Crypto Reporter

Shalini Nagarajan

Crypto Reporter

Shalini Nagarajan

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Shalini is a crypto reporter who provides in-depth reports on daily developments and regulatory shifts in the cryptocurrency sector.

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Last updated: 

July 16, 2025

World Liberty Financial’s crypto token, WLFI, is set to become tradable following a landslide community vote that could significantly boost President Donald Trump’s crypto fortune.

On Wednesday, token holders overwhelmingly approved a proposal to unlock WLFI for trading, with 99.94% voting in favor.

The move marks a turning point for the Trump-linked project, which was launched last year as a decentralized finance platform offering both a governance token and a stablecoin.

The proposal, first introduced on July 9, outlined plans to transition World Liberty from a closed ecosystem to one with broader market participation.

Trading Begins for Early World Liberty Financial Holders, Full Unlock Still Pending

“This would mark a major milestone in the development of the World Liberty Financial ecosystem,” the team wrote. It added that this would open the door for wider community access and protocol development.

WLFI tokens were initially sold in two tranches, priced at $0.015 and $0.05. However, buyers were not allowed to trade them at the time. Instead, they received voting rights on protocol decisions and access to Trump-related events.

For instance, in May, top TRUMP memecoin holders were invited to a gala dinner with the president. Among the guests was Tron founder Justin Sun.

With trading enabled, price discovery and speculation will now begin. Although only early investor tokens will be unlocked initially, a second vote will determine when the remaining supply of the 100b WLFI tokens can be released.

Trump’s Inner Circle Anchors World Liberty’s Leadership and Ownership

The team noted that founder, advisor and team allocations will follow a longer vesting schedule. This is meant to signal long-term alignment with the project’s success.

Meanwhile, Trump’s three sons serve as official advisors to World Liberty. They are joined by real estate executive and longtime Trump ally Steve Witkoff, who now serves as the US special envoy to the Middle East. Additionally, Witkoff’s sons, Zach and Alex, are co-founders of the project.

A company linked to Trump, DT Marks DEFI LLC, is expected to receive 22.5b WLFI tokens. Additionally, Trump personally held 15.75b WLFI as of the end of last year.

According to Bloomberg, the Trump family has earned roughly $390m from WLFI sales, contributing to a total $620m in crypto-linked wealth.

Lawmakers Question Conflicts as Trump Crypto Profits Soar

Democratic lawmakers have voiced concerns over Trump’s growing involvement in crypto. This includes his ventures in Bitcoin mining and stablecoin development. As a result, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Maxine Waters have called on the US SEC to investigate possible conflicts of interest.

Meanwhile, the White House has stated that Trump’s assets are held in a trust managed by his children and has denied any conflict of interest. However, the terms of this trust have not been disclosed. Importantly, Trump remains the sole beneficiary. This means he could access proceeds from crypto ventures at any time or once he leaves office.

Despite the controversy, supporters see WLFI’s trading debut as a financial opportunity and a show of political loyalty. “We invested to get rich,” one holder posted on the project website.

Another simply wrote, “To make America great again.” Most token holders remain anonymous, shielded behind crypto wallet addresses.

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Senator Adam Schiff of California rolled out a bill on Monday aimed squarely at the highest office in the land. It would bar the president, vice president and their immediate family from getting into any crypto business while wearing the badge of public office. The move comes as concern is growing over political power mixing with digital money moves.

Strict Ban On Crypto Endorsements

According to the Curbing Officials’ Income and Nondisclosure (COIN) Act, no sitting president or vice president could issue, sponsor or endorse any cryptocurrency, meme coin, NFT or stablecoin.

The same rule would cover their spouses and children. Based on reports, the plan even makes them report any sale of digital assets over $1,000. That simple step could force more transparency on deals that happen behind closed doors.

Source: US Senate.

Heavy Penalties For Violators

The COIN Act sets clear penalties for anyone who steps out of line. Civil fines would match the profit made on a bad deal. Anyone who breaks the rule could also face up to five years in prison.

It’s a steep price. That level of punishment sends a strong signal that these are not harmless side projects but serious conflicts of interest.

