Schlagwort: crypto business

• WLFI burns 7.89M tokens ($1.43M) following $1.06M buyback to reduce circulating supply.
• 99% of WLFI holders approved burn plan; program excludes community liquidity pools.
• Trump family controls $5B in WLFI; token trades at $0.2049 after recent market volatility.

World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a decentralized finance (DeFi) project affiliated with US President Donald Trump, has executed a significant token burn, removing 7.89 million WLFI tokens from circulation, valued at roughly $1.43 million.

The burn follows a $1.06 million buyback across multiple blockchain networks, part of a strategy approved by WLFI holders to stabilize token supply and market dynamics.

WLFI token burn and buyback details

According to onchain data compiled by Lookonchain, the WLFI team collected 4.91 million WLFI (approximately $1.01 million) along with $1.06 million in fees and earnings from liquidity operations.

These funds were used to repurchase 6.04 million WLFI on the open market.

Following these transactions, the team burned 7.89 million WLFI tokens on both the BNB Smart Chain (BNB) and Ethereum (ETH) networks.

A total of 3.06 million WLFI ($638,000) remains on Solana (SOL), with the project indicating that further burns may occur.

The token burn program aims to permanently reduce WLFI’s circulating supply, thereby alleviating selling pressure and supporting market stability.

Community and third-party liquidity pools are not included in the burn process, with the initiative relying solely on fees generated from WLFI-managed liquidity pools.

Governance approval and market context

The burn plan was approved via governance vote earlier this month, with overwhelming support: 99% of WLFI holders voted in favor.

This approval demonstrates strong alignment between the community and the project’s management regarding strategies to manage token supply and enhance long-term value.

The WLFI price has experienced significant fluctuations, falling roughly 33% over the past month.

As of Saturday, the token was trading at $0.2049, marking a 6% increase over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.

Despite this rebound, WLFI remains down more than 38% from its all-time high.

Market analysts and onchain observers have noted that the burn could potentially remove up to 4 million WLFI per day, translating to nearly 2% of the total supply annually, although exact figures have yet to be confirmed.

Trump family holdings and token unlocks

The WLFI project has drawn additional attention due to its connection with the Trump family.

Entities linked to President Donald Trump reportedly control around $5 billion worth of WLFI tokens following a scheduled unlock of 24.6 billion tokens earlier this month.

Initial holders listed on the project’s website include DT Marks DEFI LLC and family members Donald Jr., Barron, and Eric Trump, who collectively held 22.5 billion WLFI.

The token experienced a brief spike to $0.40 following the unlock before retreating to around $0.21.

This volatility highlights both the influence of large token holders and the potential impact of strategic buybacks and burns on market sentiment.

Outlook and implications

The WLFI token burn and repurchase program represents a deliberate effort by the project to strengthen market confidence and mitigate price declines amid recent volatility.

By leveraging governance-approved strategies and onchain revenue streams, WLFI aims to create a sustainable framework for value appreciation.

The project will likely continue monitoring supply and demand dynamics, with future burns on Solana pending further action.

For investors and observers, the ongoing management of WLFI supply, combined with significant holdings by high-profile individuals, underscores the complex interplay of DeFi mechanics and market sentiment in shaping token performance.

The post Trump affiliated World Liberty Financial executes $1.43M token burn amid WLFI market volatility appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Tether seeks $15–20B funding at $500B valuation with SoftBank and Ark in talks.
• A $500B valuation could make Tether one of the world’s largest private firms.
• SoftBank and Ark backing may boost Tether’s push for mainstream legitimacy.

Tether Holdings SA, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin, is in early discussions with major investors, including SoftBank Group Corp. and Ark Investment Management LLC, for a multibillion-dollar fundraising round that could place the company among the most valuable private firms globally, reported Bloomberg.

The fundraising effort could value Tether at as much as $500 billion.

The company is seeking between $15 billion and $20 billion in exchange for roughly a 3% stake through a private placement.

A potential $500 billion valuation

If successful, the fundraising would represent Tether’s largest attempt yet to secure external capital and could rank it alongside the most highly valued private companies in the world.

At a $500 billion valuation, Tether would surpass many global blue-chip firms in size, reflecting both the scale of its token issuance and the financial returns generated from its reserves.

Tether’s dollar-pegged stablecoin, USDT, is widely used to move value across crypto markets and beyond, offering a way for investors to transact outside of traditional banking systems.

Backed by cash-like assets, primarily US Treasuries, the company has earned substantial profits from interest income on these reserves.

Chief Executive Officer Paolo Ardoino leads the company, while co-founder Giancarlo Devasini serves as chairman and remains its largest shareholder.

