WLFI: THE SHITCOIN THAT TOKENIZES THE WIND
Share
The cryptocurrency market is an endless carousel. At each turn, the lights come on, the music starts playing again, and new passengers board with the illusion of experiencing a unique moment. Yet, for those observing from afar, the scene is always the same: Bitcoin advances like a relentless, silent, and incorruptible machine, while around it a cloud of colorful tokens appears, shines for a moment, and then disappears into the dust. Some call this innovation. Others, more lucid, know that it is simply the repetition of a cycle of greed. And if we had to choose a perfect example, a total caricature of this cycle in 2025, it would be WLFI, World Liberty Financial, a shitcoin that didn't even need to exist to become a speculative product.
WLFI was born in noise, not in code. Its essence has nothing to do with a cryptographic discovery or a new approach to decentralization. It was born in the corridors of political marketing, in the gilded salons of those who know that the greed of the masses can be transformed into treasure. Its name is a billboard: World Liberty Financial. Three words chosen to hypnotize, to flatter the most primal instincts. Who would refuse freedom? Who would refuse finance? Who would refuse the world? But once the label is ripped off, all that remains is an empty token, a cloned ERC-20 among thousands of others, without soul, without utility, without reason to exist.
This isn't the first time the market has witnessed such a spectacle. We still remember the bitter laughter Bitconnect provoked, its delusional promises of guaranteed returns, until the day the house of cards collapsed. We remember Luna, which claimed to be stable before collapsing overnight, leaving billions behind. We remember FTT, FTX's masquerade token, which turned out to be a simple machine to enrich Sam Bankman-Fried and his circle. Each generation of speculators has had its paper idol, each cycle has produced its shitcoin totem. WLFI isn't inventing anything; it's reenacting the play with a different staging: this time, the setting is political.
Even before WLFI was listed on a spot market, it had already set derivatives platforms ablaze. More than $800 million in open interest was announced, even though the asset didn't even exist in practice. People were already betting on its future, like betting on a phantom boxer's next fight. This is the ultimate stage of crypto casino: betting on shadows, speculating on promises, multiplying leverage on nothing. When the spot market opened, chaos took shape. CoinMarketCap showed a 37% drop. Binance spoke of a 33% increase. Crypto.com claimed the price was stable. CoinGecko remained frozen at zero. Never before had an asset embodied absolute confusion with such clarity.
At the time of the official listing, the price of WLFI stabilized around €0.26 (≈ USD 0.31), with a market capitalization of approximately €7.36 billion. Barely launched, it propelled itself directly into the global top 20, climbing to 26th place on CoinGecko. At first glance, this might seem like a triumph, as if the market instantly validated its legitimacy. But don't be fooled by the window dressing. This capitalization is only a theoretical calculation based on a total supply in which the majority of tokens remain locked. In other words, a valuation artificially inflated by figures that do not reflect the reality of liquidity. It is an accounting mirage, not an economic success. The flattering ranking doesn't say anything about the project's solidity, it only illustrates how crazy the times are: a political shitcoin can rise among the crypto giants simply because of hype and speculation, before it has even proven any usefulness.
It was at this precise moment that the most absurd speeches flourished. Influencers and YouTubers promised the earth. One of them even claimed that with $600 invested when the token was launched in 2024, it would be possible to buy a full Bitcoin a year later. The story sounded like a parable of lightning success: a few hundred dollars transformed into more than $110,000, instant access to the maximalist dream. But this story, as always, was an illusion.
At the October 2024 ICO, the tokens were selling for $0.015. In January 2025, a second round already valued them at $0.05, as if to show that the rocket was taking off. But a year later, at the time of the official listing, the price was €0.26, which values a €600 stake at around €2,100. Not enough to buy a Bitcoin, not even a small but significant piece. The figures speak for themselves: the person who placed $600 at launch didn't multiply their stake, they quadrupled it on paper, but it remains very far from the initial promise. And above all, this performance is illusory, because it depends on an inflated capitalization and deceptive liquidity.
And even if a miracle had managed to sell during an artificial pump phase, they would have encountered another barrier: liquidity. With volumes inflated by derivatives but a much narrower reality on the spot market, it's impossible to sell tens of thousands of dollars' worth of tokens without causing the price to collapse. The illusion of a jackpot is total, but no one can really cash in. This is the true face of WLFI: a brilliant lure for the gullible, a cash machine for insiders. And for those who still remember the collapse of FTX in 2022, the resemblance is uncanny. Sam Bankman-Fried had built his house of cards by recycling FTT through Alameda Research, artificially inflating demand and using this proprietary token as collateral to speculate even more. Everything relied on internal, artificial liquidity, which evaporated as soon as confidence wavered. The Trump brothers and their WLFI empire are inventing nothing more: a political token, cross-subsidies, and complicit exchanges to create the illusion of market depth. It's the same scenario playing out again, but repainted in the colors of freedom and family notoriety. The mechanics are identical, only the scenery has changed. The question, therefore, is not whether WLFI is a success, but how long the illusion can last before the mirage dissipates like that of FTX.
