Holders of World Liberty Financial (WLFI) tokens who want to participate in shaping the protocol’s future will now be required to lock up their tokens for nearly six months under a newly approved governance proposal.
The proposal from the Trump family–backed crypto venture closed on Friday with 99.12% support from roughly 1,800 votes, according to results from the Snapshot governance platform. More than 76% of the voting power came from just 10 users, highlighting the concentration of tokens among a small group of holders.
According to World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the measure is intended to ensure that only participants with long-term commitment to the protocol can influence governance decisions. The proposal also introduces incentives for users who stake their tokens, offering a 2% annual percentage yield (APY) if they take part in at least two governance votes during the lock-up period. Token holders with existing locked tokens will not be affected and can continue voting normally.
Low voter participation has long been a challenge for decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), with estimates suggesting average turnout between 15% and 25%. Earlier this year, Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, suggested that AI-powered personal assistants could help DAO members vote more easily and improve participation. Meanwhile, Stani Kulechov, founder of Aave, has proposed reducing the role of token-holder voting in favor of stronger leadership input. The latest WLFI proposal represents another attempt to address the participation problem.
“Super nodes” to receive direct access
The proposal also outlines a special category for large stakeholders. Users who stake 50 million WLFI tokens — valued at around $5 million — could gain guaranteed direct access to the WLFI team for potential collaboration opportunities.
The project’s “Gold Paper” identifies the sons of Donald Trump — Eric Trump and Barron Trump — as co-founders supporting the initiative. The sons of Steven Witkoff, Zach Witkoff and Alex Witkoff, are also listed as co-founders.
However, spokesperson David Wachsman told Reuters that the preferential access would apply only to business development staff and executives, not to specific founders, and it does not guarantee partnerships.
Plans for a crypto financial ecosystem
Looking ahead, investors in World Liberty Financial (WLFI) may see major developments as the project works to build a crypto-enabled financial ecosystem centered around its stablecoin, USD1. The initiative also aims to support decentralized finance applications and stablecoins that help maintain the global role of the US dollar.
In January, the project applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust bank charter to expand the use of USD1, though a decision is still pending. WLFI has also launched reward programs and partnerships with institutional platforms to boost adoption of its stablecoin.
CEO Zach Witkoff has hinted at future tokenization efforts involving assets such as real estate and oil and gas, and the project is also exploring the possibility of creating a publicly traded company that would hold WLFI tokens.
The WLFI Gold Paper states that token holders will have the right to vote on certain protocol matters, and so far the project has completed six Snapshot governance votes. Previous proposals have included using unlocked WLFI tokens to support the growth of USD1 and making the governance token tradable.
