World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a cryptocurrency project associated with the family of U.S. President Donald Trump, has initiated a seven-day governance vote on a proposal to enable staking for WLFI token holders. The vote, which began on March 5, 2026, and will conclude on March 12, seeks to incentivize participation in project governance by requiring holders of unlocked tokens to stake them for at least 180 days to retain voting rights. In return, stakers would receive a 2% annual return in WLFI tokens, though the rate is subject to change by the project team.
The proposal has garnered overwhelming numerical support, with 99.2% of votes cast in favor, representing 903 million tokens. Only 5.8 million tokens (0.64%) voted against, and 2.8 million tokens abstained. However, this high approval rate masks significant division within the community and among investors.
Critics argue the proposal creates a conflict of interest, as the governance decisions voters would influence include the unlocking schedule for the 80% of WLFI tokens that were sold to initial investors and remain locked. To have a say in the release of their locked assets, investors must also lock their currently liquid tokens, their only readily tradable assets. The project has not provided a public token unlock schedule more than a year after its initial sale, which token economics expert Lex Sokolin of Generative Ventures called an unusual lack of transparency critical for investors.
Some community members suggested alternative mechanisms, such as using transaction fees and interest from the project's USD1 stablecoin to burn WLFI tokens. USD1 has grown to a $4.6 billion market cap and processed $1.477 billion in transactions in a single day, according to the report.
Amid the technical debate, World Liberty co-founder Eric Trump launched a public attack on traditional banks, naming JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo. He accused them of lobbying to block Americans from earning higher yields on savings and fighting against mainstream crypto adoption, specifically citing opposition to regulations like the CLARITY Act. This stance is notable given President Trump's recent public support for the same act.
The WLFI token price has declined by more than 50% since some tokens began trading last year. Critics allege the staking proposal is designed to reduce selling pressure and support the price, a claim the project denies. In a March 5 statement, World Liberty Financial argued that governance should reflect long-term participants, not short-term speculators.
