Decentralized finance platform World Liberty Financial said Friday it will put forward a governance proposal next week to set a phased unlock schedule for WLFI tokens held by early retail purchasers. The proposal will be opened for community input before proceeding to a formal vote, and would establish a structured, long-term vesting plan that releases tokens in stages rather than a full, immediate unlock.
WLFI tokens remain largely locked for early buyers, with transferability tied to governance-approved unlocks. Tokenomist data shows roughly 24.67% of WLFI’s 100 billion supply has been released, while about 75.33% remains locked or pending future unlock decisions. The proposal could determine when early buyers can access liquidity in WLFI, whose practical use is primarily governance, amid public pushback and threats of legal action from some holders.
Early sale materials stated WLFI tokens were non-transferable and could remain locked indefinitely, with any unlock subject to a governance vote no earlier than 12 months after the token sale and with no guaranteed timeline. That 12-month threshold has passed: WLFI’s public sale began around mid-October 2024, placing the current proposal roughly 18 months after the initial sale. World Liberty raised at least $550 million from WLFI sales across two funding rounds.
Some self-identified presale buyers have publicly complained that most of their holdings remain locked even as parts of the broader supply have become transferable. At least one buyer said they had filed legal notices and were pursuing claims in the United States and the Netherlands against World Liberty Financial and its backers; Cointelegraph could not independently verify any lawsuit. Cointelegraph reached out to World Liberty for comment but had not received a response by publication.
The debate follows earlier governance decisions around token restrictions: on March 16, WLFI holders approved a proposal introducing a six-month lock-up rule for certain transfers, one of the first formal changes to the project’s transferability framework.
Concerns have been amplified by onchain activity tied to the project’s treasury. One community member flagged borrowing activity, questioning how treasury funds were being used. Onchain records show World Liberty’s treasury borrowed roughly $75 million in stablecoins from Dolomite using WLFI as collateral.
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