According to Arkham data, World Liberty Financial (WLFI) purchased 722,213 ETH for 2.5 million USDC via Cow Protocol, bringing its total Ethereum holdings to 15,595k ETH, currently worth around $53.61 million.

The timing of the purchase couldn't have been more perfect, as the crypto market plunged following Wednesday's hawkish Fed meeting, where officials voted for a third and final 25 basis point rate cut by 2024. During the press conference, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell also addressed the prospect of the central bank building a strategic reserve of Bitcoin, one of Trump's boldest promises to the crypto industry.

The official stated that the central bank is not allowed to hold Bitcoin by law and is not seeking a change in the law. To clarify, in July 2024, Republican Senator Cyntia Lummis introduced the Bitcoin Act to create such a reserve, proposing to buy 5% of the BTC supply funded by Fed bank deposits and hold gold.

Powell's comments doused cold water on expectations that Bitcoin prices would continue to trend upwards due to optimism about Trump embracing the cryptocurrency industry. After the Fed meeting, Bitcoin fell sharply, dropping 6% within hours to $98,900 after trading above $100,000 in the past week, during which it reached a new ATH of $108,135. Ethereum and other major altcoins also reflected the downturn, with ETH losing 11% since Wednesday and currently trading at $3,400.

Despite being backed by the elected president, World Liberty Financial had a rocky start. The public sale of WLFI tokens in October only sold a little over 4% of the coins. Due to low demand, the project had to cut its pre-sale target from $300 million down to just $30 million.

Aside from stagnant sales, WLFI also faces other behind-the-scenes issues, such as a lack of a clearly defined roadmap, entry barriers contrary to DeFi principles, and potential conflicts of interest. The project was initiated with a commitment to democratizing and depoliticizing finance through decentralized lending, directing the sale of WLFI tokens to accredited investors meeting certain asset thresholds, a criterion that excludes a broader audience from participation.

WLFI Collects Subsidiary Accounts and Supports Justin Sun

In addition to Ethereum, World Liberty Financial has actively purchased other altcoins, including ETH, WBTC, AAVE, LINK, ENA, and ONDO. Meanwhile, the native token of CoW Protocol (COW) used by WLFI has increased nearly 35% in the past 24 hours due to speculative interest from investors in this platform.

On Thursday, World Liberty Financial swapped $10.4 million in cbBTC for wBTC, siding with the controversial cryptocurrency mogul Justin Sun in the tussle with Coinbase over the delisting of wBTC. The popular Bitcoin package issued by BiT Global was delisted by Coinbase without much explanation other than allegations of incompatibility with the exchange's listing standards. In response, BiT Global filed a lawsuit, claiming that the move was intended to give Coinbase’s cbBTC package an unfair advantage. Coinbase countered with a statement that Justin Sun's control over BiT Global poses unacceptable risks for customers.

While Justin Sun's connection to BitGo may not be clear, his connection to World Liberty Financial is much clearer. The $30 million investment in WLFI announced by Sun in November made him the largest investor in the project at that time. The next day, Sun was invited to join the advisory board, reinforcing the Sun-Trump alliance.

Ethereum ETF Sees Record Inflows in December

Despite the market's nervous reaction to the Fed's recent interest rate cut, data from The Block shows that Ethereum ETFs performed extremely well in December. This month brought in $1.66 billion in new investments into such products, accounting for 74% of the total $2.24 billion in inflows since inception.

The market structure of Ethereum ETFs remains highly concentrated, with BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) still leading its competitors by a large margin. On December 5, ETHA recorded a daily high of $292 million in inflows, followed by Fidelity’s FETH as the second most popular choice. Other Ethereum ETF providers attracted only modest investor interest compared to the broader distribution seen in Bitcoin ETFs.

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