- CoinDesk has obtained access to the white paper for the Trump family’s latest foray into Web3, known as World Liberty Financial, revealing it will be a DeFi lending platform much like the Trumps’ last Web3 venture, Dough Finance, which was hacked in July.
- Most of the team behind World Liberty Financial were also involved in the failed Dough Finance, and it appears some of the code used in the early development of World Liberty Financial may have been lifted directly from Dough Finance.
For anyone out there concerned that crypto might have an image problem — fear not! For the Trump family is reportedly planning to launch a new crypto project, surely lending the industry another much-needed helping of credibility.
Known for their slew of above-board business ventures — such as Trump University, Trump Steaks and Trump Sneakers — the Trump family is reportedly now planning to launch a crypto project known as World Liberty Financial (is it just me or does that name have Prestige Worldwide vibes?).
The Trumps have been touting their new crypto project on social media for weeks (originally they were calling it The DeFiant Ones) but as yet they haven’t really provided much detail. Now though, details around the project have emerged after CoinDesk obtained access to its white paper and GitHub repository.
What they found doesn’t look promising. According to CoinDesk’s report, World Liberty Financial is based very closely on an earlier Trump-related crypto project, Dough Finance, which was hacked in July leading to over US$2 million (AU$2.9m) in losses.
The brains behind the new project are also the same elite team that was behind Dough, including: Donald Trump’s sons Eric, Donald Jr. and Barron; a convicted criminal who served time for drugs-charges; and a pickup artist who founded a company called Date Hotter Girls LLC.
Related: Donald Trump to Soon Reveal Plan to Make US The ‘Crypto Capital of The Planet’
What in the World is World Liberty Financial?
World Liberty Financial’s white paper suggests the project will essentially be a DeFi lending platform (very much like Dough Finance), built on blockchains Aave and Ethereum, which will include a “credit account system”. The white paper also claims that the project “highlights the power of blockchain in an accessible way”.
An anonymous source close to the project is reported to have said that World Liberty Financial will also include what is described as a “non-transferable governance token” called WLFI. Being non-transferable suggests this token could be difficult or impossible to trade. The white paper also says the governance token will allow holders to nominate new blockchains to integrate into the platform and then vote on them, which seems like a fairly limited use case for the token.
CoinDesk also reported that the project’s now deleted public GitHub repository showed that it contained code lifted directly from Dough Financial, which is probably a bad sign considering that project contained vulnerabilities that led to it being hacked not long after it was launched.
Who’s the Team Behind This Project?
The project’s white paper indicates its figurehead is the big dog himself, Donald Trump, who has the title “Chief Crypto Advocate” — which kinda sounds like he doesn’t really do anything except say how good crypto is. As well as running for US president, Trump has been convicted of 34 felonies for falsifying business records and is awaiting sentencing.
Then we have the Trump boys: Eric, Don Jr. and Barron. These curious fellows also have strange job titles: Eric and Don Jr. — who are reportedly the main instigators of this thing — are referred to as “Web 3 Ambassadors”, while Barron has been christened the “DeFi Visionary”.
Beneath all these figureheads come the colourful cast of characters who’ll manage the development of World Liberty Financial. Zachary Folkman and Chase Herro (who also refers to himself as ‘Chase Hero’), are the project’s Head of Operations and Data and Strategies Lead, respectively. These guys were also the operational leadership team behind Dough Finance (so they have a nice strong record of building dApps you can trust).
In addition to building dApps for the Trump family, Folkman and Herro have also created Subify, which they tout as a censorship-free competitor to platforms like Patreon and OnlyFans. Folkman and Herro have also run what they call “mastermind groups” — essentially high-priced private networking groups.
Related: Donald Trump Launches New Digital Trading Cards, Receives Backlash On X
Outside of Web3, Folkman fancies himself as something of a dating coach / pickup artist, having previously registered a company called Date Hotter Girls LLC and posting videos to YouTube about how to pick up women. Herro’s resume highlights include stints in prison for drug-related charges. Others involved in the project include several more Dough Finance veterans: Octavian Lojnita, as the project’s smart contracts lead; and a front-end developer who pseudonymously goes by Boga.
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