Trump-backed WLFI passes proposal letting $5 million stakers buy 'direct access' to team

The governance ballot passed with 99.12% support from 1,800 voters, with 76% of tokens coming from conscionable 10 wallets.

Updated Mar 16, 2026, 9:55 a.m. Published Mar 16, 2026, 9:09 a.m.

World Liberty Financial, the decentralized concern (DeFi) protocol linked to the household of U.S. President Donald Trump, enactment a $5 cardinal terms tag connected 'direct access' to squad members successful an astir unanimous governance vote.

Token holders of the task backed by Eric and Barron Trump passed a connection connected Friday that creates a three-tier staking strategy for its WLFI governance token.

The Base tier requires a 180-day lock-up to vote. The Node tier requires staking 10 cardinal WLFI, astir $1 million, and grants the quality to person stablecoins to WLFI's USD1 astatine 1:1 parity done licensed marketplace makers. The Super Node tier requires 50 cardinal WLFI, astir $5 million, and grants "guaranteed nonstop entree to the WLFI squad for concern discussions."

The ballot passed 99.12% successful favour retired of 1,800 votes cast. Over 76% of the voting tokens came from conscionable 10 wallets.

WLFI spokesperson David Wachsman told Reuters connected Sunday that the "direct access" refers to the concern improvement squad and executives, not circumstantial founders, and doesn't warrant a partnership.

The company's ain Gold Paper, however, lists co-founders Eric Trump, Barron Trump and Steven Witkoff's sons Zach and Alex arsenic portion of the squad "supporting the WLF commitment."

The proposal's stated information is redirecting worth from marketplace makers to semipermanent participants.

WLFI said that during its USD1 stablecoin expansion, marketplace makers captured millions successful arbitrage astatine astir 15 ground points per cycle, and WLFI paid millions much successful redemption subsidies. The Node and Super Node operation routes those economics to ample stakers instead.

The Super Node tier is wherever the connection goes beyond governance mechanics. WLFI presently receives "more concern inquiries than it tin productively prosecute with," the connection says.

The $5 cardinal staking request "serves arsenic a filter to prioritize projects and platforms that are actively supporting and participating successful the WLFI ecosystem, alternatively than those seeking concern connected a purely opportunistic basis."

Projects that privation to speech to the squad present request to put successful WLFI tokens and fastener them for six months. That creates buying unit connected the token, reduces circulating supply, and generates a captive assemblage of ample holders who are financially invested successful the protocol's occurrence earlier immoderate concern treatment adjacent begins.

Meanwhile, WLFI is besides pursuing a nationalist spot slope charter done the OCC, exploring tokenization of existent property and lipid and state assets, and considering the instauration of a publically traded institution to clasp WLFI tokens.

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