World Liberty Financial (WLFI) derivatives soared in trading as anticipation builds for the Trump-linked project’s first token release on Monday.
According to Coinglass, 24-hour trading volume for WLFI derivatives jumped more than 530% to $3.95b on Monday, while open interest rose over 60% $931.9m. The spike comes just hours before the unlock event, scheduled for 8:00 a.m. ET.
The project will free up 20% of the tokens purchased in its earliest rounds, priced at $0.015 and US$0.05, which can be claimed through a process called the Lockbox. These unlocked tokens amount to about 5% of total supply.
At current prices, early backers in the lowest round stand to gain over twenty times their investment.
WLFI Trading Begins Sept. 1 With Investors Restricted To Selling One-Fifth
WLFI was issued as a governance token for World Liberty Financial, designed to let holders vote on upgrades to the protocol. Trading officially begins on Sept. 1, but early investors are allowed to sell only one-fifth of their allocations.
Founders, including Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, are excluded from this initial release.
The launch will test how much the Trump name can lift the value of the 100 billion-token supply. In pre-market trading, some platforms have priced WLFI at about $0.42. That implies a fully diluted valuation of nearly $40b.
This level would rank it within the top 45 digital assets. Some investors believe it could break into the top 20, a leap that would encourage more exchanges to list it.
World Liberty Financial’s Youth Belies Its Political Weight
World Liberty Financial is barely a year old, but it has drawn unusual attention due to its ties to the Trump family. The president promoted it on social media before taking office, while developer Steven Witkoff is listed as co-founder.
The family has broadened its footprint in crypto over the past year, adding ventures in stablecoins, Bitcoin mining and digital asset funds. Each has extended the Trump brand into corners of speculative finance at a time when regulation has begun to tilt more favourably toward the industry.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has signed a law governing stablecoins. He has also installed regulators viewed as more supportive of digital assets.
Meanwhile, his sons have pushed family businesses further into crypto ventures. As a result, WLFI is now presented as a bridge between legacy finance and the open economy, with hopes of drawing retail liquidity.
Founders’ Tokens Stay Locked Pending Governance Vote
The family’s financial stake is significant. DT Marks DEFI LLC, an entity tied to Trump and his relatives, reportedly owns 38% of WLF Holdco, which controls World Liberty and its revenues after expenses. The entity also holds 22.5b WLFI tokens, and has already collected fees equal to 75% of token sale proceeds.
Founders’ tokens remain locked until WLFI holders vote on a release schedule. As a result, their future value depends entirely on the governance process. Meanwhile, retail investors must act quickly. They need to decide whether to sell into the rally now or hold their tokens for longer-term gains as WLFI debuts across major exchanges.
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