Five Wallets Gobble 40% of WLFI’s $1 Airdrop—Decentralization Theater at Its Finest

Whale alert: A handful of crypto wallets just vacuumed up nearly half the votes approving WLFI’s token giveaway. So much for ‘community governance.’

The numbers don’t lie—this airdrop’s approval process looks more like a private buffet than a fair distribution. Meanwhile, the rest of us are left arguing about ‘decentralization’ while the big bags cash in. Classic crypto.

Bonus jab: At least Wall Street waits until after the IPO to concentrate wealth.

Whales dominate WLFI’s governance voting

Notably, governance data reveals that voting power for the proposal was highly concentrated among whales.

According to the data, just five addresses accounted for over 40% of the total votes. One address alone controlled 1 billion WLFI tokens, representing 14.75% of the voting weight. Another held 666.7 million tokens, contributing 9.8%, while two others had 500 million each, representing 7.37% apiece.

This high concentration level raises serious concerns about the decentralization and decision-making process in the project’s decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).

WLFI and USD1 scrutiny continues

The airdrop announcement comes at a sensitive time for WLFI and USD1, which have been criticized for their political connections and investor profile.

US lawmakers have consistently questioned the project’s ties to US President Donald TRUMP and flagged potential ethical concerns related to the project.

A recent letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, signed by several Democratic lawmakers, flagged WLFI’s decision to reserve 90% of its token sale for foreign investors.

The lawmakers pointed out that the venture had received a $75 million investment from controversial crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, who had been under the SEC investigation until recently. They noted that:

“The SEC [has] asked the court to pause its enforcement action against Mr. Sun, raising troubling questions about whether the Trump Administration’s apparent abandonment of its gravely serious charges against Mr. SUN constituted an illegal quid pro quo in exchange for his largesse directed at this Trump family venture.”

Considering this, the letter warned that the MOVE could expose the US financial system to risks, especially given allegations that some investors might have ties to criminal activity or ongoing investigations.

However, in response to the accusations, Zach Witkoff, one of the project’s co-founders, argues that the world needs solutions like WLFI and USD1. He wrote:

“America — and the rest of the world — needs solutions like USD1. We will not be intimidated by politicians with an axe to grind.”