Whales Lose Millions as Trump-Linked WLFI Crashes 40% Despite 47M Token Burn
Highlights
- WLFI token, linked to Trump, plunges over 40% despite a 47 million token burn.
- Major whale investors incur millions in losses amid the sudden drop.
- High-profile traders like Andrew Tate suffer heavy liquidations during the crash.
- Some wallets profit from shorting WLFI, capitalizing on the token’s decline.
- Trump family’s holdings remain valued near $5B, though the token’s volatility raises growing ethical concerns.
Whale Wipeouts Follow Trump-Linked WLFI’s 40% Collapse
Crypto whales who heavily invested in the Trump-affiliated World Liberty Financial (WLFI) token are now nursing substantial losses, as the token plunged more than 40% from its debut price earlier this week. Despite an attempted recovery move via a major token burn, WLFI continues its freefall, leaving high-profile traders liquidated and millions in unrealized value wiped out.
Launched to much fanfare on Monday, WLFI initially saw bullish momentum in pre-market futures, briefly touching $0.40 before reality set in. A sustained wave of selling pressure, paired with technical breakdowns and leveraged long positions gone wrong, has driven the token to new lows.
Leveraged Trades Turn Ugly for Crypto Whales
Among the biggest casualties of WLFI’s steep decline was a crypto whale operating through the wallet address 0x432, who suffered nearly $1.64 million in losses on a single leveraged long position. According to blockchain analytics firm Onchain Lens, the trader held a 3X long on WLFI for approximately 64 hours before closing it on Thursday morning.
This was only the latest in a series of unsuccessful trades by the same wallet. Earlier in the week, the trader also lost over $80,000 across several WLFI and TRUMP token positions, including:
- A 21-hour TRUMP long that led to $76,400 in pre-fee losses and about $80,220 total loss.
- A 5-minute WLFI long, resulting in a $4,790 loss.
- Another WLFI long at 2:03 PM on the same day, which lasted over three hours and ended with a $21,812 loss.
- A brief WLFI long early Thursday morning, losing around $3,510.
- A short ETH trade and another long from August 31, which together added another $2,200+ in net losses.
Altogether, this wallet’s speculative moves on WLFI and related tokens have resulted in a combined loss well into seven figures—highlighting just how volatile and unpredictable WLFI’s price behavior has become.
Token Burn Fails to Prevent Price Crash
In an effort to curb the rapid decline, World Liberty Financial initiated a token burn of 47 million WLFI on Wednesday—worth over $11 million at the time—by sending the tokens to inaccessible wallet addresses. The burn, a common deflationary tactic in crypto markets, was seemingly designed to reduce circulating supply and potentially stabilize or boost the token’s price.
But despite the sizable burn, WLFI’s freefall continued. After starting the week around $0.40, the token dipped below $0.20 by Thursday morning, hitting an all-time low of $0.174 during pre-market trading sessions in the U.S.
Chart analysts pointed to a descending triangle formation on WLFI’s price chart—a bearish continuation pattern—culminating in a break below key support at $0.20. Heavy selling volume further confirmed the bearish outlook, with no signs of an imminent reversal above the psychological $0.30 level.
Within just a few days, WLFI had fallen more than 60% from its peak, casting doubt on the token’s long-term stability and investor confidence.
High-Profile Traders Also Hit Hard
WLFI’s volatility didn’t just hurt anonymous whales. Former kickboxing champion and controversial internet personality Andrew Tate was also caught in the storm. Trading via the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, Tate opened a long position on WLFI that was liquidated on Tuesday, costing him $67,500.
Rather than back off, Tate reportedly doubled down with new WLFI trades, eventually amassing nearly $700,000 in cumulative losses from his attempts to long the token.
His experience mirrors that of many traders who viewed WLFI as a speculative opportunity rather than a long-term investment, particularly in light of its political branding and the Trump family’s high-profile involvement.
Trump Family Still Holding Billions in WLFI
While individual investors and whales have taken heavy hits, the Trump family appears to be largely insulated—for now.
According to public reports, Donald Trump holds 15.75 billion WLFI tokens, amounting to a $3.4 billion stake at current prices. Combined with holdings attributed to his sons, the Trump family controls just under 25% of WLFI’s total supply of 100 billion tokens—valued at approximately $5 billion as of this writing.
These holdings represent the single largest ownership concentration in the WLFI ecosystem and are believed to make up the largest component of Donald Trump’s personal net worth.
Despite these numbers, the optics of such concentrated ownership amid wild price swings have led to rising ethical questions. Critics have voiced concerns about the fusion of political branding with speculative financial instruments—especially as average investors face steep losses while insiders hold large amounts of value, at least on paper.
Conclusion: A Volatile Bet with Political Luggage
WLFI’s dramatic fall just days after its public launch raises serious questions about the risks of politically-branded crypto tokens. The market’s initial enthusiasm was met with harsh technical reality, as the token failed to maintain support levels and speculative traders faced brutal liquidations.
Whales, influencers, and day traders alike found themselves overleveraged in an ecosystem still trying to establish credibility. Even large-scale token burns couldn’t reverse the market’s bearish momentum.
Meanwhile, the Trump family remains the largest beneficiary of WLFI’s initial launch, though that too comes with mounting scrutiny. As prices continue to slide, all eyes will be on whether WLFI can recover—or if it will become another cautionary tale in the growing list of high-profile crypto flameouts.
