pressure could destabilize the price, drawing parallels to Trump-themed tokens that spiked and crashed earlier this year.