U.S. Democratic lawmakers introduce bill to combat crypto-related conflicts of interest

Ten Democratic lawmakers, including California Senator @SenAdamSchiff, have introduced the “Curbing Officials’ Income and Nondisclosure” bill or COIN Act, to prevent the president and public…

— CoinNess Global (@CoinnessGL) June 23, 2025

Links To Trump’s Crypto Deals

Schiff did not hide why he pushed this bill. Based on reports, US President Donald Trump pulled in $58 million from crypto ventures in 2024, mostly from WLFI token sales.

That haul was second only to his hotel and resort earnings. And he’s eyeing another $390 million token sale in 2025, plus gains from his meme coin that launched in January.

BTCUSD trading at $105,330 on the 24-hour chart: TradingView

His companies are also involved in Bitcoin mining and a proposed $2.3 billion Bitcoin treasury plan under Trump Media and Technology Group.

The SEC cleared that $2.3 billion filing on June 13, covering 85 million shares and 29 million tied to convertible notes.

Challenges In A Divided Congress

Getting this through won’t be easy. Nine Senate Democrats have signed on as co-sponsors. Of those, seven backed last week’s GENIUS Act, which set stablecoin rules for Congress but left the president untouched.

That split vote showed how tricky it is to balance broad crypto rules with a law aimed at one person. The House is under Republican control, and any bill that could put a president in a bind is likely to stall in committee.

Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView

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A whale who previously won big on the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin booked a loss on the controversial asset over the weekend, according to the crypto tracker Lookonchain.

Lookonchain notes on the social media platform X that the whale spent $5 million worth of Circle’s stablecoin, USDC, to buy TRUMP right after President Donald Trump posted “I LOVE $TRUMP” on his social media platform Truth Social.

The whale then sold the TRUMP stash an hour later, booking a $207,000 loss.

However, the loss pales in comparison to gains the whale made earlier this year when it spent 1.09 million USDC to buy 5.97 million TRUMP and booked a $108 million profit, according to Lookonchain.

The president launched the Official Trump memecoin in mid-January, days before he took office. The asset has generated controversy in and out of crypto circles, raising questions of corruption in an already heavily questioned administration.

Even Ethereum (ETH) founder Vitalik Buterin said in January that political coins represented “vehicles for unlimited political bribery.”

In a February letter to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of Government Ethics, officials at the nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen argued TRUMP could be a violation of federal law regulating gifts to government officials.

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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At the beginning of 2025, Donald Trump’s return to power led to a sharp revision of the government’s crypto policy and explosive market movements.

The Trump administration declared a pro-crypto stance, from establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve to softening the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) positions.

However, instead of a prolonged rally, the Web 3.0 industry faced volatility and liquidity outflows.

Why did the market drop despite expectations of support

The key question is why the crypto market declined when many believed that a pro-Republican administration would drive growth instead.

The effect of unmet expectations

According to experts, the market had already priced in the ‘best-case scenario.’

When the anticipated multi-billion-dollar government Bitcoin purchases turned out to be mere verbal commitments with no actual buying, traders rushed to take profits.

Essentially, the classic rule of ‘buy the rumor, sell the news’ played out.

However, the government fund did not start purchasing BTC, removing a strong hypothetical growth driver and instead triggering a sell-off.

Institutional investors used the rally to exit

Large funds began selling BTC and ETH futures as early as February 2025, locking in profits from December 2024’s peaks. By March, this trend had intensified.

The futures curve flipped into backwardation (futures prices falling below spot prices) – a typical signal of declining capital inflows.

The broader macroeconomic landscape triggered the market decline

Simultaneously, Trump launched a trade confrontation, announcing 25% tariffs on Mexican imports and 50% on Canadian imports starting in March.

This sparked economic concerns – treasury yields dropped, and the S&P 500 index retreated to post-election lows.

Cryptocurrencies – as risk assets – also came under pressure, further intensified by news of a Bybit hack.

Analysts note that macroeconomic factors were the primary driver of March’s price decline, overshadowing any positive sentiment from Trump’s actions.

As a result, while the new president’s policies were officially more crypto-friendly, they did not immediately bring a liquidity influx.

Instead, speculative excitement gave way to a correction phase.

Which Web 3.0 projects were affected

A hit to funds and liquidity

The first weeks of March saw significant capital outflows from the crypto market, impacting funds, exchange-traded products and decentralized finance (DeFi).

