WLFI proposes burning team tokens in ‘long-term governance alignment’ move

World Liberty Financial (WLFI) has unveiled a governance proposal that would restructure the vesting schedules of more than 62 billion WLFI tokens held by early supporters, founders, team members and partners. 

The development comes at a sensitive period for the protocol, which in addition to many speculations about its leadership setup, is facing a public dispute with crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun over governance practices and token controls.

The proposed plan will see insiders who opt in accept a 10% reduction of their locked allocations. This will lead to as many as 4.5 billion WLFI tokens permanently removed from circulation.

The remaining tokens would be subject to a two-year cliff followed by a three-year linear vesting period.

However, early supporters would retain their full allocations but face a two-year cliff and a shorter vesting timeline.

Why is WLFI proposing stricter token lockups now?

The proposal is an attempt by WLFI to resolve what it calls a governance overhang, which is a large share of tokens that have never participated in protocol votes.

According to the WLFI, about 77% of the locked supply has not been used in governance decisions since launch.

The new framework would force holders to choose between accepting extended vesting terms or remaining locked indefinitely.

In either case, the tokens would remain unavailable for immediate sale, and this ensures that a significant portion of supply is committed to governance participation for at least two years.

By introducing defined vesting schedules and incentivizing participation, the protocol aims to transition from a loosely committed holder base to one that is anchored by long-term governance alignment.

Is this a response to allegations of insider movements?

WLFI has recently been embroiled in a dispute with Justin Sun, who has accused the project of exerting hidden control over tokens and governance processes, and it has raised questions about whether the proposal is reactive.

Cryptopolitan has reported that the disagreement arises from allegations of token freezing and the existence of privileged contract functions that could undermine decentralization claims.

Sun claimed that the protocol installed mechanisms that allowed it to restrict token movements. WLFI has disputed those allegations, threatening legal action in its last message regarding Sun.

Market reaction has been volatile, and the latest controversy has not really helped the token, which has declined by over 14% in the past week, trading at around $0.0807, up by 0.05% over the last 24 hours.

When is the burn happening?

Before WLFI gets to the burning phase, it has to go through a governance vote, which is set to run for seven days. There is a quorum requirement of 1 billion WLFI tokens and a simple majority needed for passage.

If approved, participants will have a limited window to accept the new terms.

The burn relies on participants opting into the new terms, making the final scale of supply reduction uncertain for now.

The proposal also extends the timeline over which tokens can enter circulation, and this is expected to help to reduce near-term sell pressure; however, it will also delay liquidity for insiders.

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.