World Liberty Financial — the crypto project publicly endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump and his sons — is officially moving toward tradability, as tokenholders overwhelmingly approved a key governance proposal this week.
The development marks a significant shift for the Trump-linked crypto platform as it transitions from a closed fundraising model to an open, community-governed ecosystem.
The on-chain vote, which closed on Wednesday, July 17, ended with 99.94% approval to unlock WLFI’s governance tokens for trading. This enables peer-to-peer transfers and secondary market participation — potentially kickstarting speculative activity, price discovery, and broader adoption of the platform’s token.
“This proposal is the first step in handing greater influence to the community,” the WLFI team said in the governance proposal. “Following the vote to make the token tradable, WLFI’s governance framework will enable more tokenholders to participate directly in protocol decisions.”
These upcoming decisions include votes on token emissions, incentives for ecosystem growth, and future treasury actions — signaling a shift toward more decentralized, on-chain participation.
Token Unlock Will Roll Out in Phases
Despite the overwhelming support for tradability, the WLFI team has clarified that the token unlock will be executed in stages, not all at once. According to the team’s official post on X, only a portion of tokens sold to early supporters during past fundraising rounds will initially become eligible for trading.
“The remainder of the tokens will be subject to a second vote by the community to determine the unlock and release schedule,” the project’s team explained. A full launch roadmap is expected to be released soon.
Additionally, founder, team, and advisor tokens will remain locked for the foreseeable future, with their release subject to longer-term vesting schedules and potential future governance decisions. No definitive timeline or eligibility criteria have been announced for those allocations.
The WLFI token was initially sold in two private fundraising rounds:
- October 2024: 20 billion WLFI tokens sold at $0.015, raising approximately $300 million.
- January 2025: 5 billion more tokens sold at $0.05, bringing in an additional $250 million.
In total, World Liberty Financial has raised over $550 million through these early-stage token sales, making it one of the most capitalized politically-linked crypto initiatives to date.
Until now, however, these tokens have been illiquid and restricted to private holders. The new decision to make them tradable — while keeping team-held tokens locked — is aimed at maintaining long-term alignment with the project’s strategic and governance goals.
TRM Labs to Oversee Compliance and Monitoring
In preparation for the transition to open token tradability, World Liberty Financial has enlisted blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs to implement transaction monitoring and ensure compliance. TRM is widely used by both private sector players and government regulators for its ability to track illicit activity and enforce Know Your Transaction protocols.
This decision appears to be a preemptive move to counter criticism that a Trump-linked crypto token could become a vehicle for abuse or financial impropriety, especially ahead of the U.S. presidential election cycle.
WLFI launched in September 2024 with vocal backing from Donald Trump, as well as his sons Eric, Donald Jr., and Barron Trump. The former president has referenced the project on the campaign trail, framing it as a digital alternative to what he calls “Biden’s broken financial system.”
Trump reported a $57 million personal profit from WLFI in a June 2025 financial disclosure submitted to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. However, it also emerged in that report that the Trump family has reduced its overall stake in the project. As of June, they now hold 40% of the company, down from earlier estimates of near-total control in late 2024.
That reduction may reflect attempts to separate political liabilities from the project’s future as a more broadly held financial platform — especially if WLFI is seeking listings on major centralized exchanges or further integration with DeFi protocols.
Token Tradability Brings Speculation — and Scrutiny
The move to make WLFI tokens tradable is expected to open the door to significant speculation and volatility. Political-themed tokens have experienced explosive but unpredictable performance in 2024 and 2025, especially those tied to memes, personalities, or elections.
Earlier this year, the market saw a wave of politically-themed rug pulls and pump-and-dump schemes, including an Eric Trump meme coin that collapsed from $160 million in market cap to less than $50,000 in just days.
Although WLFI has positioned itself as a serious governance and financial project — with treasury management and on-chain proposals — the association with Trump’s brand may attract opportunistic traders and short-term volatility.
At the same time, the move to tradability could act as a price discovery mechanism, potentially increasing the market cap of WLFI and attracting attention from crypto funds or political donors looking for new avenues of influence and value alignment.
What’s Next for WLFI?
With token tradability now approved, the WLFI team has promised to release a detailed unlock and listing plan in the coming days. It remains unclear whether the token will debut on major exchanges or begin through decentralized peer-to-peer liquidity pools and OTC markets.
Simultaneously, WLFI is expected to expand its ecosystem, potentially offering staking incentives, decentralized governance initiatives, or token-gated campaign financing mechanisms. As of now, the platform’s core function remains largely centered on tokenized political participation, early-stage governance, and controlled capital distribution.
Analysts watching the project suggest it may serve as a testbed for broader political crypto integration, especially if Trump returns to office or continues to dominate the political narrative into 2026 and beyond.
Despite the progress toward decentralization and compliance monitoring, WLFI’s political and financial ties could still attract attention from U.S. regulators. While tokens issued via fundraising and community governance are common in the crypto space, the intersection of campaign finance, token trading, and public figures like Donald Trump adds unique legal complexity.
In a post-FTX regulatory landscape, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Federal Election Commission (FEC) may both seek jurisdiction over such tokens — especially if they’re seen as vehicles for funding political activity or enriching high-profile candidates.
As of now, no enforcement action or formal scrutiny has been publicly disclosed, though the situation remains fluid.
Final thoughts
The WLFI token’s transition from a privately raised, illiquid asset to a potentially tradable governance token comes at a time when crypto and politics are increasingly entangled.
With over half a billion dollars raised, formal endorsements from the Trump family, and a stated goal of opening the protocol to community governance, WLFI is positioned to be one of the most watched — and controversial — token launches of 2025.
The weeks ahead will reveal whether WLFI can sustain interest, adoption, and utility beyond its political branding — and whether regulators, traders, and the crypto community at large will treat it as a legitimate protocol or another speculative flashpoint.