[I. The Capital Giant 'Bet' by Trump Emerges: A Large Accumulation of 77,226 Ethereum in a Single Month]
On July 29, the blockchain analysis platform Lookonchain disclosed a set of explosive data: World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a DeFi company publicly supported by former U.S. President Donald Trump, spent another $1 million USDC to acquire 256.75 Ethereum. This marks the company's 15th public on-chain operation in the past 30 days, with total holdings skyrocketing to 77,226 ETH, approaching a total value of $296 million at current market prices.
More noteworthy is that WLFI's average holding cost is approximately $3,294 per coin. If calculated at the Ethereum price of $3,824 at the time of writing this article, this company's unrealized gains have exceeded $42 million—equivalent to earning $58,000 per hour.
On-chain data deep dive:
July 25: Purchased $30 million worth of ETH in a single day, creating the largest single transaction of the month
Holding address activity: An average of 6 smart contract calls per day, involving cross-chain bridges and staking pool operations
Asset distribution: 94% of holdings are concentrated in cold wallets, utilizing a multi-signature risk control mechanism
Industry insiders stated: 'The scale of institutional holdings is enough to rank among the top 20 global cryptocurrency funds.' (Data source: CoinGecko Institutional Holdings Ranking)
[II. The 'Trump Effect' Behind Ethereum's 55% Surge: The Chemical Reaction of Policy Dividends and Market Games]
During the intense buying spree of WLFI, the price of Ethereum made a steep upward curve. From $3,385 at the end of June to $3,824 at the end of July, a 55% increase in 30 days, with a total market value increase of over $80 billion—equivalent to the entire stock market value of Morgan Stanley.
▍Three Major Drivers for Market Explosion
Regulatory Wind Shift:
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was ruled by a federal court on July 18 as having 'abused its authority to investigate Coinbase', which was interpreted as a milestone event for cryptocurrency regulatory easing.Expectation of Technical Upgrades:
Ethereum core developers confirmed that the EIP-4844 (Proto-Danksharding) upgrade will be implemented in Q4 2023, at which point gas fees may decrease by 90%.Institutional Influx:
In addition to WLFI, asset management giants like BlackRock and Fidelity submitted applications for Ethereum spot ETFs in July, with net inflows exceeding $4.7 billion just from Wall Street institutions this month.
▍The Special Layout of 'Trump Faction' Capital
Interestingly, another important entity under Trump that acted in sync with WLFI is the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG). This group was revealed to have spent $300 million on Bitcoin call options, forming a dual bet pattern of 'Ethereum + Bitcoin'.
A partner at a hedge fund revealed to Bloomberg: “These trades generally adopt a Delta-neutral strategy, holding both spot and buying volatility derivatives, which is clearly a long-term bullish signal.”
[III. Suspicion of Benefit Transfer: When Political Influence Meets the Cryptocurrency Market]
As the 'Trump faction' companies' cryptocurrency holdings exceed $900 million (according to Forbes estimates), a controversy over 'rent-seeking power' is brewing.
▍Three Major Controversies
1. The 'Revolving Door' of Policy Making and Business Interests
Trump publicly promised in June that 'if elected, he would pardon the Silk Road founder', which was interpreted as courting cryptocurrency voters.
The CEO of WLFI was reported to have donated $1.2 million to the political action committee of a congressman who 'supports cryptocurrency legislation'.
2. Insider Information Concerns
On July 11, WLFI suddenly reduced its leverage position from 3 times to 1.5 times, and three days later, the SEC released signals of regulatory easing. In response, a professor at Columbia Law School pointed out: 'This aligns with the characteristics of 'abnormal trading fluctuations' as defined in Section 6 of the Commodity Exchange Act.' (See CFTC Regulatory Guidance 2022-4)
3. Suspicion of Market Manipulation
Blockchain data shows that 63% of WLFI's 77,226 ETH were completed through OTC trading. A professor at NYU Stern School of Business warned: 'Such large OTC transactions are opaque and may involve price anchoring behavior.'
The White House responded:
In response to the doubts, spokesperson Seth Fields emphasized: 'Mr. Trump has never and will never engage in any conflict of interest activities.' However, he refused to disclose whether the president was aware of the relevant investment decisions.
[IV. The Cryptocurrency Market Enters the 'Deep Water Zone': How Can Ordinary Investors Break Through?]
When political capital is deeply tied to the trillion-dollar cryptocurrency market, individual investors need to establish three major cognitions:
1. Beware of the 'Narrative-Driven Investment' Trap
Historical data shows that the average volatility of cryptocurrencies in U.S. election years is 37% higher than the benchmark (CoinMetrics 2020 report), and it is necessary to guard against flash crash risks caused by policy fluctuations.
2. Focus on on-chain data rather than celebrity endorsements
Monitor Smart Money Trends using Nansen or Dune Analytics
Focus on observing the 'Net Inflow of Exchanges' and 'Whale Address Activity' indicators
3. Strictly Adhere to Asset Allocation Red Lines
The proportion of cryptocurrency allocation should be controlled at 5%-15% of total liquid assets, and priority should be given to regulated trading platforms like Coinbase and Binance under New York State DFS.
[V. Epilogue: A Silent Revolution Restructuring Financial Power]
From Trump to BlackRock, traditional power centers are rebuilding their discourse through cryptocurrency. When the $296 million ETH holdings meet presidential campaigns, this capital game has long surpassed mere price speculation, becoming a microcosm of power and wealth redistribution.
As an anonymous mining pool operator said: 'Blockchain does not need a president, but the president needs blockchain.' In this war without gunpowder, the only certainty is—code does not lie, but human greed and wisdom will always leave their mark on the chain. #lagrange $LA @Lagrange Official