The market value of the stablecoin USD1, issued by World Liberty Financial Inc. (WLFI), affiliated with Trump, rose from $128 million on April 27 to over $2.1 billion in early May.
In less than a week, USD1 increased by 1,540%, becoming the seventh-largest stablecoin in the world.
The increase followed a series of large token mintings on BscScan, the Binance Smart Chain block explorer, where most USD1 tokens are minted.
Several significant mintings surpassed $90 million between April 27 and April 30. These events caused an increase in supply that pushed USD1 beyond $2 billion on April 30, according to CoinGecko, CoinMarketCap, and DefiLlama.
The WLFI Stablecoin Increases After a $2 Billion Investment
On May 1, the Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX announced its intention to liquidate a $2 billion investment in Binance with USD1. This drove most of this increase.
USD1 began in April after WLFI, backed by Trump allies, announced it in March. The currency is backed by short-term U.S. Treasury bonds, USD bank deposits, and cash equivalents to maintain a 1:1 peg with the dollar.
The stablecoin is popular in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, where approximately 90% of its investors are located.
To meet demand, centralized exchanges like HTX have listed USD1 and offered BEP-20 withdrawals with no fees. More than 99% of the USD1 supply is on Binance's BNB chain, with a smaller fraction on Ethereum.
USD1 joins a $231 billion stablecoin market dominated by Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC), which control over 90% of the market.
The early success of USD1 implies a growing global market for government-backed stablecoin models or alternatives, especially as geopolitical and legal turmoil shapes digital banking.
To boost on-chain adoption, WLFI conducted a community vote to distribute USD1 airdrops to $WLFI holders, which received a 99.97% acceptance within hours.
WLFI denies the Trump family's involvement despite concerns about political ties and foreign support. WLFI has raised $550 million since 2024 and is positioning USD1 to confront USDT and USDC.