The Trump crypto firm is planning expansion, from tokenized commodities to debit cards

In a bold move to expand its offerings, World Liberty Financial—a cryptocurrency venture associated with former President Donald Trump—has revealed plans to introduce new financial products, including a debit card and tokenized commodity assets. The announcements were made by CEO Zach Witkoff during an appearance alongside Donald Trump Jr. at Token 2049, one of the largest cryptocurrency conferences in the world, held in Singapore. Witkoff highlighted that the upcoming debit card aims to seamlessly integrate crypto assets with everyday spending, stating, "We'll be rolling out a pilot program here in the next quarter, and that debit card will either be live in Q4 or Q1 of '26." His father, Steve Witkoff, previously served as the U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East under the Trump administration. Earlier discussions at Korea Blockchain Week 2025 hinted at the potential rollout of a consumer-facing app; however, both Trump Jr. and Witkoff confirmed that the company is not yet ready to reveal details about that application. In addition, the company is exploring the tokenization of real-world commodities, with Witkoff asserting, "We've not only thought about it, we're actively working on it. Commodities like oil, gas, cotton, and timber could all be traded on-chain." Describing itself as a decentralized finance protocol, World Liberty Financial publicly launched its cryptocurrency token, WLFI, in September. The company also introduced a stablecoin, USD1, which is pegged to the U.S. dollar and backed by short-term U.S. government treasuries. Remarkably, USD1 has quickly ascended to become the fifth-largest stablecoin globally, boasting a market capitalization of around $2.7 billion. This surge in growth coincides with a broader acceptance of cryptocurrency under Trump, who has supported favorable policies for the industry and appointed advocates to his cabinet during his second term. Bitcoin's price has increased over 80% in the past year, bolstered by positive investor sentiment surrounding Trump's potential re-election and a more favorable regulatory landscape for crypto in the U.S. In addition to his involvement with World Liberty Financial, Trump has launched a meme coin named $TRUMP, prompting allegations of corruption and conflicts of interest from opposition lawmakers, leading to demands for ethics investigations. During the conference, Trump Jr. acknowledged some of these concerns, asserting that World Liberty Financial is not a political entity but rather aims to advance America's national interests. He elaborated that the USD1 stablecoin is designed to facilitate the purchase of U.S. treasuries, thus helping to sustain dollar hegemony. Witkoff emphasized the company's global outreach, stating, "We're flying to every single corner of this globe, convincing people to onboard to USD1, which effectively encourages them to buy U.S. Treasuries, benefiting the U.S. dollar." The company also announced plans for USD1 to launch on the Aptos blockchain, further diversifying its presence. However, data from June indicated that demand for USD1 on centralized exchanges had been lackluster, even though it saw considerable volumes on decentralized platforms like PancakeSwap. Notably, over half of its liquidity stemmed from just three wallets, raising questions about the coin's genuine demand in a competitive stablecoin market dominated by established players like Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC. Since its launch, WLFI has experienced notable price volatility. In August, World Liberty Financial disclosed a partnership with technology firm ALT5 Sigma, which aims to purchase significant amounts of WLFI tokens as part of a treasury strategy, with World Liberty expected to receive ALT5 shares in exchange for $750 million worth of WLFI coins.