On June 25, WLF co-founder Zak Folkman made some intriguing comments in an interview at the Permissionless conference in Brooklyn, which was reported by Reuters. He revealed that an audit of WLF’s USD1 stablecoin is expected to be wrapped up in a few days. This audit will spill the beans on the reserves backing USD1, which has already hit a market cap of $2.2 billion since its March launch. Not too shabby, right?
USD1 is backed by U.S. dollar deposits, cash equivalents, and U.S. Treasuries, essentially giving it a solid foundation for a stablecoin. It's running on Ethereum, BNB Chain, and TRON, with BitGo playing the role of custodian. And, to keep things super transparent, Folkman mentioned that WLF will be publishing monthly reserve reports going forward. I think this move is pretty solid; it shows that WLF is taking transparency seriously, and that could win some trust in the market.
But that’s not all! WLF is also working on a mobile app designed to make crypto easier for regular investors to use. According to Folkman, “We’re going to have very transparent auditing from a financial level.” Sounds promising, but we’ll see how it goes.
WLFI Token and Trump’s Family Business Controversy
Folkman hinted that WLFI, the platform’s non-tradable governance token, might soon be available for trading.
“If you pay attention over the next couple of weeks, I think everyone’s going to be very, very happy,” he teased.
WLFI is currently used for voting on protocol changes, but it’s not yet listed on exchanges. Could this be the start of something big for WLFI? I wouldn't be surprised if it hits the exchanges soon.
On the flip side, while WLFI and USD1 have been raking in millions for Trump’s family business, they’ve also sparked criticism. Ethics watchdogs have raised eyebrows about the timing of Trump’s crypto ventures, especially as his administration rolls back regulatory oversight in the crypto industry. Critics say the Trump family made out like bandits, allegedly pocketing over $130 million after slashing their ownership of WLF from 60% to 40% in June, a move that reportedly earned them around $190 million. Yikes.
Despite the criticism, USD1 continues to gain traction. In fact, the stablecoin was used in a $2 billion investment in Binance by UAE-based MGX in March. Earlier in June, a $4 million USD1 airdrop reached over 85,000 wallets, pushing awareness and boosting confidence in USD1’s infrastructure. With growing demand, new tools, and an expanding user base, it looks like WLF is setting USD1 up to be a major player in the stablecoin market.
WLF is playing the long game; despite the controversies, it’s making moves to establish USD1 as a trusted, widespread stablecoin. Let’s see how this plays out.
Gunel Ismayilova
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