WLFI, the native token of the Trump family’s DeFi project World Liberty Financial, surged 29% to $0.158 in the last 24 hours. This rally coincided with the U.S. Senate advancing a bipartisan plan to end the longest government shutdown in history.
Currently, WLFI tokens are trading 53.5% below their all-time high of $0.46. According to CoinGecko data, WLFI ranks as the 43rd-largest cryptocurrency with a $4.2 billion market cap.
The rally extended across the broader crypto market, with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) climbing 3.6% and 4.8%, respectively. Bitcoin is currently hovering around $106,000 after dipping below the $100,000 mark last week.
### An End in Sight for the Shutdown?
President Trump told reporters at a Sunday night football game, “It looks like we’re getting very close to the shutdown ending,” according to a POLITICO report. The 60-40 Senate vote came after 40 days of federal paralysis and occurred just hours after Democrats agreed to support a funding package that finances multiple agencies through the full fiscal year. Other agencies are funded until January 30, 2026.
The government shutdown initially began after Congress failed to pass a budget amid disputes over extending Affordable Care Act tax credits. This stalemate furloughed nearly 900,000 federal workers and halted critical services ranging from SNAP food aid to airport operations.
On Myriad, users placed an 88% chance on the government shutdown ending before November 15, a significant jump from previous lower expectations following the Senate vote. (Disclaimer: Myriad is owned by Decrypt’s parent company, Dastan.)
### Profit and Politics
Nic Puckrin, crypto analyst and co-founder of The Coin Bureau, told Decrypt that the WLFI surge points to more than just shutdown optimism. A key driver behind the surge is “Trump’s announcement of a $2,000 ‘tariffs dividend’ handout to every American, which has naturally attracted attention to Trump-backed projects again,” Puckrin explained.
On Sunday, Trump floated the idea of giving Americans a $2,000 “dividend” funded by tariff revenues. He posted on Truth Social that such payments would go to everyone except high-income earners.
However, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tempered expectations during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” with host George Stephanopoulos, stating that the “dividend” could be “just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president’s agenda.”
Puckrin noted that WLFI’s jump indicates a “continued appetite for speculative, politically-linked tokens” amid upbeat sentiment. He described it as “a momentum play” that could “fizzle out quickly.”
Ray Youssef, Co-Founder and CEO of crypto app NoOnes, told Decrypt that although the token is still down 30% year-over-year, expectations of a 3-4x rebound post-shutdown “seem justified.” However, he added that its connections to the Trump administration “have raised eyebrows” in crypto circles.
Dean Chen, an analyst at Bitunix, echoed similar concerns. Speaking to Decrypt, he said WLFI’s surge reflects “brand, liquidity, and narrative more than fundamentals.” Chen cautioned that unless the DeFi project proves its stablecoin reserves and secures credible tokenization deals by 2026, the rally may fade as a short-term, politically driven spike.
President Trump’s crypto empire has reportedly generated over $1 billion in profits. His son, Eric Trump, confirmed last month that the figure is “probably more.”
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*Stay tuned for further updates on WLFI and the evolving intersection of politics and cryptocurrency.*
https://decrypt.co/347938/trump-backed-world-liberty-financial-token-surges-as-senate-moves-to-end-us-government-shutdown