Exclusive Analysis of the Trump Family’s WLFI Holdings and Investment Strategy

TL；DR

As of March 25, 2025, the investment portfolio of World Liberty Financial (WLFI) is valued at approximately $80.89 million, primarily consisting of ETH, WBTC, and other DeFi-related tokens.

Research shows that WLFI’s purchasing strategy is designed to diversify its assets, reduce market volatility risk, and support the growth of the decentralized finance ecosystem.

While the influence of the Trump family may have sparked investor interest, the project also faces controversy, with an unrealized loss of around $100 million, raising questions about its transparency and sustainability.

Introduction

World Liberty Financial (WLFI) is a decentralized finance (DeFi) project linked to the Trump family. While the project promotes a grand vision of “reshaping decentralized finance for democratization,” it has shown a clear market-driven approach in practice—having purchased a range of cryptocurrencies. Despite the celebrity influence, it now faces a $100 million paper loss. The question arises: is this a legitimate long-term investment strategy, or is it a cleverly disguised promotional effort for the project’s own benefit?

This article, based on WLFI’s publicly available on-chain data, will delve into the motivations behind its holdings, investment logic, and potential risks, while uncovering the complex ecosystem of political forces influencing the cryptocurrency market.

WLFI Keeps Buying, Paper Loss Hits $109 Million

Source: worldlibertyfinancial.com

World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a DeFi project tied to the Trump family, has attracted considerable attention since its inception in 2024. The current U.S. President, Donald Trump, acts as the “Chief Crypto Advocate,” with his sons, Eric, Donald Jr., and Barron, serving as “Web3 Ambassadors” or “DeFi Visionaries.” The project aims to offer a platform for crypto investment and lending, and has recently acquired a variety of digital assets to expand its strategic reserves.

According to on-chain data, as of the writing of this article, WLFI has invested approximately $343 million in 11 cryptocurrencies, including ETH, WBTC, TRX, LINK, AAVE, ENA, MOVE, ONDO, SEI, AVAX, and MNT. Among these, BTC, ETH, TRX, LINK, SUI, and ONDO are part of its strategic reserves, with a total paper loss of around $100 million.

Source: ARKHAM

As of the time of writing, WLFI wallet addresses collectively hold approximately $84.84 million in crypto assets, with ETH accounting for the largest share. Due to ETH’s recent prolonged weakness, this has resulted in significant unrealized losses. Below is a breakdown of the key holdings:

Source: Gate.io, compiled from public information

Investment Logic: Political and Commercial Synergy

Analyzing WLFI’s portfolio, the holdings are dominated by major cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, and TRX, with emerging assets like MNT, MOVE, AVAX, and ONDO also featuring prominently. Interestingly, this differs from the cryptocurrencies mentioned in Trump’s recent call for the U.S. government’s crypto reserves, with XRP, SOL, and ADA excluded. This suggests a commercial strategy to avoid tokens considered securities by the SEC.

Source:@realDonaldTrump

WLFI has established partnerships with projects like Ondo Finance (ONDO), Ethena (ENA), Chainlink (LINK), Sui (SUI), and Aave (AAVE), all of which are DeFi or Real-World Asset (RWA) focused, in line with WLFI’s self-positioning as a DeFi leader.

Despite statements from the Trump organization claiming no direct control over WLFI’s business activities, critics argue that the project’s purchases may be driven by “influencer monetization.” In other words, accepting benefits from token projects, making large purchases to drive up the price of certain tokens, and seeking asymmetric commercial gains, all while helping the projects gain exposure and credibility. For instance, during the writing of this article, the token CRO surged by over 30% following the announcement of a collaboration between Trump’s group and Truth.Fi to launch ETFs and related products.

Furthermore, WLFI’s trading activity shows a notable correlation with Trump’s presidency. Following his inauguration, the project’s peripheral risks dropped significantly, with increased trades and volumes in emerging tokens like MNT, indicating expectations of a loosened macro environment and a rebound in the altcoin market.

Source:ARKHAM

From a political perspective, the Trump family’s involvement in crypto investment helps solidify their “anti-establishment” image, aligning with their supporters’ libertarian tendencies (such as opposition to financial regulation). Ironically, WLFI’s white paper states that Trump’s family, through DT Marks DEFI LLC, receives 75% of net profits, with the remaining 25% distributed among core members. This “zero-risk profit entitlement” minimizes their exposure to market volatility while shifting the risk onto token holders.

Additionally, Steven Witkoff, a key member of Trump’s campaign team, is involved with WLFI, further positioning it as a player in political maneuvering.

User Restrictions: WLFI is currently only available for users outside the U.S. and is not registered with any financial regulatory bodies, thus avoiding direct accountability under U.S. securities laws.

Token Lockup: WLFI tokens from its presale are locked for 12 months until November 2025, coinciding with the SEC Chair’s term, creating a window for potential post-lockup sell-offs.

Sensitive Asset Filtering: As mentioned, WLFI avoids tokens under SEC scrutiny (such as XRP) and focuses on RWA assets like ONDO and protocol tokens like AAVE, minimizing regulatory conflicts.

WLFI’s Investment Strategy: Not Just About the Money

From the analysis above, it’s clear that WLFI’s portfolio movements are deliberately separate from both the U.S. government crypto reserve plan and the Trump family’s namesake token, TRUMP. This suggests a distinct investment pattern within the Trump family’s approach to crypto assets:the family seems to prefer major assets and DeFi/RWA sectors in their investment approach.

Source：blog.ondo.finance

In particular, their strategic positioning in emerging assets has facilitated partnerships with projects like Chainlink and Ondo, while also boosting the exposure and credibility of their holdings. Its diversified holdings also reduce risk volatility. Although the major holding, ETH, has led to significant paper losses, this is a common outcome for institutional investors holding large quantities of mainstream assets for extended periods.

Source：ARKHAM

However, as a politically connected project, WLFI has leveraged its celebrity status to drive market movements. Still, its trading transparency and performance have eroded trust of followers. Some critics suggest that certain investors might be buying WLFI tokens or paying to have WLFI purchase their tokens to gain access to Trump’s influence. WLFI’s investment moves appear more like an attempt to profit from the celebrity effect by making strategic investments ahead of time. In other words, WLFI seems more like a “profit-making scheme” rather than a genuine DeFi project, carrying risks of “pump-and-dump” behavior. For example, Eric Trump’s public endorsement of Ethereum, followed by a sale of his holdings, sparked questions about transparency.

WLFI’s future is deeply tied to the Trump administration’s crypto-friendly policies. Its market moves have attracted significant attention, increasing its market influence. However, it also faces challenges such as market volatility, lack of transparency, and governance issues. Recent market fluctuations have seen WLFI’s holdings shift from major profits to moderate losses, highlighting the challenges it faces in managing its investment strategy and risks. This serves as a reminder to approach such investments with caution and avoid blindly following celebrity-driven market trends.