Trump-backed crypto venture claims defense against coordinated stablecoin assault
On Monday, World Liberty Financial's USD1 stablecoin temporarily deviated from its dollar peg during what the firm described as a coordinated offensive involving compensated social media personalities, market short-sellers, and cyber attackers.
The cryptocurrency venture World Liberty Financial, which has the backing of United States President Donald Trump along with his sons, announced it had become the target of cyber attackers, "paid influencers," and market short sellers in a coordinated effort designed to "manufacture chaos" targeting its USD1 stablecoin.
Through a Monday posting on X, World Liberty disclosed that the assault, which took place earlier during the morning hours, ultimately proved unsuccessful after cyber criminals went after "several WLFI cofounder accounts," established "massive shorts" betting against the firm's WLFI token, and "paid influencers to spread FUD [fear, uncertainty, and doubt]."
During the period of "manufactured chaos," the WLFI token's value decreased by approximately 7%, the company stated, though it was exchanging hands at $0.1128 when this report was compiled. The USD1 stablecoin experienced a similar decline to roughly $0.994, momentarily breaking away from its peg to the United States dollar, prior to recovering to above $0.999.
"Thanks to USD1's sound mint-and-redeem mechanism and full 1:1 backing, we are trading steadily at par," said World Liberty. No scammer can shake the long-term commitment of the entire WLFI team and cofounders to USD1."
This assault occurred merely days following a cryptocurrency forum organized by World Liberty at the president's private Mar-a-Lago resort located in Florida, which featured presenters from the United States government, representatives from the crypto and banking sectors, and Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of Binance, who received a presidential pardon in October 2025. A Forbes publication from Feb. 9 indicated that Binance possesses approximately 87% of the USD1 currently in circulation, representing a value of roughly $4.7 billion at that point in time.
Ties between WLFI and Binance are still under scrutiny
Several United States legislators are raising questions regarding possible connections linking World Liberty and various Binance entities following Trump's pardoning of Zhao.
The former chief executive had been prohibited from assuming a leadership position at Binance as part of a 2023 agreement with United States authorities, under which he subsequently served a four-month prison sentence, however the presidential pardon would effectively permit him to lawfully return. In January, Zhao stated there were "no business relationships whatsoever" existing between himself and the Trump family, and he had no intentions of returning to a leadership role at Binance.
Both Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal have published reports indicating that Binance played a role in helping to create USD1. The stablecoin was additionally utilized to settle a $2 billion capital investment by UAE-based company MGX into Binance in March 2025, which gave rise to accusations of conflicts of interest stemming from WLFI's connections to the president's family.