World Liberty proposes introducing WLFI governance staking…linked to USD1 incentives

World Liberty Financial (WLFI) has proposed introducing a staking system premised on participation in governance. Under the structure, rights to convert to USD1 and access to partnerships would be granted on a tiered basis depending on the staking amount.

According to the proposal released on the 26th, the WLFI team suggested introducing a “WLFI Governance Staking System,” under which holders must stake unlocked WLFI tokens in order to participate in governance voting. The minimum lock-up period is 180 days, and voting power is calculated using a square-root weighting method that reflects both the staked amount and the remaining lock-up period.

Stakers can receive WLFI rewards at a base rate of about 2% per year. However, rewards are paid only if the participant votes at least twice during the governance lock-up period. The reward pool will be funded from the WLFI treasury and is not directly linked to protocol revenue. Staking participants can also receive USD1 deposit incentives in a WLFI market provided by Dolomite.

Participants who stake above a certain threshold will be granted “Node” status. The proposed threshold is 10 million WLFI, worth about $1 million at current prices. Nodes are connected directly with third-party licensed market makers and can access an over-the-counter (OTC) route to convert stablecoins such as USDT and USDC into USD1 at a 1:1 rate. WLFI plans to subsidize market makers to maintain 1:1 parity and to transfer to node participants the roughly 10–15 basis points of spread previously captured by incumbent institutional market makers. Nodes must undergo KYC procedures and can also receive additional WLFI rewards based on conversion volume.

Those staking at the higher threshold of 50 million WLFI or more will be classified as “Super Nodes.” In addition to node privileges, super nodes are guaranteed direct access to partnership discussions with the WLFI team. This does not mean partnerships are automatically concluded; decisions will be made following commercial and technical reviews. Through the super node structure, WLFI aims to expand the USD1 distribution network and prioritize business opportunities for participants who contribute to the ecosystem over the long term.

The proposal is driven by concerns that, during the recent USD1 expansion process, institutional market makers captured millions of dollars in risk-free arbitrage, while WLFI also paid millions of dollars in subsidies to spur redemptions. WLFI says it intends to redistribute that value to long-term participants and create structural demand relative to competing stablecoins.

The proposal sets a quorum at 1 billion WLFI valid voting-power tokens and will pass with a simple majority of votes in favor, excluding abstentions. The voting period is seven days from the date the Snapshot proposal is posted.

If approved, Phase 1 will launch governance staking for all holders of unlocked WLFI; Phase 2 will activate the node tier and OTC conversion rights. Phase 3 will introduce the super node tier and the partnership framework. A detailed schedule will be announced after the vote ends.