World Liberty Financial, a blockchain project tied to former US president Donald Trump’s family, has confirmed that investors will soon gain access to its WLFI token. Trading is scheduled to begin on 1 September 2025, marking the first time holders will be able to claim and transfer their assets since the token’s presale rounds last year.

Presale Allocations and Unlocking Schedule

The firm announced on 22 August that WLFI will debut on the Ethereum network. According to its distribution plan, only 20% of presale allocations will unlock for early investors who participated in the $0.015 and $0.05 funding rounds.

The remaining 80% of presale allocations will not be released automatically. Instead, the project will rely on a community governance vote to determine the release timetable. This unusual structure is intended to prevent short-term selling pressure and encourage a long-term commitment from holders.

WLFI token is becoming tradable & transferable. This thread is your exact guide: what’s happening, when it happens, and what to do—no guesswork.

— WLFI (@worldlibertyfi) August 22, 2025

Meanwhile, tokens set aside for the founding team, advisors and strategic partners will remain locked under a vesting schedule, aligning their incentives with the project’s growth.

From Governance-Only to Tradable Asset

Up until now, WLFI holders have only been able to use their tokens for governance voting. With the September launch, the project will activate token transfers, giving WLFI a live market price for the first time.

World Liberty Financial said it will prioritise listings on decentralised exchanges (DEXs) before expanding to centralised platforms (CEXs). The company intends to reveal its exchange partners in the coming weeks, signalling a phased rollout that begins with Web3-native audiences.

This shift is expected to open WLFI to a wider base of retail investors who were unable to participate in the original presale.

Lockbox System for Claims

To manage token distribution securely, the project has created a wallet system called the Lockbox. Token holders must activate their wallets through the Lockbox on the official WLFI website before claiming their allocations.

Once activated, the wallet’s previous balances will reset to zero, and all WLFI will be transferred into the Lockbox. The company stated that this step is a standard security practice and ensures safe distribution.

The smart contract powering the Lockbox was audited by Cyfrin, a Web3 security firm, with World Liberty Financial emphasising that only audited code will handle token claims.

The Lockbox will open on 25 August, giving presale investors a week to prepare before trading officially begins. Most wallets have already been pre-screened for compliance, though a small number that failed to meet requirements will be restricted.

World Liberty Financial’s approach reflects a strategy to balance early liquidity with community-led governance. By linking token supply decisions directly to its holders, the project aims to strengthen long-term engagement.

For investors, the September launch represents a significant milestone, as WLFI transitions from a governance-only experiment to a tradable asset with a live market value. With presale allocations partially unlocked and exchange listings on the horizon, the coming months will reveal whether WLFI can attract sustainable demand in an already competitive DeFi landscape.