WLFI debut descends into hacks and losses

September 02, 2025

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WLFI’s wild debut: Liquidations, buyback pitch, and a phishing scare

Key points:

  • WLFI’s spot debut saw sharp swings as 24.6B tokens entered circulation and a buyback-and-burn plan was floated using 100% of protocol-owned liquidity fees.

  • Derivatives heat up with open interest near $950M and $4.5B+ in 24-hour volume, while a phishing exploit tied to EIP-7702 targeted holders.

News - World Liberty Financial’s WLFI, a Trump family-linked token, began trading on Monday and quickly turned volatile. Prices spiked toward $0.33–$0.35 before sliding to roughly $0.21–$0.25, with some venues showing a 36% intraday drawdown.

The launch coincided with an initial circulating supply of 24.6B WLFI, allocated across World Liberty Financial Inc., Alt5 Sigma, liquidity and marketing, and public sale participants with a 20% immediate unlock for presale buyers.

Derivatives frenzy and trader fortunes - Futures activity surged: open interest neared $950M before cooling to $887M, and daily derivatives volume jumped to about $4.54B. Not everyone had the same outcome.

Influencer Andrew Tate saw a $67,500 WLFI long liquidated on Hyperliquid, then opened a new long. By contrast, pseudonymous trader Techno Revenant turned a $15M WLFI sale allocation into roughly $250M after receiving 1% of supply, following a separate $38M win trading XPL volatility.

Buyback proposal lands as price wobbles - In response to the post-listing dip, governance introduced a buyback-and-burn proposal that would direct all POL fees on Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Solana toward purchasing WLFI on the open market and burning it.

Support in early comments was strong, though the plan does not disclose fee run-rates, leaving the market impact uncertain. Analysts note potential benefits for scarcity but warn sustainability depends on fee generation and future unlocks.

Editor’s note:

  • WLFI’s debut has become a stress test for governance: tokenomics promises like buybacks must prove sustainable under market pressure.

  • The exploit risk shows that technical upgrades can open new attack surfaces: traders should watch Ethereum’s Pectra fallout closely.

  • Whether whales keep buying or short squeezes kick in will decide if WLFI stabilizes above launch levels or remains a volatility magnet.

Security alert - Security firms flagged a “classic EIP-7702 phishing exploit” tied to Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade, where malicious delegate contracts drain tokens from compromised wallets. Multiple WLFI holders reported losses, and the team warned users to avoid unsolicited DMs and verify official domains.

BitMine and Ether Machine double down on Ethereum treasuries

Key points:

  • BitMine Immersion boosted its holdings to nearly 1.87M ETH worth $8.1B, aiming to secure 5% of Ethereum’s supply despite BMNR stock falling 35%.

  • Ether Machine raised $654M ahead of its Nasdaq listing, building a 495,000 ETH treasury as analysts debate whether ETH’s September dip could set up a major bear trap.

News - BitMine Immersion Technologies, led by Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, has emerged as the largest listed Ethereum treasury firm. The Nasdaq-traded company added more than 150,000 ETH last week, taking its total to 1.87M ETH worth $8.1B, alongside $623M in cash for future purchases.

BitMine reaffirmed its target of controlling 5% of ETH’s supply while generating yield through staking.

Despite these bold moves, BMNR stock has swung violently, falling 35% since mid-August after briefly rallying on dovish signals from the Federal Reserve. Investors remain cautious, watching whether support can hold near $40–$30.

Ether Machine builds Wall Street bridge - Separately, Ether Machine secured $654M in financing led by Citibank and Ethereum backer Jeffrey Berns, who contributed 150,000 ETH and joined the board.

The firm now controls over 495,000 ETH worth $2.16B, with $367M in liquid reserves, positioning itself as the third-largest ETH corporate holder. Its planned Nasdaq debut in Q1 2025 highlights Wall Street’s growing interest in Ethereum-backed treasuries.

Market outlook - ETH itself has retreated about 12% from all-time highs, trading near $4,374. Analysts suggest September could bring a sharp correction toward $3,350–$4,160, only to reverse into an October rally.

Some warn of a potential “bear trap,” while others emphasize fundamentals such as stablecoin growth, staking yields, and regulatory clarity as long-term drivers.

Saylor’s Strategy buys $449M in Bitcoin as Metaplanet secures $3.7B war chest

Key points:

  • Strategy added 4,048 BTC for $449M last week, capping August buys at 7,714 BTC and lifting its holdings to 636,505 BTC worth nearly $70B.

  • Metaplanet shareholders approved a 2.7B share expansion and dual-class stock system, clearing the path for up to $3.7B in fundraising for Bitcoin purchases.

News - Bitcoin’s biggest corporate backers continued to make bold moves despite market volatility.

Michael Saylor’s Strategy filed with the SEC on Tuesday confirming a 4,048 BTC purchase between August 25 and September. 1, worth about $449M at an average of $110,981 per coin. Combined with earlier August buys, Strategy added 7,714 BTC last month, down sharply from 31,466 BTC in July.

The company now holds 636,505 BTC acquired for $46.95B, valued at nearly $70B at current prices. The buys were funded primarily through common stock sales, a move critics warn is dilutive after management previously pledged not to issue shares below a 2.5x mNAV premium.

Metaplanet sets up new financing levers - Meanwhile, Japanese treasury firm Metaplanet won shareholder approval to expand authorized shares to 2.7B and introduce Class A and Class B stock, allowing for more flexible fundraising.

The framework could unlock as much as $3.7B, earmarked for its goal of acquiring 210,000 BTC by 2027. Shareholders also approved virtual-only meetings, adding governance flexibility.

