The DeFi and stablecoin project affiliated with the Trump family, World Liberty Financial, has officially launched voting on its contentious governance proposal concerning the unlock of approximately 62 billion WLFI tokens. The token's price has already reacted negatively, dropping nearly 13% to $0.064 from $0.073 just before the vote began, according to The Block's price data. The all-time high for WLFI was $0.33.
The proposal seeks to replace the current indefinite token locks with structured vesting schedules. If approved, 45.23 billion WLFI tokens allocated to the founding team, advisors, and early partners would be subject to a two-year cliff followed by a three-year linear vesting schedule. Additionally, up to 17.04 billion tokens held by early protocol supporters would follow a two-year cliff and a two-year vesting schedule. Crucially, about 4.5 billion tokens earmarked for the team and investors could be permanently burned as part of the plan.
The project argues that the move is necessary to provide clarity on future token supply and address low governance participation. “The foundation is built. What comes next requires a governance structure that reflects genuine long-term conviction — not just from the team, but from every holder with a locked position,” the proposal states. However, many pre-sale buyers, who purchased approximately 25 billion WLFI tokens during presale rounds, perceive the new vesting terms as a “bait-and-switch” after the token has already experienced a significant price decline, dashing hopes of selling their investments sooner.
Pushback on social media has been intense, with one commentator on X calling the vesting schedule “dirty work.” Others have raised concerns about the project’s long-term viability and criticized the vote as a means to enrich President Donald Trump’s associates. The project’s leadership includes Donald Trump as “chief crypto advocate,” alongside family members in various advisory roles. Ethical concerns have also been amplified by reports that UAE-backed firm Aryam Investment secretly acquired a 49% stake in WLFI for $500 million, with a portion going to Trump family entities.
Adding to the controversy, Tron founder Justin Sun, one of the largest WLFI investors, has sued World Liberty after his tokens were frozen and he was barred from voting. World Liberty has accused Sun of misconduct and token manipulation. The voting period for the governance proposal will last seven days and requires a quorum of 1 billion WLFI tokens to pass.
