USD1, the stablecoin associated with World Liberty Financial, a venture connected to the Trump family, was utilized to disburse $250,000 in fighter bonuses during UFC Freedom 250, an event hosted on the White House lawn.

— The USD1 stablecoin, which is supported by President Donald Trump’s family, facilitated the payment of fighter performance bonuses at the June 14 contest, coinciding with Trump’s 80th birthday.

— This event comes on the heels of World Liberty Financial’s controversial borrowing of $75 million from a DeFi protocol, which temporarily restricted retail USD1 depositors, amidst ongoing litigation with crypto figure Justin Sun.

— The circulating supply of USD1 has surged to approximately $4.6 billion as World Liberty Financial pursues a federal banking license.

USD1, issued by World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency initiative linked to the Trump family, has transitioned from a situation where retail depositors were locked out of a DeFi lending pool to being a payment method for fighters on the White House lawn.

On Friday, the UFC announced that World Liberty Financial would be the presenting partner for a $250,000 performance bonus pool at UFC Freedom 250, which took place on the presidential residence’s south lawn. The bonuses were distributed in USD1 across seven matches.

These awards represent some of the most notable commercial applications of USD1 to date.

This visibility initiative follows a borrowing controversy reported by Decryptnews that briefly affected WLFI, World Liberty Financial’s token, and stirred unease within the project’s community.

The company borrowed over $75 million in stablecoins from Dolomite, a DeFi lending protocol, where co-founder Corey Caplan advises WLFI, using 3 billion of its WLFI governance tokens as collateral and depositing its own USD1 as part of the deal.

Due to the borrowing, the USD1 pool reached 93% utilization, causing retail depositors who lent USD1 to the pool to be unable to withdraw until the loans were settled. WLFI repaid $25 million of this position and subsequently minted $25 million in new USD1, actively managing the token’s supply until April. World Liberty Financial did not provide a comment regarding the report.

World Liberty is also engaged in a lawsuit with Justin Sun, a crypto mogul and early purchaser of WLFI governance tokens, who has sued the firm, claiming it wrongfully froze his assets. WLFI has countersued for defamation.

Analysts suggest that the commercial implications of Sunday’s event are clear. «Compensating the fighters in USD1 serves the same economic purpose as issuing them a check,» remarked Todd Phillips, a cryptocurrency specialist at the Klaros Group, in an interview with The Guardian. «By announcing this payment method, they are essentially promoting USD1 to the world, linking it with the UFC and the White House.»

The circulating supply of USD1 has escalated from $3.3 billion at the start of the year to around $4.6 billion now. The company has also submitted an application for a banking license to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Trump’s financial disclosures indicate his investment in World Liberty Financial exceeds $50 million. The administration asserts there is no conflict of interest, maintaining that Trump’s assets are managed by a trust overseen by his children.