Author: Weilin, PANews
"Having connections in high places helps" is particularly applicable to the Trump family's crypto project.
Recently, World Liberty Financial Inc. (WLFI) announced plans to launch USD1 stablecoin, which can be exchanged 1:1 with US dollars. According to market observations, USD1's mainnet soft launch actually occurred around April 12, when the first batch of USD1 liquidity pools were deployed on Uniswap V3 and PancakeSwap V3. Incomplete statistics show that USD1 has quickly expanded and integrated with over 10 protocols or applications.
Since World Liberty Financial is the US President's family DeFi project, the launch of USD1 stablecoin has attracted widespread market attention, especially its subsequent deployment on Ethereum, BNB Chain, and TRON. While Ethereum collaboration was based on merit, BNB Chain and TRON were likely driven more by commercial interests. For instance, Binance's $2 billion financing from MGX was paid through USD1, instantly adding $2 billion to the stablecoin's market cap. Justin Sun is the largest individual investor in WLFI, investing $75 million.
Expanding from Ethereum and BNB Chain to TRON, Integrating with Multiple DeFi Protocols
According to official introduction, WLFI's USD1 is 100% backed by US short-term Treasury bonds, US dollar deposits, and other cash equivalents, ensuring each token is anchored to 1 dollar. The reserve asset portfolio is regularly audited by a third-party accounting firm and custodied by independent qualified custodian BitGo. Additionally, BitGo Prime's brokerage service will support USD1, enabling institutional clients to obtain ample liquidity and trading opportunities.
Initially, USD1 tokens were minted on Ethereum (ETH) and Binance Smart Chain (BSC). On May 14, BNB Chain officially endorsed USD1, noting that Four.Meme, GMGN, SafePal and others have already supported USD1.
On May 1, WLFI co-founder Zack Witkoff announced that USD1 will also be natively issued on TRON chain, further expanding its cross-chain capabilities. TRON's founder Justin Sun is also a WLFI advisor, investing $75 million in the project.
As of May 15, according to CMC data, USD1's total circulation reached 2.13 billion tokens, with a market cap of approximately $2.13 billion, ranking 5th, behind USDT, USDC, DAI, and USDe.
USD1's official announcement quickly triggered market liquidity deployment. On April 12, on-chain monitoring platform Lookonchain disclosed that market maker DWF Labs had deployed 6 DeFi liquidity pools for USD1, with a total value of $18 million. These pools include the following pairs:
Ethereum: 1.5 million USDT and 1.5 million USD1, 2.5 million USDC and 2.5 million USD1, 490,000 USDf and 500,000 USD1, 318.5 ETH and 500,000 USD1. BSC Chain: 3 million USDT and 3 million USD1, 1,730 BNB and 1 million USD1.
On April 9, DWF Labs also subscribed to 250 million WLFI at $0.1 per token, totaling $25 million.
USD1's launch is not limited to liquidity pool deployment but also actively expands the DeFi ecosystem. Multiple protocols and DAOs have announced USD1 integration:
- Venus Protocol: On May 15, the BNB chain-based decentralized lending platform Venus announced USD1's official launch.
- Meson Finance: On May 15, cross-chain DEX Meson Finance announced support for USD1.
- StakeStone: On May 9, cross-chain liquidity infrastructure StakeStone announced WLFI integration is officially online.
- Aster: On May 9, decentralized perpetual contract exchange Aster incorporated USD1 as a collateral option. The project is deployed on Ethereum and BNB Chain.
- Lista DAO: On May 7, USD1 entered the Lista DAO ecosystem, with USD1/ListaDAO pool online, bringing stable yield release and DeFi utility. Lista DAO is an LSD project operating in the BNB Chain ecosystem.
- Pyth Network: On May 3, USD1 was integrated into the oracle solution Pyth Network.
- Falcon Finance: On April 11, Falcon Finance launched USD1 as collateral, further expanding its application scenarios. The project is supported by DWF Labs.
Listing on HTX and MEXC, Used to Complete MGX's Binance Investment
USD1's application is not limited to decentralized ecosystems but has quickly entered centralized exchanges. On May 7, the USD1/USDT trading pair was listed on HTX exchange, supporting deposits and trading, marking USD1's first listing on a major centralized exchange. On the same day, the USD1/USDT trading pair was listed on MEXC exchange, with zero withdrawal and trading fees.
Additionally, on May 1, US President Trump's son and WLFI head Eric Trump stated that USD1, the dollar-denominated stablecoin issued by WLFI, was officially selected as the stablecoin for Abu Dhabi investment institution MGX to complete its $2 billion investment in Binance. Eric Trump, speaking at the Token2049 event in Dubai, said: "We appreciate MGX and Binance's trust in us, and I believe this is just the beginning." Earlier this year, Abu Dhabi-based investment company MGX invested $2 billion to acquire Binance shares.
On May 16, Binance founder CZ also publicly stated for the first time that MGX's $2 billion investment in Binance was completed using USD1 stablecoin, but was unrelated to the TRUMP token (meme coin).
In terms of consumption scenarios, USD1 has also been integrated into several crypto payment and commercial projects:
- TokenPocket: On May 15, decentralized multi-chain wallet TokenPocket announced support for USD1.
- HOT Wallet (HOT Protocol): On May 9, TG ecosystem's HOT Wallet announced support for USD1.
- Umy: On May 9, Web3 travel and consumption platform Umy announced that users can use USD1 to book over a million hotels and luxury travel services globally.
- Pundi X: On May 8, Pundi X payment ecosystem fully integrated USD1, including XPOS and Pundi X Pay.
According to official introduction, USD1 primarily targets institutional clients, positioning itself as a safe and efficient cross-border payment and trading tool while supporting broad DeFi ecosystem applications. WLFI co-founder Zach Witkoff emphasized, "USD1 is a digital dollar stablecoin tailored for sovereign investors and large institutions, capable of seamless and secure cross-border transactions."
Zach Witkoff also revealed that more USD1 stablecoin-related collaborations are forthcoming. He stated: "World Liberty is preparing numerous plans... We are fully advancing integration with traditional retail POS systems." Currently, USD1's collaboration progress appears very rapid.
On May 7, WLFI began a new governance proposal: testing airdrop functionality by distributing $1 to all $WLFI holders—rewarding the earliest supporters and preparing for future development. The proposal concluded on May 14, with 11,780 people voting, and 99.96% of voting weight supporting it, allowing the proposal to pass smoothly.
Overall, since its launch, USD1 has been demonstrating its future potential as a presidential family DeFi project through multi-chain expansion and multi-protocol integration. Will a US President-backed stablecoin be able to secure a place in the stablecoin market and challenge USDC and USDT's status? Market dynamics will be worth further observation.
