In-depth investigation of the WLFI team: 2 honorary co-founders, 7 co-founders, 6 main members

Original｜Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)

Author｜Wenser (@wenser2010)

On September 1, the WLFI token generation event (TGE) officially concluded, becoming another phenomenal wealth creation case in the industry since TRUMP at the beginning of the year.

However, due to multiple disclosure errors by the official team regarding information—especially details related to the initial circulation of the tokens—there has been a perception of a lack of professionalism from the WLFI team, akin to a "makeshift group." To address this, Odaily Planet Daily has compiled and summarized the core team members of WLFI and their social media accounts based on existing information from the X platform for readers to verify and reference. Note: The following information is based on publicly available data, and the final details should be based on the official list and information released by WLFI.

Image source: WLFI Project Official Website

WLFI Team's 7 Co-Founders: The Interest Network of the Trump Family and the Witkoff Family

According to information from the WLFI Project Official Website, the main "face" members of the WLFI team are composed of the Trump family and the Witkoff family, with the CTO, growth lead, and chief compliance officer being three hired experts. Among them, Donald Trump and Steven Witkoff (U.S. government ambassador and special envoy to the Middle East) serve as the project's "honorary co-founders." The specific business is primarily driven and publicly promoted by the following individuals.

Donald Trump Jr: WLFI Co-Founder, Eldest Son of Trump

X platform account: https://x.com/DonaldJTrumpJr

Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump are currently the main leaders of the Trump family's cryptocurrency business. Yesterday, when the WLFI token was launched, he publicly stated: "Big day - @WorldLibertyFi has just launched the WLFI token. This is not a meme coin; it is a pillar of real ecosystem governance, changing the way funds flow. Freedom + Finance + America First. Local team."

It is clear that Young Trump wants to emphasize that WLFI is not a Trump family project, but a "serious American project," and it is not a short-term speculative meme coin, but rather highlights the project's long-term development value and its role in promoting financial freedom.

Eric Trump: WLFI Co-Founder, Second Son of Trump, American Bitcoin

X platform account: https://x.com/EricTrump

As the face of the Trump Organization and the WLFI project, Eric Trump can be seen as a pillar of the Trump family's cryptocurrency project. Thanks to his active performance and multiple endorsements of BTC and ETH, the crypto market has been paying close attention to him. Last month, he attended the Bitcoin Asia conference, where his keynote speech and panel discussion were packed, even leading to a "walls have ears" scenario. (For more details, see “Where Did Everyone Go at This Year’s Bitcoin Asia?”)

At the launch of the WLFI token, he also publicly stated: "Our token is now officially launched! Our team has always believed in the power and leadership of America. With the issuance of the $WLFI token today, we are setting a new standard for financial freedom; built on trust, speed, and American values. This is an important moment for the future of currency!"

Barron Trump: WLFI (Nominal) Co-Founder, Youngest Son of Trump

X platform account: https://x.com/BarronXSpaces

Due to Barron's minimal involvement in the operations of WLFI, he has only “retweeted in support” during public promotions, making him appear more like a "figurehead" co-founder, so no further introduction is provided here.

Zach Witkoff: WLFI Co-Founder and CEO; Chairman of Alt 5 Sigma (Stock Code: ALTS); Son of Steven Witkoff.

X platform account: https://x.com/ZachWitkoff

As the absolute core of the WLFI project, Zach also expressed gratitude to the main team members at the launch of the WLFI token in his role as the "big brother" of the project. After all, the subsequent "delivery" of the WLFI token requires cooperation from Alt 5 Sigma, a publicly listed company, and his role is crucial for whether the WLFI project can continuously generate impressive profits for team members.

Alex Witkoff: WLFI Co-Founder, CEO of Real Estate Giant Witkoff Group, Son of Steven Witkoff.

X platform account: https://x.com/Alex_Witkoff

As another son of Steven Witkoff, Alex is more involved in the operations of the Witkoff Group and appears to be more of a "little brother" cheering on the project. At the launch of the WLFI token, he also announced the event, but it seemed more like a routine matter.

It is worth noting that, like his father Steven Witkoff, who received support from President Trump and Vice President JD Vance, Alex was also appointed by President Trump in May this year as a member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, acting as a vanguard against "anti-Semitism."

To add, like the Trump Organization, which has been in the real estate industry for many years, the Witkoff Group is also one of the giants in the U.S. real estate industry.

Chase Herro: WLFI Co-Founder, Member of Dough Finance

X platform account: https://x.com/WatcherChase

Reports indicate that Chase Herro can be considered a "crypto veteran." Previously, he referred to himself as a "jerk on the internet" in a now-deleted YouTube video, having long been involved in "cryptocurrency entrepreneurship." He was previously charged for possession of marijuana and spent a few weeks in a Wisconsin prison. He first met Zach Witkoff at the Witkoff family's private golf club, Shell Bay Club, in the summer of 2023.

According to his own account, he was standing on the lawn covered in tattoos when Zach happened to drive by—"He could tell I was a bit out of place, and then he said, 'Come, ride with me,' and we started chatting in the golf cart." Thus, the Witkoff family introduced Chase Hero and his long-term business partner Zak Folkman (another co-founder of WLFI, who previously ran a company called "Date Hotter Girls") to the Trump family. The two families quickly hit it off and teamed up to create the current WLFI project.

