What to Know:
- WLFI hits $5B holdings, launches promo rewards with Bonk.fun & Raydium.
- TRUMP token weighed down by unlock schedules and regulatory threats.
- Both tokens show political branding’s growing impact on crypto markets.
World Liberty Financial ($WLFI), the Trump family’s project, has added almost $5 billion to its token holdings. This gives the coin new life, even as its rival token, $TRUMP, continues to lose value.
WLFI’s New Push
WLFI announced a new campaign in collaboration with Bonk.fun and Raydium Protocol, offering multi-million-dollar promotional rewards for traders of USD1 pairs. The rewards are designed to encourage more trading activity and liquidity around WLFI’s ecosystem.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the Trump family’s net worth had swelled to $6 billion following the launch of WLFI. The family’s deep involvement, including Eric Trump’s role on the board, has brought huge retail attention, but also closer scrutiny from regulators.
Last week, Justin Sun, one of WLFI’s biggest holder, criticized the project’s governance after his 540 million tokens were frozen. The community supported a buyback-and-burn plan to reduce supply and support prices. At the same time, Deutsche Welle asked whether Trump’s rapid rise as a “crypto king” could come at the cost of market stability.
WLFI’s Balancing Act
WLFI’s journey so far has been a balancing act between political hype and the risks of running a government. On the positive side, the Trump name has a lot of brand power, which has led to a lot of retail demand. The token even jumped almost 28% on Trump-related news alone. The project has also taken steps to control supply, such as burning 47 million tokens after the launch and locking up 80% of the presale tokens, which means that only 20% are still in circulation. These steps could make WLFI harder to find and more appealing to investors.
On the other hand, there are a lot of risks. Regulators, like the SEC, are keeping a close eye on celebrity-linked tokens. U.S. lawmakers are also talking about new bills like the GENIUS Act that could have a direct effect on WLFI’s stablecoin USD1. The project has also caused a lot of trouble by freezing 272 wallets, including those of big supporters like Justin Sun, because of claims of dumping. These actions may help keep prices stable in the short term, but they make people very worried about decentralization, governance, and trust in investors.
TRUMP Token Struggles
The competing $TRUMP token has been having a hard time because of its tokenomics and political scrutiny. WLFI has relied on supply control, but TRUMP has a long unlock schedule that could keep prices low for years. By 2027, about 735 million tokens will be unlocked. Each major release so far has caused big sell-offs, sometimes more than 20% at a time. Also, lawmakers are getting involved. In July, Democrats introduced the “Stop TRUMP in Crypto Act,” which was meant to stop politicians from making money through crypto projects. This added to the project’s uncertainty.
Even with these problems, TRUMP still benefits from its meme power and political branding. Retail interest has stayed surprisingly strong, thanks to Trump’s pro-crypto speeches and even talk of future memecoin ETFs. The token’s value goes up and down in cycles that are related to political news and internet hype. For instance, trading volumes shot up on the anniversary of Trump’s “Fight” meme in July, and the token rose almost 90% in just one month. But recent charts show that momentum is fading, which makes people wonder how long meme-driven excitement can last in the face of structural risks.
What’s Next
For WLFI, the hard part will be showing that it can be more than just a politically motivated token. The goal of the promotional rewards campaign is to make its USD1 stablecoin more liquid. WLFI could still be interesting to speculators if they keep burning tokens and the community supports buybacks. The path ahead is less clear for TRUMP. Token unlocks and fights with regulators might be more important than retail traders getting excited about election news.
Both tokens show that political branding has made a big impact on the crypto markets. Regulation, adoption, and community trust will determine whether these projects become long-lasting ecosystems or just short-term fads.
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