WLFI Milestone: USD 1 Stablecoin Market Cap Surpasses $30 Billion, Reassessing Ecosystem Value?

World Liberty Finance today announced that the circulating supply of its flagship USD stablecoin USD1 has surpassed 30 billion USD for the first time. According to authoritative data, its market cap peak has exceeded 3.07 billion USD.

This milestone event is less than a year after the launch of USD1. Meanwhile, its ecosystem governance token WLFI has also shown strong short-term momentum. As of December 29, Gate data shows that WLFI is currently priced at 0.148 USD, up 3.5% in the past 24 hours, with a nearly 7-day increase of 10.3%.

01 Milestone Interpretation: A Rapid Rise of a Market Newcomer

Behind this number is not only a swelling market cap but also the rapid accumulation of market trust.

Zach Witkoff, co-founder and CEO of World Liberty Finance, stated upon announcing this news that the initial launch of USD1 was to meet traditional institutions’ demand for “cryptographically native and trustworthy tools,” but they soon witnessed extraordinary demand from various sectors.

The core growth engine comes from deep integration with top exchanges. Binance has recently expanded USD1 trading pairs, allowing users to trade BNB/USD1, ETH/USD1, and SOL/USD1 among other mainstream pairs.

More importantly, Binance announced that its Binance-Peg BUSD collateral assets are 1:1 converted to USD1, establishing USD1 as the core stablecoin within this trading ecosystem.

Another giant, Coinbase, has also listed USD1, marking an important step in its plan to achieve global accessibility for both institutional and retail users. This series of top-tier collaborations provides USD1 with unparalleled liquidity and a broad user base.

02 Value Proposition: Bridging Traditional and Crypto Worlds

The design philosophy of USD1 is straightforward and firm: to create a reliable, globalized, and stable digital dollar as a bridge connecting the traditional financial world (Web2) and the decentralized financial world (Web3).

Like many stablecoins, USD1 is a 1:1 redeemable stablecoin backed by a reserve consisting of US short-term Treasuries, cash deposits, and other cash equivalents, fully supported at 100%.

Its reserve assets are held by professional custodians such as BitGo and verified through independent audits to ensure ongoing transparency. This design aims to provide users and institutions with a fast, fair, and accessible capital channel.

World Liberty Finance’s grand vision is to promote the USD stablecoin and consolidate the dollar’s dominant position in the global financial system. This vision is also reflected in its governance token WLFI—a governance token driving the entire DeFi protocol and dedicated to realizing the digitization of the dollar.

03 Market Impact and Controversies

The rapid rise of USD1 has substantially changed the competitive landscape of the stablecoin market.

According to DeFiLlama data, USD1 has become the sixth-largest stablecoin globally, surpassing competitors like Ripple’s RLUSD. Its swift growth is particularly prominent in a market dominated by the giants USDT and USDC.

However, its rapid development is not without controversy. Due to its association with the Trump family, it has been under political scrutiny.

Some U.S. lawmakers have urged the SEC to review whether Trump’s involvement could undermine regulatory independence. Critics argue that safeguards need to be strengthened to ensure fairness in crypto regulation.

Additionally, governance within the project faces challenges. World Liberty Finance previously proposed a governance plan to utilize no more than 5% of the unlocked WLFI token treasury funds to accelerate USD1 adoption through targeted incentives. This proposal faced strong opposition early on, with initial voting results showing 46.1% of voters against.

Opponents’ concerns mainly focus on token dilution, the sustainability of subsidy strategies, and fairness in governance.

04 WLFI’s Dual Performance: Short-term Momentum and Long-term Pressure

Compared to the flagship stablecoin USD1’s rapid ascent, its ecosystem governance token WLFI exhibits a more complex market picture.

As of December 29, recent data shows WLFI demonstrating strong short-term momentum, with a 7-day increase of over 10%. Its circulating market cap is approximately 3.95 billion USD, ranking 28th among all cryptocurrencies, indicating a significant market scale.

But when extending the timeline, WLFI faces notable pressure. Despite recent rebounds, its price has experienced a significant decline since early 2025, with a large retracement from its all-time high.

The project team has also taken active measures to support the token’s value. For example, in November, World Liberty Finance platform repurchased nearly 46.5 million WLFI tokens, totaling about 7.79 million USD, aiming to reduce circulating supply and support the market.

The project’s incentive plan involving an 8.4 million WLFI airdrop also temporarily boosted market sentiment and prices.

05 Future Development: Beyond Milestones

For World Liberty Finance, the milestone of 30 billion USD is “not the goal but the beginning.” The team has publicly stated that their ultimate aim is to “build the future financial network.”

Looking ahead, the growth engine of USD1 will continue to turn. On one hand, it attracts retail users through high-yield plans on platforms like Binance; on the other hand, collaborations with institutions like FalconX aim to facilitate institutional capital flows.

Additionally, integrations with protocols like Bonk and Raydium on high-performance chains such as Solana target the traditionally USDC-dominated high-speed on-chain activity.

Co-founder Zach Witkoff has also revealed plans to expand into the real-world assets (RWA) sector. It is foreseeable that as crypto market infrastructure improves and traditional institutions adopt more, USD1—being a compliant and transparent digital dollar—will see its application scenarios and market share continue to grow.

Future Outlook

Data from CoinMarketCap shows that WLFI’s circulating supply has exceeded 267.3 billion tokens. However, the road to top-tier financial infrastructure remains challenging. USD1 must continue to demonstrate transparency and sufficiency of its reserves and clarify its position amid intense regulatory discussions.

As the key governance proposal voting deadline on January 4, 2026 approaches, the community of World Liberty Finance will decide whether to deploy a large amount of token reserves to “fuel” USD1’s expansion.