Trump-Backed World Liberty Financial Hit by 'Organized Attack'

▲ Donald Trump, WLFI/ChatGPT-generated image ©

A cryptocurrency project associated with the family of U.S. President Donald Trump became the target of a coordinated cyberattack, triggering a sudden drop in the value of its affiliated stablecoin below the $1 mark.

According to cryptocurrency media outlet Finbold on February 23 (local time), World Liberty Financial (WLFI) officially announced that its stablecoin, USD1, had been targeted in a sophisticated and meticulously planned attack. Hackers reportedly compromised the accounts of several co-founders and bribed influencers to spread fear and uncertainty in the market, while simultaneously building large short positions against USD1.

The project team criticized the attackers for deliberately attempting to trigger panic selling and exploit the resulting extreme price volatility for substantial illicit gains. However, they emphasized that the coin was able to quickly regain stability thanks to its transparent issuance and redemption system backed 1:1 by verifiable reserves— including cash, U.S. Treasury bonds, and government money market funds— securely held with the regulated custodian BitGo.

Market data shows that USD1 briefly fell to as low as $0.994, breaking its peg, before demonstrating resilience and rebounding to the $0.998–$0.999 range. Nevertheless, amid the turmoil, the World Liberty Financial governance token also faced short-term downward price pressure. Some observers have raised concerns that cryptocurrency projects entangled with political figures may be particularly vulnerable to market manipulation.

Co-founder Zach Witkoff reiterated the project’s robustness, stating that USD1 is structured with 100% reserve backing and a high degree of transparency that can be directly verified on the official website. In fact, World Liberty Financial has faced ongoing security threats in the past. In February 2025, Witkoff’s personal social media account was hacked to promote a fake meme coin and phishing attacks targeting users were reported. Despite these incidents, the core protocol itself has remained secure.

The project urged investors to rely exclusively on verified official channels to prevent the spread of misinformation during the confusion. As of now, no independent external verification has been released regarding the identity of the hacked accounts or allegations of influencer bribery, and an internal investigation into the full circumstances of the incident is ongoing.

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