Trump Coin Gets a Free Pass for IPO Review? Controversy Over 'WLFI' Circulation Inflated [Decenter]

World Liberty Financial (WLFI), known as the virtual asset of US President Donald Trump and his family, plummeted over 35% on its first day of listing on a domestic exchange. The listing process has also raised concerns about the opacity of the circulating supply disclosure, sparking controversy over its eligibility for listing.

At 2:25 PM on the 2nd, WLFI was trading at 321 won on the domestic virtual asset exchange Upbit. The price, which had soared to 495 won immediately after listing at 10 PM the previous day, has fallen by more than 35% in less than a day. Immediately after its official launch on the Ethereum mainnet on the 1st, WLFI was listed simultaneously on major domestic and international exchanges, including Upbit, Bithumb, and Coinone. World Liberty Financial, the issuer of WLFI, previously sold approximately 20 billion WLFI tokens through a presale in October of last year, ahead of the US presidential election. Purchasers were able to request unlocks for their purchases starting last week.

The problem was that the exact circulating supply wasn't disclosed until the exchange listing. Investors could only indirectly confirm the figure of approximately 27 billion through figures published on the global market monitoring site CoinMarketCap. As criticism intensified over the lack of a white paper outlining the distribution plan, World Liberty Financial issued a notice after the listing, correcting the actual circulating supply from the 27 billion initially published on CoinMarketCap to approximately 24.7 billion. World Liberty Financial explained, "The figure was accurate as of September 1st, but has since been adjusted," but did not provide a specific reason for the adjustment.

This has led some to suspect that the Trump family intentionally inflated the circulating supply and then engaged in insider selling. According to a World Liberty Financial announcement, the Trump family and their affiliates hold 22.5 billion of the total 100 billion WLFI supply. Transactions believed to be insider selling have also been captured in on-chain data. Whalewire analyst Jacob King pointed out through X, “On-chain data shows that insiders have already sold millions of dollars of WLFI. This is a blatant pump-and-dump scam.”

The timing of the listing, coinciding with Labor Day (September 1st), a US holiday, also fuels controversy. Some interpret this as an attempt to minimize investor reaction and regulatory repercussions directly linked to the US stock market by listing WLFI during a closed period.

Amid this controversy, the fairness of domestic exchanges' listing reviews has also come under scrutiny. WLFI changed its circulating supply figures without specific explanation immediately after its listing and has yet to submit a precise distribution plan to the exchange. Despite this, the listing proceeded without issue, raising concerns that the review process may have been weakened. Given the precedent of domestic exchanges delisting WEMIX for false circulating supply disclosures, some argue that it's difficult to avoid the double standard controversy. Meanwhile, Upbit plans to have Eric Trump, the issuer of WLFI, speak at its blockchain event "UDC 2025" on the 9th, just a week after the listing of WLFI.

An official in the domestic virtual currency industry said, “WLFI is a representative example of a case where the disclosure of circulation amount was inconsistent during the listing process,” and added, “Although exchanges said they would strengthen the listing review standards, one cannot help but wonder if they actually rushed to list it, relying on fame and buzz.”

Reporter Kim Jeong-woo