Bloomberg estimated that a $500 billion valuation would value Devasini’s personal stake at nearly $224 billion.

Strategic backing from SoftBank and Ark

Tokyo-based SoftBank, led by founder Masayoshi Son, has a long history of making ambitious technology bets, ranging from self-driving cars to semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

A potential investment in Tether would align with its strategy of pursuing disruptive opportunities, including its planned $30 billion investment in OpenAI.

Ark Investment Management, led by Cathie Wood, has also shown strong interest in digital assets.

The firm has previously invested in Circle Internet Group Inc., Tether’s closest rival in the stablecoin space.

Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) currently has a market value of about $74 billion, compared with $173.5 billion worth of tokens issued by Tether.

The potential involvement of SoftBank and Ark could bolster Tether’s efforts to expand its footprint in mainstream finance and enhance its political legitimacy, particularly in the US, where the company has previously faced scrutiny over its role in facilitating illicit transactions.

Advisory role and industry impact

Cantor Fitzgerald LP, the New York-based investment bank led for years by current US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, is advising Tether on the fundraising.

The firm also provides custody services for Tether’s assets, underscoring its key role in the company’s financial operations.

The fundraising comes as stablecoins increasingly attract attention from investors, regulators, and governments.

With US authorities preparing stricter oversight of digital assets, securing high-profile financial backers could prove vital for Tether’s positioning in global markets.

If the talks progress and funding is secured, Tether’s valuation would mark a milestone not only for the company but also for the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem, signaling the continued integration of digital assets into mainstream finance.

The post SoftBank and Ark consider backing Tether in funding round: report appeared first on CoinJournal.

• UK Finance launches GBTD pilot with six banks to test tokenised sterling deposits until 2026.
• Quant Network to power digital pound pilot, exploring payments, remortgaging and bond settlement.
• FCA readies crypto rules by 2026 as UK tests tokenised deposits for safer, efficient transactions.

UK Finance has launched a pilot programme for tokenised sterling deposits (GBTD), marking a step towards digital innovation in traditional banking.

The initiative, announced on Friday, is being developed with six major banks—Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest, Nationwide and Santander—and will run until mid-2026.

The pilot will test how tokenised deposits can modernise payments, reduce fraud, and improve settlement processes, while also aligning with the country’s wider push to regulate crypto-assets by 2026.

Six banks test digital pound deposits

The GBTD pilot is designed to create a digital representation of commercial bank money in pound sterling.

By joining forces with the six banks, UK Finance aims to measure how tokenised deposits can enhance efficiency for customers, businesses and the wider UK economy.

The initiative is expected to support safer transactions, streamline settlement systems, and give consumers greater control over payments.

Quant Network, a UK-based blockchain interoperability company, will provide the underlying infrastructure for the project.

The firm previously supported the Regulated Liability Network (RLN), a shared ledger-based financial market framework tested in 2024 with the same banks and additional institutions such as Citi, Mastercard, Standard Chartered, Virgin Money and Visa.

Quant Network to build infrastructure

Quant’s involvement will enable the GBTD pilot to test use cases across three areas—online marketplace payments, remortgaging processes and wholesale bond settlement.

The company said the project goes beyond payments, introducing programmable money that can alter how value is managed.

The technology aims to offer efficiency gains and new settlement models that could support both retail and wholesale financial activity.

The project builds directly on RLN’s earlier success, which created a regulated environment for testing distributed ledger technology in traditional banking.

By applying the lessons from that initiative, the GBTD pilot is expected to generate more practical outcomes that could be adopted at scale in the coming years.

Pilot linked with upcoming regulations

The launch comes as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) finalises a regulatory regime for crypto-assets, with implementation targeted for 2026.

In April 2025, the Treasury published a policy note clarifying how qualifying stablecoins and tokenised deposits will differ from electronic money.

The FCA has accelerated crypto approvals after criticism, preparing the ground for a more structured framework.

Meanwhile, the European Union has already brought its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation into effect, covering many aspects of tokenisation.

However, tokenised deposits remain outside MiCA’s remit because they continue to fall under traditional deposit and banking rules.

This regulatory distinction highlights the UK’s efforts to create a clear path for tokenised commercial bank money as part of its broader financial innovation strategy.

What the project aims to achieve

The pilot is expected to run for at least 18 months, with results shaping future policy decisions.

By testing tokenised deposits in real-world scenarios, UK Finance and its partners want to understand how they can fit within regulated banking systems.

The project is positioned as an experiment in bringing distributed ledger technology into mainstream financial services without displacing existing banking structures.

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