Trump's new crypto platform tanks on launch day hampered by bugs

New York, New York - Donald Trump's cryptocurrency platform had a faltering sales launch Tuesday, with only a fraction of its digital tokens that went on the market finding a buyer.

Donald Trump's new crypto platform, World Liberty Financial, had a bad sales launch on Tuesday.
Donald Trump's new crypto platform, World Liberty Financial, had a bad sales launch on Tuesday.  © Collage: Kevin Dietsch / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP & X/WLFI

The Republican candidate announced in mid-September that he, along with his sons and other entrepreneurs, would launch the platform named World Liberty Financial.

Some 20 billion digital tokens, priced at 1.5 cents each, were offered by the company – a total value of $300 million – but just three percent had been purchased by Tuesday evening.

The tokens can be used as cryptocurrencies and give buyers a vote on the governance of the platform.

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Many observers blamed the low sales on technical problems, as the company's website suffered outages earlier in the day.

World Liberty Financial will enable users to lend or borrow cryptocurrencies to or from one another, a service already offered by many platforms, one of the best-known of which is Aave.

During his presidency, Trump referred to cryptocurrencies as a scam, but has since radically changed his position, presenting himself as a "pro-bitcoin president" if elected in November.

He has been hawking various crypto-related products, including NFTs, although most ventures have failed to take off.

Cover photo: Collage: Kevin Dietsch / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP & X/WLFI

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