World Liberty Financial Enters Onchain Lending Market in Major Push Around Its USD1 Stablecoin
World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance venture linked to the family of U.S. President Donald Trump, has expanded into the cryptocurrency lending sector with the launch of a new platform aimed at capturing rising demand for onchain credit.
The offering, known as World Liberty Markets, went live on Monday and enables users to borrow and lend digital assets through a single onchain marketplace. The system is built around the firm’s fast-growing stablecoin USD1, which is backed by U.S. dollars, and its governance token WLFI.
The move marks the latest step in World Liberty Financial’s ambition to build a vertically integrated financial ecosystem around its stablecoin and token infrastructure, and it arrives at a moment when regulatory clarity in the United States is encouraging renewed experimentation in crypto-based credit markets.
An Onchain Lending Hub for Major Crypto Assets
World Liberty Markets supports a range of widely used digital assets as collateral, including Ether (ETH), tokenized Bitcoin (tBTC), and major stablecoins such as USDC and USDT. Users can deposit these assets to secure loans or lend them to earn yield, with the entire process conducted through automated smart contracts.
Zak Folkman, co-founder of World Liberty Financial, said that the platform will continue to expand its collateral options in the months ahead. The company is evaluating the inclusion of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), which is a rapidly growing category of blockchain-based securities, as well as exploring integrations with prediction markets, crypto exchanges, and real estate tokenization platforms.
The expansion follows the soaring growth of USD1, which now holds a $3.4 billion market capitalization, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Top USD stablecoins by market cap (Source: CoinMarketCap)
The stablecoin has quickly become one of the most widely used assets within the project’s ecosystem, bolstered by its applications in cross-border payments, treasury operations, and emerging onchain financial services.
Banking Ambitions Signal Larger Strategic Push
Earlier this year, World Liberty Financial filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) seeking a national trust bank charter. If approved, the charter would give the company a more formal regulatory footing, enabling wider adoption of USD1 across traditional and institutional financial channels.
The move mirrors a broader trend within the stablecoin and DeFi sectors, where companies are increasingly pursuing bank licenses to bridge the gap between blockchain-based finance and the regulated banking world. A charter could allow World Liberty Financial to facilitate custody services, issue additional financial products, and integrate more deeply with global payment networks.
Renewed Appetite for Crypto Credit
The launch comes at a time when interest in crypto-based borrowing and lending is rebounding, driven by clearer rules, stronger risk frameworks, and the maturation of decentralized finance infrastructure.
In previous cycles, the implosions of centralized lenders such as BlockFi and Celsius highlighted the risks of opaque balance sheets, off-chain leverage, and poor risk controls. These failures severely damaged confidence in crypto lending and triggered industry-wide deleveraging.
Market analysts say the renewed interest is being propelled by greater transparency, with many modern platforms relying on onchain collateral, automated risk parameters, and publicly auditable smart contracts. This structure reduces counterparty risk by removing intermediaries and allowing users to verify reserves and liabilities in real time.
DeFi lending activity has surged throughout the past year, peaking in October, according to DefiLlama. Major protocols across Ethereum, Solana, and Bitcoin-native networks have seen consistent inflows as onchain liquidity continues to deepen.
