World Liberty Financial’s governance token WLFI hit a new low just days after trading began, underscoring the volatility around freshly listed crypto tokens tied to high-profile backers. CoinGecko data shows WLFI briefly fell to $0.16 before recovering to about $0.175 at the time of reporting — roughly 50% down from its initial peak above $0.33.
Trading patterns show interest concentrated outside the U.S. South Korean venues led volume over the past 24 hours, with Upbit and Bypit facilitating about $190 million and $95 million respectively. By comparison, Coinbase handled roughly $70 million in WLFI trades while Kraken saw about $5.5 million.
That overseas demand matters because many retail investors only gained access when the token began trading on public exchanges. World Liberty raised around $500 million before tokens became transferable, and accredited presale buyers paid just $0.015 per token — leaving those early participants well in profit despite the recent slide.
Analysts at Compass Point flagged a bigger concern: if tokens list at elevated valuations and then tumble, retail traders may be disproportionately harmed. The firm warned WLFI’s volatility could “decimate” retail participants, echoing the broader pullback in retail activity—Coinbase reported a 40% sequential drop in total trading volume in Q2.
What to watch next: WLFI is a governance token, so future price swings could affect perceived project legitimacy and voter incentives as the protocol evolves. Short-term liquidity and concentrated trading on regional exchanges can amplify moves, and tokens tied to high-profile names tend to attract sharp waves of speculation.
Risk note: This is market-moving information, not investment advice. Newly listed tokens often show large intraday swings; retail traders should be aware of the heightened volatility and potential for losses.
Source: Decrypt. Read the original coverage for full details.