In the last week of February, investors withdrew a record $2.6 billion from US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) – the largest weekly outflow since their inception.

This capital flight caused the total cryptocurrency market capitalization to shrink from approximately $3.7 trillion in December to $3.1 trillion by the end of February.

The DeFi sector took a blow

TVL (total value locked) in DeFi protocols declined by roughly $45 billion over the winter.

The growth accumulated after Trump’s election – with TVL reaching $138 billion by December – completely evaporated.

By March 10, TVL had fallen to $92.6 billion, returning to early November levels.

Crypto hedge funds and arbitrage traders suffered losses

Crypto hedge funds and arbitrage traders faced heavy losses as market structure changes disrupted their strategies.

First, the popular ‘cash-and-carry’ arbitrage between futures and spot markets disappeared.

Previously, funds profited from a positive basis by going long on spot BTC – including through ETFs – while shorting futures, earning returns higher than Treasury yields.

However, as the market fell, futures prices dropped below spot prices, collapsing the basis and rendering this arbitrage unprofitable.

Funds specializing in altcoins were also hit hard.

In early March, an anomaly occurred – Bitcoin initially declined more than most altcoins, causing BTC dominance in total market capitalization to drop by five percentage points within a week.

This temporary capital rotation into altcoins – as investors sought higher returns in less liquid assets before a major summit – could have severely impacted funds with poorly calibrated risk models.

However, after the summit, altcoins crashed at an even faster rate, pushing BTC’s dominance back to approximately 61%.

Investment outflows and capital flow shifts

By March, it became clear – crypto ecosystem capital flows had reversed.

Institutional investors and funds were pulling out, falling prices triggered margin liquidations and arbitrage unwinding and retail investors were scared off by high volatility.

All of this reduced available funding for Web 3.0 startups. Venture capital investments, already declining in 2024, fell even further in early 2025.

Additionally, regulatory uncertainty remains high. While the SEC has eased its crackdown, no concrete new rules have been enacted yet.

A stablecoin regulation bill is expected in August, raising concerns about potential strict oversight for DeFi and stablecoin-related projects.

This creates a stressful environment for Web 3.0 businesses, requiring founders to take proactive steps to safeguard their projects.

What should Web 3.0 founders do right now

Given the current landscape, founders should plan for two phases – stabilization and growth.

In the stabilization phase, the key priorities are preserving resources, maintaining the team, refining the product and satisfying existing users.

Founders must avoid unnecessary risk. Now is not the time for speculative bets or reckless treasury management.

Instead, focus on achievable short-term goals – delivering promised features, fixing issues and improving UX.

This will help maintain and grow an active user base, attracting investors when they return.

During the growth phase, as the market rebounds, scaling ahead of competitors will be crucial. This means having a well-prepared strategy for acquiring users and capital.

For example, if you’re running a DeFi protocol, plan a liquidity mining program or partnerships with wallets to capture market share when fresh liquidity arrives.

If you’re an infrastructure project, collaborate with corporations that may begin integrating blockchain in 2025 as regulations become clearer.

Web 3.0 startups should start thinking like Web 2.0 businesses with a clear business model, strong value proposition and path to profitability.

The projects that will thrive are those with real revenue, engaged users and fundamental utility.

Founders should honestly evaluate their projects – if the product doesn’t solve a real problem or lacks product-market fit, it may be time to pivot or merge with other teams before it’s too late.

Conversely, if there’s a solid core, doubling down on execution will position the project as a leader when the next cycle begins.

Conclusion

The current crypto market correction – driven by both Trump’s policies and external factors – differs from past downturns due to the heightened role of institutional players and new structural dynamics such as ETFs and arbitrage.

Bitcoin now reacts not just to retail demand but also to moves by major funds and governments, introducing new forms of volatility.

However, fundamentally, the Web 3.0 industry is gaining something invaluable – political support at the highest level of the US government – even if driven by questionable motives.

This lays the groundwork for long-term growth.

Challenging months lie ahead, but the projects that navigate the storm will be at the forefront of the next bull run.

Yaroslav Kalynychenko is the head of marketing at Generis Web3 Agency and an expert in promoting crypto, fintech and innovative digital solutions.

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any loses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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