Trump-backed WLFI burns $11M in tokens after rocky start

Donald Trump’s family-backed crypto venture, World Liberty Financial (WLF), took a major survival step to defend its newly launched digital asset after a rocky start on public markets. WLF went on to reportedly burn 47 million WLFI tokens (approx. worth $11.34 million).

This move comes after a sharp selloff since trading opened on Monday. It was the first time that early investors were allowed to offload part of their allocations. In the beginning, WLFI price hit over $0.33 just to slip below $0.23 later. However, the cumulative crypto market is dealing with high selling pressure, keeping investors on edge.

Trump’s crypto gamble faces early risks

WLFI’s faltering debut shows the risks facing Trump’s high-profile crypto foray. The company has already generated an estimated $500 million for the family through token sales, deal structures, and related ventures. WLFI is trading at an average price of $0.226 at the press time. Its 24-hour trading volume is down by 62% to stand at $1.77 billion.

Despite the massive price drop, the token has managed to place itself among the top 30 cryptos. It is holding a market cap of just under $6 billion. Major exchanges, including Binance, OKX, and Bybit, have already listed the token. This has surely boosted liquidity and visibility, but also given traders the chance to play around with it.

WLFI(@worldlibertyfi) burned 47M $WLFI($11.34M) 8 hours ago.https://t.co/6RFU5aD933 pic.twitter.com/Jd0M3qgvY0

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) September 3, 2025

Trump linked other tokens have also received the same treatment from the market. OFFICIAL TRUMP price has been running down by 22% over the last 90 days. It has dropped by almost 89% from its all-time high (ATH) of $75.35. TRUMP is trading at an average price of $8.37 at the press time. Official Melania Trump price is down by 42% in the same period.

WLFI eyes buyback-and-burn

Token burns are a common tactic among crypto projects to tighten supply and theoretically support prices. Data shows that roughly 24.66 billion WLFI have already been unlocked. It is about a quarter of its original 100 billion supply. The latest burn represents around 0.19% of the circulating supply. The project was pitched as part of Trump’s broader ambition to make the US the “crypto capital of the world”.

World Liberty Financial has framed the burn as part of a broader plan to stabilize the token. In a governance proposal released Tuesday, the project suggested using protocol-owned liquidity fees to fund a recurring buyback-and-burn program. They aim to increase the relative ownership percentage of committed long-term holders, and this can be done by squeezing out speculators. Meanwhile, the early investors were allowed to sell up to 20% of their holdings.

The decentralized finance platform was unveiled last year, and it also offers a stablecoin. World Liberty Financial USD (USD1) is among the top 10 stablecoins. It holds up a circulation of more than 2.67 billion. For now, the Trump family’s gamble on crypto is as much a test of market psychology as it is of tokenomics.

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