Trump-affiliated World Liberty launches lending platform: a conflict of interest?

Trump-affiliated World Liberty launches lending platform: a conflict of interest?
Trump-affiliated World Liberty launches lending platform: a conflict of interest?

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Global financial freedom (CRYPTO: WLFI), backed by the president donald trump family, launched World Liberty Markets, a DeFi lending platform for its $1 stablecoin valued at $3.4 billion, even as critics point to conflicts of interest tied to Trump’s $800 million crypto income in 2025.

World Liberty Markets allows users to lend and borrow digital assets using $1 along with collateral including Ethereum (CRYPT: ETH), USDC, USDTtokenized bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and the WLFI governance token. The platform works with the Dolomite protocol.

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Currently, users can borrow $1 paying approximately 0.83% interest or lend it to earn 0.08%, although these rates are likely to change as more money flows onto the platform.

USD1 has grown to $3.4 billion in circulation since its debut in March 2025, making it one of the largest dollar-backed stablecoins, behind major players like Tie, Circle (NYSE:CRCL), and PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) PYUSD.

The launch aligns with a broader recovery in crypto credit markets.

A November report from Galaxy Digital found that active DeFi loans rose to nearly $41 billion by the end of Q3 2025, bringing total crypto loans to a new all-time high of about $74 billion.

World Liberty lists Trump and his children as co-founders, creating a situation where a sitting president profits from a cryptocurrency business he is publicly associated with.

A Reuters investigation from October found that the Trump family made hundreds of millions from sales of World Liberty Financial and related tokens in the first half of 2025.

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Approximately $463 million came from WLFI token sales alone, and total cryptocurrency revenues exceeded $800 million from Trump-linked companies.

That income dwarfs what Trump earns from his traditional businesses, such as golf courses and real estate licensing deals.

The president also made tens of millions from WLFI sales in 2024 before taking office.

World Liberty maintains that Trump does not run daily operations; those fall into the hands of cryptocurrency executives like the co-founder Zach Folkman.

But critics say the distinction doesn’t matter when the president’s name is on the project and he’s making hundreds of millions off it.

World Liberty applied for a national banking charter last week, requesting permission to issue and custody $1 internally without relying on third parties.

If approved, the measure would put $1 under federal banking supervision.

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The request reached the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a regulatory body that reports to the Treasury Department, which in turn reports to the president. Critics see this as another layer of potential conflict.

Folkman said the lending platform will eventually accept more types of collateral, possibly including tokenized real estate from the Trump Organization.

Additionally, the company plans to launch a mobile app and a $1 debit card later this year.

WLFI has recovered 86% from October’s low of $0.09 after falling 82% from September’s high of $0.28.

Upward objectives: $0.18791 (SAR) is immediate resistance. Breaking that opens the $0.20 psychological level, then the $0.22-$0.24 range. The $0.25 sell-off targets the previous high of $0.28.

Downside risks: USD 0.15681 (BB ​​middle) is the first support. A loss of $0.14 risks a retest of $0.12892 (lower BB). Breaking above $0.12 threatens the entire recovery.

Image: Shutterstock

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This article Trump-affiliated World Liberty launches lending platform: a conflict of interest? originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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