World Liberty Financial (WLFI) has implemented a new governance rule mandating a six-month token lock for voting rights. The measure passed with 99.12% support in a snapshot vote involving 1,800 participants.
The change aims to ensure decision-makers are aligned with the protocol’s long-term vision. Stakers who participate in at least two governance votes during the lock-up period earn a 2% annual percentage yield on their holdings.
High voter turnout remains a challenge in decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), with average participation often below 25%. WLFI's approach differs from suggestions by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Aave founder Stani Kulechov, who advocate AI tools or leadership input to boost engagement.
Super stakers-those locking 50 million WLFI tokens (approx. $5 million)-will gain direct access to the business development team for collaboration, though not guaranteed partnerships or founder-level access.
The project, backed by Donald Trump’s sons Eric and Baron, and Steven Witkoff’s sons Zach and Alex, is pursuing a national trust bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to expand its USD1 stablecoin. It has also launched institutional partnerships and rewards programs to drive adoption.
CEO Zach Witkoff has signaled plans to tokenize real estate and energy assets, and explore creating a publicly traded company to hold WLFI tokens.