World Liberty Wants WLFI Locked Beyond Trump's Second Term—Investors Aren't Thrilled

In brief

• World Liberty Financial outlined a pathway for early supporters to gain complete control over their investments, four years from now.
• The Trump-backed crypto project’s proposal sparked outrage among some investors, who warned the measure could further erode confidence.
• Those investors have seen gains on paper shrink after WLFI’s first unlock, as the token has plunged to $0.08 from $0.23 in September. Investors eager to access $1.3 billion worth of tokens sold by World Liberty Financial have learned that capitalizing on the Trump-backed crypto venture will likely require years of patience, with a proposed vesting schedule that’s set to outlast the president’s second term. In a governance proposal published by World Liberty on Wednesday, the project’s team outlined a four-year pathway that would unlock 17 billion WLFI for early supporters, which is subject to a two-year cliff and two-year vesting period that would begin once the measure is enacted. The timeline is shorter than the one proposed for World Liberty’s founders, team members, advisors, and partners that would make 40 billion WLFI tradable over the course of five years. Meanwhile, that group would see 4.5 billion in allotted tokens removed from circulation. The proposal says the unlocks for early supporters are designed in a “measured, predictable way that the broader market can anticipate,” while the voluntary removal of tokens provides an on-chain signal that the project’s most influential figures have conviction.  World Liberty teased the vesting schedule last week after the team drew scrutiny for borrowing $75 million in stablecoins from Dolomite, a decentralized finance protocol co-founded by a World Liberty advisor, using 5 billion WLFI as collateral. Still, some users within the project’s governance forum were blindsided by the vesting schedule, given that the project began accepting funds in October 2024—or around 550 days ago. “WTF,” one user wrote. “So, after a full three years, we’re finally getting our next token distribution.” “I’m going to put these bastards in jail,” another threatened. The bitterness was shared by Justin Sun, the controversial crypto entrepreneur and Tron founder, who described the proposal as a form of “tyranny” in a lengthy X . He argued that the proposal’s vote is moot because it essentially punishes WLFI holders who oppose it, excludes individuals with massive holdings such as himself, and can be overwritten by those controlling World Liberty’s smart contracts. He also took issue with the fact that those controlling those smart contracts are purportedly anonymous, while investors needed to disclose personal information.