Key Takeaways:
- WLFI sold 5.9 billion tokens privately without disclosing buyers, sending the token to an all-time low.
- Early investors who bought WLFI at $0.05 remain locked out of 80% of their holdings as of May 2026.
- WLFI is pushing a 62 billion token unlock vote, raising concerns it benefits insiders over early backers.
Private Sales, Locked Investors, and a Record Low
The sales, confirmed in governance filings and reported by Bloomberg, were conducted as private “white glove” deals with accredited investors after two public fundraising rounds had already raised over $550 million. World Liberty Financial (WLFI) declined to disclose who purchased the 5.9 billion tokens or where the proceeds went, with sources suggesting much of the funds flowed to entities affiliated with the founders.
For early investors, the revelations landed harshly because those who bought WLFI tokens at prices as low as $0.05 during the public rounds are currently locked out of selling 80% of their holdings. The private buyers, meanwhile, received tokens through a separate channel under terms not disclosed to the broader investor base. WLFI sank to an all-time low on the news, with the token collapsing as retail holders absorbed the dilution.
World Liberty Financial was co-founded by the Trump family and the Witkoff family. The Trump family receives 75% of all WLFI token proceeds under the project’s token structure, a figure that has drawn sustained political attention. Senator Bernie Sanders claimed the Trump family made $4 billion from the presidency, with $3 billion attributed to crypto ventures, citing WLFI as a central example.
A 62 Billion Token Unlock Compounds the Controversy
The private sales are not the only governance flashpoint, given WLFI is pushing toward a 62 billion token unlock with a near-unanimous governance vote, a move critics say is timed to benefit insiders. The unlock is scheduled to take effect after President Trump’s term ends, a detail that has prompted accusations that the project is structured to allow founding participants to exit before any regulatory accountability tightens.
Previously, WLFI used 5 billion of its own tokens as collateral to borrow $75 million from Dolomite, a platform co-founded by one of the project’s own advisers. The conflict of interest drew significant community criticism at the time and now reads as part of a broader pattern.
Wider Questions About Transparency Emerge
The accumulation of undisclosed private deals, insider borrowing arrangements, and a post-presidency token unlock creates a picture that critics have been assembling for months. A recent breakdown of Trump’s crypto ventures ranked WLFI as the most controversial of the four projects due to its opacity and the scale of founder compensation relative to public investors.
The project has confirmed that the private sales took place, but has not addressed the lack of disclosure to existing investors.