Additionally, market news suggests that Chase Herro is related to the DeFi project Dough Finance, but that project has been stalled since it lost about $2 million after being hacked in July 2024. Another surprising aspect is that WLFI-related individuals have claimed that Herro is a cryptocurrency millionaire, but there is no public information to support this claim. A dozen well-known industry figures have denied hearing of him in media interviews, and Dough Finance's platform data of only $3.2 million corroborates this. It must be said that Chase Herro's story tells us that such "identity miracles" may only happen in the cryptocurrency industry.

Zak Folkman: WLFI Co-Founder, Founder of Dating App Date Hotter Girls, Member of Dough Finance

X platform account: https://x.com/zakfolkman

Like Chase Herro, Zak Folkman has also transformed from an obscure "cryptocurrency player" into a current "co-founder of the WLFI project." Previously, he was the founder of the dating app Date Hotter Girls, making a living by providing advice to down-and-out men on how to approach women. He has collaborated with Chase Herro for many years, previously selling a variety of products ranging from colon cleansers to get-rich-quick schemes. The DeFi project Dough Finance is also a joint effort between the two, and the successful completion of the public offering of the WLFI token can be attributed to their aggressive promotion to numerous cryptocurrency startups and influential figures in the crypto market.

It is worth mentioning that according to a previous report by The New York Times, during the sale of WLFI tokens, some cryptocurrency startups were reportedly required to secretly pay millions of dollars to the WLFI project to gain the privilege of collaborating with the Trump family. Although many companies rejected this proposal, the final result of "WLFI raising $550 million in two rounds of public offerings" indicates that this hidden insider deal indeed took place.

Despite criticism that "WLFI is essentially selling the traffic brought by its political endorsement while concealing this fact from the public," Zak Folkman has stated, "Everything we do has received a lot of exposure and credibility." Additionally, he claimed that other business partners have promised to donate between $10 million to $30 million to WLFI.

Other Key Members of the WLFI Team: CTO, Compliance Officer, Growth Officer, and More

Due to space limitations, the following WLFI team members are briefly introduced for readers' reference.

Corey Caplan: WLFI CTO; Dolomite Co-Founder, Early Ethereum Developer

X platform account: https://x.com/CoreyCaplan3

Corey Caplan is not well-known in WLFI's business but is an extremely important technical leader. He officially joined the WLFI advisory team in August 2024 and gradually became the project's CTO (Chief Technology Officer). Additionally, he has been dedicated to the Ethereum ecosystem since 2017, being one of the early developers of Ethereum and also the holder of CryptoPunk #7863.

Ryan Fang: WLFI Growth Officer, Ankr Co-Founder and COO

X platform account: https://x.com/ryanfang95

As the co-founder and COO of Ankr, Ryan Fang has participated in the creation of PrimeBlock and Tomo. He previously worked at the well-known investment bank Morgan Stanley and later ventured into private equity, making him a versatile talent with experience in both traditional finance and cryptocurrency. Recently, he attended events such as Bitcoin Asia in Hong Kong alongside Eric Trump, Chase Herro, Zak Folkman, and others, and met with Nano Labs founder Kong Jianping. He was also present among the WLFI team during the "U.S. Stock Market Bell-Ringing Ceremony" for Alt 5 Sigma.

It is noteworthy that as a blockchain infrastructure service provider, Ankr plays a crucial role in providing cross-chain support, network distribution, and staking rewards for WLFI's stablecoin USD 1, allowing USD 1 to flow freely across multi-chain networks such as Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Polygon, and to quickly penetrate more blockchain applications and ecosystems. It can also earn yields through Ankr's Liquid Staking products, becoming a financial asset.

To some extent, Ryan Fang is a key node in the deep cooperation between WLFI and the BNB Chain ecosystem and Binance.

Brandi Reynolds: WLFI Chief Compliance Officer

X platform account: https://x.com/Brandi151797

This account is currently in a self-hidden state. Brandi Reynolds was previously a co-founder of CorCom, LLC, which was later acquired by Bates Group.

Matthew Morgan: WLFI Advisor

X platform account: https://x.com/MatthewMorgan23

A director at Alt 5 Sigma and co-founder of the USD1 native Launchpad platform BlockStreet, he previously attended the Alt 5 Sigma U.S. stock market bell-ringing ceremony.

Dylan: USD 1, WLFI Wallet Team Member

X platform account: https://x.com/0xDylan_

His identity has been confirmed by WLFI co-founder Zak Folkman through a retweet. He previously gained market attention for expressing his views on "Aave receiving 7% of WLFI tokens," calling it "Fake News," which led to some doubts about his identity.

Ogle: WLFI and America.fun Project Advisor

X platform account: https://x.com/cryptogle

He previously attended a VIP dinner event for TRUMP token holders hosted by President Trump. Additionally, he stated that he assisted the Thala team in recovering $25 million in stolen funds within six hours and helped the Euler Finance team recover nearly $200 million in stolen funds.