Trump's Crypto Business Slashes Fundraise Goal by 90% After Lackluster Sales

Donald Trump's crypto business World Liberty Financial slashed its fundraising goal after sales of its $WLFI token fell dramatically short of the initial target, according to a regulatory filing.

The company now plans to raise up to $30 million from investors, a 90% cutback from the $300 million World Liberty Financial had originally sought. An SEC filing dated Oct. 30 says World Liberty Financial plans to "terminate" $WLFI sales upon hitting $30 million.

The change raises the possibility that former President Trump – who is running for election next week – may not quickly see any big payday from World Liberty Financial.

A Trump-owned entity called DT Marks DEFI LLC will get paid 75% of "net protocol revenues" (which include token sales) only after World Liberty Financial amasses a $30 million warchest to fund operations, according to public documents.

World Liberty Financial has struggled mightily to hit even half that. Since launching in mid-October, its wallet has received just over $14 million worth of cryptocurrencies from investors buying up the project's $WLFI tokens. After a flurry of initial activity – including a period on launch day when its website crashed – demand fell off a cliff.

Lackluster demand may be the result of investors jittery about the World Liberty's fundamentals. As pointed out in a research note from Galaxy Digital, $WLFI token has no mechanism to accrue value. It's a governance token over a protocol that doesn't yet exist.

An SEC filing dated Oct. 30 says World Liberty Financial has up to $288 million worth of "nontransferable digital tokens" available for sale. "The company currently only plans to sell tokens up to $30M in the offering before terminating sale," the filing said.

At press time, World Liberty's website reflected the old sales target of $300 million. The company sold just under 1 billion of the 20 billion $WLFI tokens available. It sold them at a valuation of $1.5 billion. But sold tokens remain frozen until further notice, meaning no one who bought $WLFI can cash out on secondary markets.

Trump's company DT Marks DEFI LLC is slated to get 22.5 billion $WLFI tokens worth over $330 million at World Liberty's public sale valuation.

What World Liberty Financial will be isn't exactly clear. Its website describes something akin to a portal for accessing crypto-investment opportunities. There's some talk of opening a borrow-and-lending service. Decrypt recently reported World Liberty Financial plans to launch a stablecoin.

Representatives for World Liberty Financial did not immediately respond to a request for comment.