WLFI’s staking contract now holds 81.78 million WLFI, so the widely quoted 0.17% figure is out of date.
The more important number is in the rewards: at the current displayed rate, the USD1 left in the pool would run out about 100 days before the earliest 180-day locks end.
Two weeks after World Liberty Financial opened WLFI staking, one figure was everywhere: 54.18 million tokens locked, about 0.17% of circulating supply.
We went back to the staking contract to see whether that figure still holds. It doesn’t.
As of October 30, the official WLFI staking contract holds 81,783,738 WLFI. That is half as much again as the October 14 figure. The supply share, the staking pace, the reward rate and the size of the reward pool have all changed since then.
What The Contract Holds Now
World Liberty Financial’s own contract-address documentation lists 0x196feE96efeAAd585483A6d950e70286B6851923 as the “WLFI Staking” governance contract. Etherscan shows its balance as 81,783,738.26 WLFI, worth about $4.14 million, across 998 token transfers in and out.
The protocol’s staking dashboard shows the same total: 81.78 million WLFI staked. It also shows:
- All-time rewards: 1.30 million USD1
- Available rewards: 1.07 million USD1
- Variable reward rate: 92.07%
The dashboard and the contract match, so the article treats 81.78 million WLFI as the staked total.
The 0.17% Figure Has Already Moved
The original 0.17% was calculated against about 31.78 billion WLFI in circulating supply. CoinGecko still shows that circulating figure. Against it, the new total gives:
- Share of circulating supply: about 0.26%, up from 0.17%.
- Share of the 100 billion maximum supply: about 0.08%.
- Share of Etherscan’s on-chain total of about 96.72 billion WLFI: 0.0846%, the figure Etherscan shows next to the contract’s balance.
The difference between 100 billion and 96.72 billion is worth noting. Most coverage uses the 100 billion maximum, but Etherscan reports a smaller total on-chain supply. Whichever figure you use, staked WLFI is still well under 1% of the token.
Staking Slowed After The Opening Rush
The growth hides a slowdown.
In the first 13 days, from October 1 to 14, about 4.17 million WLFI went into the contract each day on average. In the 16 days since, the average fell to about 1.73 million WLFI a day, a slowdown of around 59%. Much of the early demand appears to have come in the first two weeks, and later stakers have joined at well under half that pace.
Each new stake is locked for at least 180 days, so this money can’t be withdrawn quickly. Under a September 14 governance change, stakers must also vote at least once every 90 days to stay eligible for rewards. Both rules make staking a bigger commitment than a typical yield product, which may help explain the slower second half of the month.
The Reward Rate Went Up, Not Down
The dashboard says the variable rate “can decrease as more WLFI is staked”. Staked WLFI rose by half, yet the displayed rate rose too, from 82.41% on October 14 to 92.07% now.
Two things explain this:
- The WLFI price fell. The rate is calculated in dollars. The October 14 snapshot valued 54.18 million WLFI at about $3.1 million, or roughly $0.057 per token. Today’s value of $4.14 million for 81.78 million WLFI is about $0.0506, a drop of around 11%. A lower token price makes the same USD1 rewards look larger as a percentage.
- More rewards are being paid out. Applying each displayed rate to the dollar value of the stake gives an implied annual payout:
-
- October 14: about $2.55 million a year
- Now: about $3.81 million a year
- That is an increase of roughly 49%.
The pool has also grown slightly. All-time rewards are up from 1.25 million to 1.30 million USD1, so about 50,000 USD1 has been added since launch.
How Long The Reward Pool Lasts At Today’s Rate
The gap between all-time and available rewards shows how much has already been allocated. It has grown from 80,000 USD1 on October 14 to 230,000 USD1 now. In other words, about 150,000 USD1 has gone out in 16 days.
If the current implied payout of about $3.81 million a year stayed the same, and nothing more were added, the 1.07 million USD1 still available would last about 103 days.
New stakes are locked for 180 days. Someone who stakes today is locked until about April 28, 2027. The pool, at the current rate, would be empty in early February. On October 14, the remaining 1.17 million USD1 would have lasted about 167 days at that day’s rate, so the gap has grown in two weeks.
The dashboard is clear that rewards are not guaranteed, and that “today’s rate does not represent what you will earn over your staking period”. World Liberty Financial has already added to the pool once and can do so again. Without more top-ups, though, the advertised 92% rate can’t hold for the full lock period.
When The First Locks Open
The earliest stakers, from October 1, can withdraw from about March 30, 2027. Every week of staking since then adds another batch of tokens unlocking roughly 26 weeks later.
The lock requirement goes back to a March governance vote. The 180-day staking proposal on World Liberty Financial’s Snapshot page passed with more than 99% in favor. The same proposal set up a “super node” tier for wallets staking 50 million WLFI. For scale, the entire staking contract holds enough today for barely more than one and a half super nodes.
So the updated figure is 0.26% of circulating supply in a contract that keeps growing. Growth has slowed, the displayed reward rate is high mainly because the token price fell, and at the current payout rate the USD1 pool runs out well before the first locks end. Holders deciding whether to stake for 180 days should look at those numbers alongside the 92% rate.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!