World Liberty Financial Swaps $10 Million in Wrapped Bitcoin for Justin Sun Tokens
World Liberty Financial (WL), associated with Donald Trump’s crypto initiative, reportedly exchanged approximately $10 million worth of wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) for tokens linked to Justin Sun, founder of the TRON blockchain.
World Liberty Financial Links With Justin Sun In Major Token Swap
Nansen, a blockchain analytics firm, reported that a digital wallet linked to World Liberty Financial swapped 103 cbBTC tokens for WBTC. Wrapped Bitcoin allows Bitcoin (BTC) holders to participate in decentralized finance (DeFi) activities on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain.
Although marketed as a DeFi lending platform, World Liberty is still in early development stages and presales of its WLF token have not yet launched. Justin Sun invested $30 million in November, becoming an adviser and pushing World Liberty toward financial viability, potentially securing at least $15 million for the Trump family based on terms in World Liberty’s “gold paper.”
Trump’s Crypto Initiative Struggles
This token swap follows prior acquisitions, including investments in Aave (AAVE) and Chainlink (LINK). Nansen's data indicates World Liberty’s wallets also received about $250,000 in ONDO from Ondo Finance.
Controversy surrounds these transactions, particularly due to a partnership between Sun’s BiT Global and BitGo, operator of Wrapped Bitcoin. This led Coinbase to seek a delisting of WBTC due to concerns over Sun’s influence. A federal judge recently ruled in favor of Coinbase regarding a lawsuit filed by BiT Global against the exchange.
Despite promotional efforts from Trump and his sons, World Liberty Financial has faced market challenges, reporting sales 93% below projections, raising questions about the project’s viability and its ability to meet ambitious financial transformation goals.
The total crypto market capitalization has fallen to $3.3 trillion after reaching an all-time high of $3.73 trillion, which also pushed Bitcoin's price above $108,000.
Featured image from RFI, chart from TradingView.com.