Metaplanet already holds 20,000 BTC worth about $2.2B, making it the sixth-largest corporate Bitcoin holder. Its stock has fallen 54% since June, though shares rose 2.5% on news of the governance amendments.

Market context - These moves reaffirm how corporate treasuries are driving institutional Bitcoin demand. Strategy’s purchases reinforce its dominance, while Metaplanet’s capital maneuvers highlight the lengths firms are taking to scale their holdings in a competitive landscape.

South Korea ramps up global crypto data sharing, stablecoin talks heat up

Key points:

  • South Korea will begin collecting crypto transaction data in 2026 under the OECD’s CARF, with global exchange starting in 2027.

  • Regulators are also weighing a won-backed stablecoin and investors are shifting billions from Tesla to crypto firms.

News - South Korea has formally joined the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), committing to share cross-border crypto transaction data with 48 nations.

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance confirmed the information exchange agreement on September 2, with data collection starting in 2026 and the first international swaps slated for 2027.

Exchanges such as Upbit and Bithumb will be required to report identifying and transactional details of foreign investors, while the National Tax Service will gain access to records of Koreans trading abroad.

Officials stressed the measure is “separate from taxation” but aimed at closing offshore loopholes. The framework places Korea alongside jurisdictions like the U.K., Germany, and Japan in tightening oversight on crypto activity.

Stablecoin push - The data-sharing plan comes as Seoul advances domestic stablecoin regulation. Tether and Circle executives recently met with the Bank of Korea and local lenders to explore won-denominated products.

FSC chair nominee Lee Eog-weon went further, suggesting a “national blockchain” for a future stablecoin, with banks positioned as primary issuers to ensure monetary stability.

Investor shift - Korean retail investors are also reshaping global capital flows. In August alone, they sold $657 million in Tesla shares while buying over $12 billion in U.S.-listed crypto companies this year, including major allocations to BitMine, Circle, and Coinbase.

Roughly one in five Koreans now hold digital assets, underscoring the country’s growing weight in global crypto markets.

Interesting facts

  • AI‑driven crypto scams on the rise - Between May 2024 and April 2025, AI-powered crypto scams surged by 456%, using deepfakes and voice-cloning to impersonate loved ones or executives and defraud victims; platforms like Meta shut down hundreds of scam accounts.

  • El Salvador transfers Bitcoin to multiple secure addresses - El Salvador, the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, is now diversifying the storage of its BTC holdings, moving them from a single wallet to multiple new addresses, each capped at 500 BTC, and launching a public dashboard to improve transparency.

  • Ethereum’s meteoric comeback - Ethereum has rallied a staggering 200% in just five months, earning fresh comparisons to “digital oil” as institutional interest, especially via spot ETFs, fuels speculation it could overtake Bitcoin in ecosystem dominance and utility.

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Top 3 coins of the day

Ethena (ENA)

Key points:

  • At the time of writing, ENA was trading at $0.69, marking an 11% increase in the last 24 hours.

  • The price held above the 9-day SMA, while the Awesome Oscillator’s latest green bars signaled a return of bullish momentum.

What you should know:

ENA rallied sharply over the past day, climbing from $0.62 to as high as $0.70 before closing near the upper range. Trading volume rose to 132.13M, reinforcing the strength of the move. Price action stayed above the 9-day SMA at $0.64, with the $0.70–$0.72 zone acting as the immediate resistance to watch, while support rests near $0.64. On-chain sentiment also leaned positive: a major whale unlocked $1.85M ENA but chose not to sell, reflecting confidence in Ethena’s ecosystem. Meanwhile, the foundation has already deployed $150M of its $260M buyback plan, absorbing supply and supporting market demand. Together, these developments suggest that holding above $0.70 will be crucial for sustaining momentum in the coming sessions.

Key points:

  • BCH was last seen trading at $569, logging a 4.3% rise over the past day.

  • The price stayed above the Supertrend baseline at $521, while the RSI held steady near 52, signaling room for further upside.

What you should know:

Bitcoin Cash moved higher from $545 to $573 in the latest session before closing near its intraday peak. Price action remained above the Supertrend support level of $521, keeping short-term momentum tilted in favor of buyers. The RSI hovered close to neutral, showing that conditions are not yet overheated. Resistance is likely in the $573–$575 range, with the support zone anchored at $521. Beyond technicals, sentiment improved after Tether confirmed it would not freeze USDT contracts on BCH’s SLP chain, easing concerns about sudden liquidity shocks. At the same time, renewed speculative flows into altcoins supported broader demand. For BCH, sustaining trade above $573 will be key to validating a stronger push toward higher levels in the near term.

Ondo (ONDO)

Key points:

  • ONDO was last seen at $0.91, gaining 4% in the last 24 hours.

  • The token bounced from the lower Bollinger Band, while the Squeeze Momentum Indicator showed fading bearish pressure.

What you should know:

Ondo recovered from $0.88 to $0.93 before settling just under $0.92. The move came off support near the lower Bollinger Band at $0.86, with resistance now seen around the $0.95–$0.98 range at the midline. Volume reached 12.72M, adding credibility to the uptick. Meanwhile, the Squeeze Momentum Indicator continued flashing red but with the latest bar fading, hinting that downside momentum is losing strength. Beyond chart signals, sector trends supported sentiment: a recent RWA market report spotlighted Ondo as a key protocol in the $26B tokenization space, while institutional adoption of its Ondo Chain by firms like JPMorgan and Chainlink underlined its growing role in bridging DeFi and traditional finance. Holding above $0.90 remains critical for ONDO to build further strength in the near term.

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