Trump announces start of KYC process for World Liberty Financial 

Enrollment for the Donald Trump-backed crypto project is underway, the former president announced Monday. 

Details about World Liberty Financial, the DeFi project Trump and his family have been teasing for months, have been slow to emerge. 

Know-your-customer (KYC) verification has now begun, Trump said in a post on X Monday. At least, for some prospective investors. 

Because of “outdated” regulations, the whitelist is only available to accredited investors in the US, the project confirmed in the World Liberty Telegram channel Monday. A second whitelist will be available for “non-US persons.” 

Read more: Donald Trump touts new family DeFi project

“We’re fighting for changes so all Americans can access World Liberty Financial and join the financial revolution,” the statement said. 

In a livestream lasting nearly two and a half hours earlier this month, World Liberty founders said that the native token WLFI would soon come to market. They also revealed how the asset will be divided. 

WLFI’s distribution will be 20% to the founding team/Trump family, 17% toward “user rewards,” and 63% for public purchase. A leaked draft of World Liberty’s plans previously stated that 70% of tokens would be reserved for project leaders. 

The team behind the project includes Trump’s sons, Donald Jr., Eric and Barron. Chase Herro and Zachary Folkman are also involved. 

Herro, who describes himself as “the dirtbag of the internet” founded the now-shuttered crypto trading firm Pacer Capital. Folkman and Herro also collaborated on building Dough Finance, the Aave-based DeFi platform that was exploited over the summer for $2 million. 

The current KYC process asks users to confirm their country of residence, link their ethereum wallet, submit a proof of identification and complete a “liveness check.” 

Accredited investors, per Securities and Exchange Commission guidelines, are those with a minimum net worth of $1 million and individual income of $200,000. Couples can qualify with a combined income of $300,000. 

The requirement for US-based investors to be accredited was not mentioned during the Sept. 16 World Liberty livestream.

Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the On the Margin newsletter.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.