The cryptocurrency project that Donald Trump announced last month officially launched on Tuesday, but sales of the WLFI token fell far short of expectations. CNBC reported that World Liberty Financial expects to raise about $300 million in the initial sale. But by Wednesday afternoon, only about 821 million of the 20 billion tokens had been sold at 0.015 cents each, raising about $12 million for the venture. On the eve of launch, project co-founder Zachary Folkman said, “Well over 100,000 people have been whitelisted to invest in this venture.” Less than 10% of them did so, according to blockchain data.
Token sales on the first day were interrupted due to multiple website outages. CNBC reported that another hurdle is the fact that WLFI is a “Regulation D token offering, meaning retail investors are largely excluded from the process.” The company says its tokens will only be sold to accredited investors, but intelligence expert Kevin T. Dugan said last week that he was “advising people to buy the tokens despite not having any certifications.” ” said he received an email.
Dugan describes World Liberty Financial as a “loosely defined lending business that mimics some of the more spectacular failures of the last crypto bubble.” One reason the business is “in trouble,” he wrote, “may be because it is an obvious means of defrauding people of money.” Although the tokens are currently non-transferable and the venture advertises itself as a decentralized project, approximately 70% of the tokens, and “actual control” of the venture, will be held by the founders and other insiders. Quartz reports. (More articles from World Liberty Financial.)
