WASHINGTON − A cryptocurrency token issued by the Trump family's World Liberty Financial had a lukewarm opening on Sept. 1 with its value declining on the first day of trading.
Still, the president and his family may have amassed as much as $5 billion on paper from the offering, according to one analysis. The venture is backed by the Trumps and lists President Donald Trump as a “co-founder emeritus,”
The World Liberty tokens, known as $WLFI, were sold to investors last October. After Trump took office in January, his administration moved to ease regulation of the cryptocurrency industry.
Investors in the tokens voted in July to make them tradable, paving the way for their sale and purchase − and potentially boosting the value of the president’s holdings.
Monday’s launch was something like an initial public offering, enabling holders of the token to trade them like stocks or other financial instruments.
