World Liberty Token Slump Sparks Mixed Reactions Over Governance Changes

TLDR

• The WLFI token fell by almost 14% as a governance vote concerning the unlock of 62 billion tokens commenced.
• If passed, the plan would enforce a two-year cliff period before tokens begin circulating, with a multi-year vesting schedule to follow.
• While 99.95% of the votes cast are supportive, there is significant community opposition on social media platforms.
• Prominent figures Tron founder Justin Sun and Moonrock Capital’s Simon Dedic have voiced public criticism of the plan.
• Token holders who do not participate in the vote face the prospect of having their tokens locked permanently.

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(SeaPRwire) –   The native token of World Liberty Financial, WLFI, declined by nearly 14% on Wednesday as a governance vote began on a proposal to apply new multi-year vesting schedules to more than 62 billion tokens.

Initially submitted on April 15, the proposal officially entered its voting phase on Wednesday. The voting period is set to conclude on May 7, and passage requires a quorum of 1 billion tokens.

As of the latest update, 99.95% of votes are affirmative, with 6 billion tokens voting in favor and only 3.2 million opposed. The necessary quorum has already been achieved.

Token unlock proposal is now live for vote. This is one of the most significant governance proposals in WLFI history. Here’s what’s at stake.

— WLFI (@worldlibertyfi) April 29, 2026

At the time of writing, WLFI was trading at $0.064, a decrease from its price of $0.073 prior to the vote’s initiation. The token, which once reached an all-time high of $0.33, has declined 72.8% since its market debut.

The proposal affects approximately 45 billion tokens allocated to founders, advisors, and early partners, which would be subject to a two-year cliff and a three-year linear vesting period. An additional 17 billion tokens for early protocol supporters would follow a two-year cliff and a two-year vesting schedule.

Community Backlash

Despite the overwhelming support in the vote, reactions on the social media platform X have been predominantly critical. Many investors from the pre-sale period perceive the new vesting schedule as a bait-and-switch tactic, noting they have already waited over a year since the project’s launch.

WLFI governance proposal is now live.

For founders, team, advisors, and partners, up to 45.23B WLFI moves to a 2-year cliff followed by a 3-year linear vest upon opting in and accepting unlock terms.

Up to 4.52B $WLFI will be permanently burned under these terms.

For early… pic.twitter.com/bci1mDnDwf

— The Crypto Times (@CryptoTimes_io) April 29, 2026

“What’s this 2 year cliff 2 year vesting bullshit? I don’t understand how early investors gotta wait up to 4 years to get their full allocation. Dirty work!” one commenter wrote on X.

Simon Dedic, the founder of Moonrock Capital, likened the proposal to a rug pull, expressing skepticism about the timing of the two-year unlock period coinciding with the remaining duration of Donald Trump’s presidential term.

Justin Sun, founder of Tron and a major WLFI investor, described the proposal as one of the “most absurd” he has encountered. Sun is currently engaged in a legal conflict with World Liberty after the project team froze his tokens and prevented him from voting on governance matters.

Token Burn Possibility

Should the proposal be approved, about 10% of the tokens reserved for the founding team and investors, equating to roughly 4.5 billion tokens, could be permanently removed from circulation, or “burned.”

World Liberty stated that the new framework is intended to replace open-ended token locks with definitive, time-bound vesting periods, aiming to ensure tokens remain with holders who are “genuinely committed” to the project’s long-term success.

The proposal also specifies that individuals who do not actively agree to the new vesting conditions will have their tokens locked without a specified end date.

Out of a total supply of 100 billion WLFI tokens, approximately 25 billion were sold during public presale rounds. Investors from these pre-sales are still in possession of about 17 billion tokens.