Trump-Backed Stablecoin Briefly Slips as World Liberty Claims 'Coordinated Attack'
Decrypt
by Sander LutzFebruary 23, 2026
AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary
A Trump-backed stablecoin, USD1, experienced a brief dip below its dollar peg on Binance, dropping to approximately $0.98 before quickly recovering. Concurrently, World Liberty’s native token, WLFI, fell by 7%, from $0.117 to $0.109. The company attributed the incident to a "coordinated attack" involving hacked accounts, disinformation campaigns, and short-selling attempts. Despite these efforts, USD1’s robust mint-and-redeem mechanism allowed it to stabilize within minutes. World Liberty Financial, led by the Trump family, claims its engineering and security teams successfully defended against the multi-pronged assault, preventing significant damage to both USD1 and WLFI.
USD1, issued by World Liberty Financial, is currently the fifth-largest stablecoin globally with a market cap of $4.93 billion. Its brief slip occurred at around 8:15 am ET when it fell from 0.9990 USDT to 0.9802 USDT on Binance, and slightly less severe drops were reported elsewhere. The rapid recovery suggests that USD1’s infrastructure held firm under pressure. Meanwhile, WLFI’s 7% drop coincided with the attack, likely due to short positions opened by attackers. However, the token partially rebounded to $0.113 at the time of reporting.
World Liberty’s spokesperson confirmed that the company faced a coordinated effort, including hacked cofounder accounts, paid influencers spreading FUD (false information), and significant short selling. Despite these tactics, the company’s systems remained resilient, with no verified evidence supporting claims of successful hacks or disinformation campaigns. This incident highlights the vulnerabilities in crypto assets and the potential risks of manipulation in the market.
The event underscores the importance of stability and security in the cryptocurrency space. While USD1 managed to recover swiftly, such incidents raise questions about the susceptibility of even major stablecoins to coordinated attacks. For crypto investors, this serves as a reminder of the need for robust security measures and transparency in issuer practices. The incident also sheds light on the darker side of crypto markets—short selling, disinformation campaigns, and hacking attempts—as tools used by attackers to destabilize projects and profit from chaos.
Verticals
cryptoweb3
Originally published on Decrypt on 2/23/2026