The Protocol: Elections, Schmections. Blockchain’s Got Work to Do

TRUE CONCESSION: It turns out that making money in crypto isn’t quite as easy as it might seem: Crypto buyers, burned so many times over the years, are quite leery of newcomers — and skeptical when it comes to examining new token offerings. That appears to be the case for World Liberty Financial, the crypto project backed by former President and now President-Elect Donald Trump and his sons, Don Jr. and Eric. As detailed in The Protocol last month, project officials initially talked up their big plans, with a fundraising goal of $300 million, and released a “Gold Paper” with lots of fine print, including the revelation that the initial $30 million of “net protocol revenues” would be set aside to cover expenses, indemnities and obligations. The rest would go to a company called “DT Marks DEFI LLC,” whose owners and principals include Donald Trump. But sales of the tokens never passed $15 million. As scooped last week by CoinDesk’s Danny Nelson, the project now has made a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission saying that the sales will be terminated as soon as the $30 million target is reached. The concession to market realities could put an end to the bizarre effort, which left many analysts scratching their heads at how Trump had time to promote a crypto project while in the throes of an intense campaign for president.