WLFI isn't just a shitcoin; it's a cynical demonstration of what crypto has become when it loses its essence. By partnering with this project, the Trumps didn't invent a currency; they invented a monetizable slogan. They understood that in the age of constant speculation, a name is enough to create an asset. Influence becomes a commodity, politics becomes a token. It doesn't matter that the project serves no purpose. What matters is that it attracts attention, creates noise, and gets people talking. And while the crowds pounce on it, insiders cash in, insiders sell, and the party continues.
History is written in advance. WLFI will experience an initial pump, fueled by the illusion of a historic opportunity. Social media will ignite, influencers will explain that this is the next revolution, that you have to get in now before the price explodes. Then will come the first, brutal correction, which some will justify with shaky explanations. The price will stabilize for a time, before falling again. Little by little, interest will fade, volumes will disappear, and the token will join the long list of dead illusions. Perhaps it will experience a few orchestrated surges to trap new entrants, but its destiny is that of all shitcoins: the dustbin of history.
And it's not as if history hasn't already given its warnings. Bitconnect promised a guaranteed 1% daily return. Thousands of people bought into it, some even selling their homes to jump on the bandwagon. The result: one of the most spectacular scams in history, fortunes evaporated overnight, and a brand forever associated with ridicule. Luna was supposed to be the future of algorithmic stablecoins. Its collapse caused a cataclysm in the market in 2022, precipitating bankruptcies on a chain and ruining millions of savers. FTT, FTX's token, was supposedly used to grant advantages on the platform. In reality, it was just the fuel for a giant fraud orchestrated by Sam Bankman-Fried, and when the illusion dissipated, everything collapsed. As for MAGA Coin, the famous pro-Trump memecoin, it briefly made headlines before disappearing into general indifference.
WLFI is just the latest iteration of this cycle. The setting changes, but the play remains the same. A dream of freedom and quick riches is sold, crowds are attracted with slogans, an initial pump is organized, and then everything collapses. Those who were there from the start walk away with their pockets full. The others are left with worthless chips, empty promises, and the bitter lesson that the casino always wins.
And this is where Bitcoin stands as a violent contrast. Bitcoin never promised hidden treasure, was never championed by a political figure, never needed a marketing campaign. Bitcoin doesn't seduce, it exists. Its rules are clear, immutable: 21 million units, secured by proof of work, protected by thousands of independent nodes. Its strength lies not in a fabricated narrative, but in a mathematical reality. Where WLFI is a mirage, Bitcoin is an oasis. Where WLFI depends on a brand, Bitcoin depends on no one. Where WLFI is incoherent noise, Bitcoin is a pure signal.
What WLFI reveals above all is that the times are ripe for this kind of charade. The global economy is faltering, citizens are seeking refuge, speculators are looking for jackpots. In this climate of uncertainty, all that glitters attracts. Memecoins had already shown the way: Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, Bonk, each driven by humor and absurdity. WLFI pushes this logic to the extreme by adding politics to the mix. It is no longer just a joke token, it is a campaign token, an electoral tool disguised as a financial asset. It is a new frontier of cynicism: selling freedom like a derivative product.
But deep down, this cynicism serves a purpose. Because it acts as a brutal mirror. WLFI reminds those who want to see that the crypto market is still riddled with greed, that the majority of projects are nothing more than sophisticated scams, and that true innovation is rare. It reminds us that in the ocean of illusions, there is only one solid ground: Bitcoin. All other tokens can disappear overnight, but Bitcoin remains. All others can be manipulated by insiders, but Bitcoin resists. All others can be built on slogans, but Bitcoin is built on code.
WLFI is therefore not an accident; it is a symptom. It is proof that the speculative madness continues, that the lessons of the past have not been learned. But it is also a warning. For those who are still hesitant, for those who believe there are shortcuts, for those who are seduced by easy promises, it is a reminder: the path to freedom does not pass through these mirages, but through the discipline of Bitcoin. WLFI, with its grandiloquent name and its sidereal emptiness, is only a flash in the pan. Bitcoin, with its sobriety and rigor, is the sacred fire.
And the market didn't wait long to confirm it: in its first 24 hours, WLFI had already lost more than 20%, revealing its true nature as a speculative mirage. A rapid crash that could soon drag it below 30% in the coming hours.
👉 Also read: