Trump’s World Liberty Financial Launches Crypto Lending as USD1 Stablecoin Surges to $3.5B Milestone
World Liberty Financial just dropped a crypto lending bomb—and their stablecoin's already sitting on a $3.5 billion war chest.
The New Crypto Banking Playbook
Forget waiting for traditional approvals. This move cuts straight to the chase—offering loans against digital assets while their USD1 token quietly amasses institutional-scale reserves. No permission slips needed, just cold hard blockchain rails.
Stablecoins Aren't Just for Trading Anymore
That $3.5 billion isn't gathering dust. It's becoming collateral for a lending system that bypasses legacy banking bottlenecks. Want liquidity without selling your crypto? Now there's a politically-connected alternative to DeFi protocols—complete with all the traditional finance trappings Wall Street secretly craves.
The Real Test: Can It Survive a Crypto Winter?
Massive reserves mean little if the lending model can't weather volatility. The setup looks bulletproof on paper—but then again, so did every 'innovative' financial product right before regulators started asking uncomfortable questions.
One thing's clear: when former politicians start building crypto banks, the establishment's either terrified or already invested—usually both.
On-chain Lending Rebounds as World Liberty Financial Builds on USD1 Momentum
World Liberty Financial said the launch represents the second major product rollout for the project, following the introduction of USD1 last year.
The stablecoin has grown rapidly, reaching approximately $3.48 billion in market capitalization, with the entire issued supply already in circulation.
USD1 maintains a $1 peg and is deployed across multiple blockchains, with the largest share on BNB Smart Chain at roughly 1.92 billion tokens, followed by ethereum with about 1.31 billion.
Smaller but growing allocations exist on Solana, Aptos, Plume, Tron, and several newer networks.
The lending launch comes as on-chain credit has regained momentum after the collapses of several centralized lenders in the previous cycle.
Galaxy Research reported that crypto-collateralized lending reached an all-time high of $73.59 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2025, surpassing the 2021 peak.
DeFi lending applications accounted for $40.99 billion of that total, capturing 55.7% of the overall lending market and growing nearly 55% quarter over quarter.
Unlike the last cycle, growth has been driven by fully collateralized loans, transparent liquidation mechanisms, and on-chain risk management.
USD1’s Role Expands Across Banking and Crypto Markets
World Liberty Financial’s MOVE places it directly into this evolving sector, where demand for borrowing against digital assets is increasing as investors seek liquidity without selling holdings.
The company said World Liberty Markets is designed to expand the utility of USD1, allowing holders to deploy the stablecoin while accessing borrowing opportunities.
Users who supply USD1 are eligible for the project’s existing points program, which distributes rewards subject to specific terms.
The company has also launched an early-user rewards campaign, offering WLFI incentives for USD1 deposits.
Alongside USD1, users can also supply WLFI, ETH, cbBTC, USDC, and USDT to earn or unlock borrowing through Dolomite.
Deposits by the WLFI Foundation Treasury are ineligible for rewards. Everything goes to the real users contributing to fast, flexible USD1 liquidity markets…
The timing of the launch aligns with growing institutional and regulatory engagement around stablecoins.
Earlier this month, World Liberty Financial confirmed that its trust entity filed an application for a U.S. national banking charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
World Liberty Financial filed for a US national banking charter, seeking OCC oversight to bring its dollar-backed stablecoin USD1 fully inside the regulatory perimeter. @worldlibertyfi#WLFI #OCC https://t.co/kDgbVB1c25
USD1 has also gained visibility through high-profile market activity. In December, Binance rolled out a limited-time “USD1 Boost Program,” offering enhanced yields of up to 20% APR on the stablecoin through its Simple Earn products.
The promotion coincided with a sharp increase in USD1’s market capitalization and followed Binance’s decision to expand fee-free USD1 trading pairs and replace BUSD with USD1 as a primary collateral asset on the exchange.
Trump-linked stablecoin USD1 jumps $150M after @binance launches a massive 20% yield promo, triggering a rapid surge in supply and trading volume.#USD1 #Trump #binancehttps://t.co/RfH368kICC
Binance has positioned USD1 as an integral part of its collateral framework, further embedding the token into the centralized trading infrastructure.
The broader lending market has continued to evolve alongside these developments.
While centralized lenders still account for a large share of outstanding loans, Galaxy Research data shows that on-chain platforms now dominate new growth.
CeFi lending reached $24.37 billion by the end of September, with Tether holding nearly 60% of the tracked market, but surviving centralized lenders have shifted to fully collateralized models and public reporting.
