World Liberty Financial confirmed it sold another 5.9 billion WLFI tokens to private investors without naming the buyers or explaining where the proceeds went. The sales came after two public fundraising rounds that had already brought in more than $550 million. After the transactions surfaced in governance filings and were reported by Bloomberg, WLFI fell to an all-time low.
Private placements added pressure on holders from the public rounds
The report said the tokens were sold through private “white glove” arrangements aimed at accredited investors, with terms that were not disclosed to the broader investor base. For public-round buyers, the problem was not limited to extra supply. Investors who bought WLFI for as little as $0.05 in those rounds still had 80% of their holdings locked as of May 2026, leaving them unable to sell most of their position.
Private buyers, by contrast, received tokens through a separate channel under undisclosed terms. Once the news became public, retail holders were left absorbing the dilution and the token slid to a record low. WLFI confirmed that the private sales took place, but did not address why existing investors were not informed.
Trump and Witkoff family ties keep the project under political scrutiny
World Liberty Financial was co-founded by the Trump family and the Witkoff family. Under the project’s token structure, 75% of all WLFI token proceeds go to the Trump family, an arrangement that has drawn sustained political attention. Senator Bernie Sanders said the Trump family made $4 billion from the presidency, with $3 billion tied to crypto ventures, and cited WLFI as a central example.
A 62 billion token unlock adds to the backlash
The private sale issue is unfolding at the same time WLFI is pushing a governance proposal to unlock 62 billion tokens, with voting support described as nearly unanimous. Critics argue the timing favors insiders. The unlock is scheduled to take effect after President Trump’s term ends, which has fueled more questions about how the project is structured.
WLFI had also previously used 5 billion of its own tokens as collateral to borrow $75 million from Dolomite. One of Dolomite’s co-founders is also an adviser to the project. That arrangement drew community criticism over conflicts of interest at the time, and it is now being viewed as part of a broader transparency problem.
Undisclosed deals and insider-linked borrowing keep transparency concerns alive
Undisclosed private sales, borrowing tied to an affiliated platform, and a large post-presidency unlock have combined to intensify scrutiny around WLFI. A recent breakdown of Trump’s crypto ventures ranked WLFI as the most controversial of four projects, citing its opacity and the scale of founder compensation compared with public investors.