Key Takeaways
World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token (WLFI) fell 14.3% to approximately $0.0631 as a controversial governance proposal opened for voting, creating a rift with the project’s early investors. The token’s market capitalization stands at roughly $2.0 billion, with the 24-hour decline placing it among the top market losers, per CoinGecko data.
The proposal at the center of the sell-off introduces a two-year cliff and a linear vesting schedule for pre-sale investors’ locked tokens. “All I want is to be treated the same as every other early investor,” wrote Justin Sun, the TRON founder and former key backer of WLFI, who recently filed a lawsuit against the project. Sun, who invested at least $75 million into the venture, accused the WLFI team of freezing his tokens and stripping his voting rights.
The token’s decline began as the governance proposal went live, with its price falling from above $0.073 to a low of $0.0631. The $98.1 million in 24-hour trading volume represents a volume-to-market-cap ratio of approximately 4.9%, a relatively low figure that can amplify price swings. The sell-off pushes the token’s price closer to its initial public sale price of $0.05.
This latest controversy deepens the challenges for the Trump-family-associated project. The public dispute with Sun, once the project’s most visible supporter, has devolved into a federal court case alleging fraud and breach of contract. For investors, the outcome of the governance vote and the resolution of the lawsuit represent significant near-term risks, with the $0.060 level acting as a key area of support.
The governance proposal that triggered the price drop would fundamentally alter the terms for pre-sale investors. By introducing a two-year vesting cliff, it delays the ability of early backers to access their tokens. This has been viewed as a "bait-and-switch" by some investors who expected to have their tokens freed on a different schedule.
The move comes at a precarious time for World Liberty Financial, which has been associated with the Trump family since its launch in late 2024. The project’s token, WLFI, is not freely transferable for many holders, a factor that limits secondary market liquidity and can lead to the sort of volatility seen this week. With limited buyers to absorb the sell pressure from disgruntled investors, the price fell sharply.
The governance dispute is the latest chapter in a deteriorating relationship between WLFI and Justin Sun. Sun was an early and crucial supporter, injecting $30 million into the project to help it meet its initial fundraising goals. He later invested another $45 million and was named an advisor.
The relationship unraveled publicly, culminating in Sun’s lawsuit filed in a San Francisco federal court. Sun alleges that "certain individuals" on the WLFI team, not President Trump himself, orchestrated a scheme to seize his tokens. The project blacklisted Sun’s wallet last year, a move it described as a security measure. The dispute highlights the risks of centralized control within supposedly decentralized projects and has added a layer of legal and reputational risk to WLFI.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
