World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a crypto venture backed by the Trump family, has unveiled a governance proposal that would require long-term staking to unlock voting rights while deepening incentives around its stablecoin, USD1. The initiative is designed to concentrate decision-making power among committed participants and expand USD1’s role within the ecosystem.
Under the proposal, token holders must stake their WLFI for at least 180 days before becoming eligible to vote on governance matters. The objective is to limit short-term influence and align protocol decisions with longer-term stakeholders.
Stakers who participate in at least two governance votes during the lock-up period would earn a 2% annual percentage rate (APR). Voting weight would scale based on both the amount of WLFI staked and the remaining lock-up duration. Importantly, tokens remain eligible to vote while locked.
The framework also links staking participation to expanded USD1 utility across WLFI markets and external DeFi integrations. Key components include:
Wallets holding at least 10 million WLFI tokens, classified as “Nodes,” would gain access to service providers offering 1:1 conversions of major stablecoins such as USDC and USDT into USD1, as well as fiat off-ramp capabilities. “Super Nodes,” defined as holders of more than 50 million tokens, would receive similar access and may qualify for participation in a future revenue-sharing structure.
Governance approval would require participation by at least 1 billion voting tokens, with a simple majority required for passage. With more than 27 billion WLFI tokens currently in circulation, the quorum represents a meaningful engagement threshold relative to supply.
If approved, implementation would unfold in three phases. The first would activate staking rewards and USD1 deposit incentives. The second would introduce conversion services. The final stage would broaden strategic partnerships and formalize revenue-sharing mechanisms for Super Nodes.
The proposal arrives amid a highly concentrated stablecoin market. According to DefiLlama, total stablecoin market capitalization exceeds $309 billion.
USDT dominates with roughly $183 billion, accounting for about 59% of the market, while USDC holds approximately $75 billion. With a market value of around $4.7 billion, USD1 ranks fifth in the stablecoin sector. It remains significantly smaller than the top two issuers but is positioned in the upper tier of the sector.
