Says Trump, “Crypto is the Future,” but WLFI Token First Sale Is Not Meeting Expectations

Posted by cryptonews Crypto News October 16, 2024 1.1k Views

The WLFI token sale by Donald Trump began strongly, raising $5 million in the first hour. However, it encountered technical difficulties and has only raised $9.15 million of the $300 million target.

Donald Trump’s highly anticipated cryptocurrency project, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), launched its initial public token sale to significant fanfare, with the former president proclaiming that “crypto is the future.”

The WLFI token sale has faltered right out of the gate despite this audacious claim and the support of the Trump brand. Sales sharply decreased after raising $5 million in the first hour, and platform issues impeded advancement.

The token sale has not yet reached its target of raising $300 million by offering 20% of the total token supply. There had only been $9.15 million raised by late Tuesday night.

The project wants to change the way people borrow, lend, and do other financial activities. It bills itself as a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol. Early responses, however, have been conflicted, with some critics casting doubt on the project’s viability and long-term goals.

Trump’s WLFI Token Initial Sale: $5M in the First Hour

The WLFI token sale went live at around 8:40 a.m. ET, and early enthusiasm generated $5 million in the first hour.

But the sale stalled fast because of heavy traffic on the project website, which caused significant downtime.

Sandy Peng, a co-founder of the Scroll blockchain network and advisor to WLFI, claims that the platform received 72 million unique visits in its first hour, far exceeding expectations and resulting in multiple site crashes.

The website was rendered inaccessible to potential investors, which contributed to the subsequent sluggish token sales. Just 344 million tokens had been sold by the end of the day, or 1.7% of the 20 billion tokens that were available for purchase.

The $0.015 WLFI token is meant to function as the platform’s governance token for World Liberty Financial. Voting on updates and changes to the platform is possible for holders.

Tokens will be locked in smart contracts and have limited liquidity for the first year, though, as they are not transferable.

Trump has portrayed the project as a significant step toward the adoption of cryptocurrencies by the general public, but the platform’s early difficulties have destroyed the $300 million fundraising target.

The pool of possible buyers is noticeably reduced by the WLFI sale’s restriction to accredited U.S. investors and non-U.S. individuals.

Some people are unsure if the project will succeed despite the fact that over 100,000 accredited investors reportedly signed up for the sale due to its restrictive nature and technical challenges.

Mixed Reactions to Trump’s Crypto Push

Some members of the cryptocurrency community have responded less enthusiastically, despite Trump and his team’s continued promotion of World Liberty Financial as the direction of decentralized finance.

The project’s affiliation with Trump, according to critics, has not done much to increase trust in its long-term viability.

The CEO of the Web3 platform Hiro, Alex Miller, referred to the sale as a “obvious pump scheme” and charged that Trump was abusing his position of power to support a project that might not be optimal for investors.

Prominent proponent of Bitcoin Max Keiser countered that Trump “failed” the infamous “Bitcoin IQ test,” implying that the former president is not knowledgeable enough about cryptocurrencies.

Trump is still a significant player in the market despite these criticisms, and his ownership of World Liberty Financial contributed to the 15% increase in the price of Bitcoin in October.

Notably, amidst all these, a recent report shows that Trump is leading Harris by 10 Points in the Presidential race. A report also ranks Trump as the most favorable candidate for Crypto.

Tags: