TLDR
- WLFI token jumped roughly 10% after a $3.5 trillion asset servicer agreed to pilot the USD1 stablecoin
- WLFI outperformed both Bitcoin and Ether, which were each down 0.5% at the time
- The rally followed a World Liberty Financial forum held at Mar-a-Lago
- Co-founder Zak Folkman pitched USD1 for cross-border payments, AI commerce, and institutional settlement
- Senator Bernie Moreno called for a crypto market structure bill to pass within 90 days
World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token rose about 10% on February 19 after a major asset servicer announced plans to pilot the firm’s USD1 stablecoin.
The asset servicer manages roughly $3.5 trillion and said it would use USD1 as a settlement rail for tokenized funds.
WLFI was trading near $0.12 at the time of the rally, up from around $0.10. Trading volume in the prior 24 hours topped $466 million.
LATEST: ⚡ Global financial services provider Apex Group is partnering with World Liberty Financial to pilot using WLFI's USD1 stablecoin as a payment rail for its tokenized fund ecosystem. pic.twitter.com/7tYZWae0Pj
— CoinMarketCap (@CoinMarketCap) February 19, 2026
The token outperformed both Bitcoin and Ether during Asia morning hours. Both BTC and ETH were down 0.5% at the same time, according to CoinDesk data.
The move followed a crypto forum at Mar-a-Lago organized by World Liberty Financial. Attendees included Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, CFTC Chair Michael Selig, and senators Bernie Moreno and Ashley Moody.
Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., co-founders of World Liberty Financial, also attended the event. US President Donald Trump was not scheduled to appear.
What Is USD1?
World Liberty Financial co-founder Zak Folkman described USD1 as an “institutional-grade dollar” built for real-world use.
The stablecoin will feature real-time proof of reserves powered by Chainlink, letting users verify its backing on-chain.
Folkman said USD1 would start as a payment bridge along the US-Mexico corridor before expanding to support up to 40 currencies.
He also tied the stablecoin to AI-driven commerce. “AI agents can’t open bank accounts, they can’t sign checks, but they can hold stablecoins,” Folkman said.
Market Structure Bill in Focus
Senator Bernie Moreno called on lawmakers to pass a digital asset market structure bill within 90 days.
“This will happen somewhere,” Moreno said. “The question is, will it happen in America or somewhere else?”
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong pointed to banking trade groups, not individual banks, as the source of the bill’s slow progress.
The bill, passed in the House as the CLARITY Act in July, is now under Senate review. It aims to clarify oversight roles between the CFTC and SEC.
The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced its version in January along party lines. No Democrats voted for it.
The Senate Banking Committee delayed its markup after Armstrong said he could not support the bill as written, citing issues with tokenized equities and DeFi.
Media outlets have reported Trump and his family have earned more than $1 billion from crypto projects since January 2025.
WLFI had surged 23% in the hours before the Mar-a-Lago forum before settling at the 10% gain.
