Gemini

DeFi

World Liberty Financial

<p>The first week of September turned out to be quite eventful for crypto. Trump-backed World Liberty Financial (WLFI) grabbed most of the spotlight with its token launch, wallet freezes, and a big token burn. On the other side, Gemini rolled out its IPO plans, DeFi got hit by back-to-back hacks, and Ethereum’s StarkNet ran into issues right after a major upgrade. Here’s a quick rundown of it all.&nbsp;</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="top-headlines-of-the-week">Top Headlines of the Week</h2>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="wlfi-launches-across-major-exchanges">WLFI Launches Across Major Exchanges</h3>
<p>World Liberty Financial, the much-hyped Trump-family-backed DeFi project, <a href="https://www.cryptotimes.io/2025/09/01/world-liberty-fis-wlfi-token-officially-goes-live-for-trading/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">finally rolled out its WLFI token</a> this week. Priced at $0.20, the token hit both decentralized exchanges like Uniswap, Raydium, and PancakeSwap, as well as big centralized players, including Binance, Kraken, and Upbit.</p>
<p>Within hours, WLFI pulled in more than $60 million in DEX trading volume. Donald Trump Jr. called it a “big day” and claimed WLFI would serve as the “governance backbone of a real ecosystem.”</p>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="justin-sun-s-wallet-blacklisted">Justin Sun’s Wallet Blacklisted</h3>
<p>Not long after launch, WLFI made an eyebrow-raising move, blacklisting an address tied to its key investor, Tron founder Justin Sun. The decision froze 595 million WLFI tokens worth around $107 million.</p>
<p>Blockchain records showed <a href="https://www.cryptotimes.io/2025/09/05/wlfi-blacklisted-justin-suns-wallet-for-moving-9-million/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Sun had moved roughly $9 million</a> worth of tokens in test transfers before the blacklist hit. Sun denied any intention of selling, calling them simple “exchange deposit tests.”</p>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="wlfi-freezes-wallets-burns-tokens">WLFI Freezes Wallets, Burns Tokens</h3>
<p>WLFI’s week didn’t stop there. The project <a href="https://www.cryptotimes.io/2025/09/06/trump-backed-wlfi-freezes-272-wallets-over-security-threats/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">froze 272 wallets</a> in what it said was an attempt to counter potential security threats. To further tighten tokenomics, WLFI also burned 47 million tokens worth over $11 million by sending them to the null address.</p>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="gemini-pushes-for-2-2b-ipo">Gemini Pushes for $2.2B IPO</h3>
<p>The Winklevoss-led exchange <a href="https://www.cryptotimes.io/2025/09/02/crypto-exchange-gemini-aims-2-2b-valuation-for-its-u-s-ipo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Gemini is officially aiming for a $2.2 billion valuation</a> in its U.S. IPO. It plans to list 16.7 million Class A shares on Nasdaq under the ticker “GEMI,” priced between $17 and $19 each. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and Cantor are leading the process.</p>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="two-defi-hacks-hit-in-a-single-day">Two DeFi Hacks Hit in a Single Day</h3>
<p>September 2 proved a rough day for DeFi.</p>
<ul>
 <li>Venus Protocol suffered a phishing exploit that <a href="https://www.cryptotimes.io/2025/09/03/venus-protocol-fully-resumes-after-27m-phishing-exploit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">drained around $27 million</a> from one user. Venus managed to <a href="https://www.cryptotimes.io/2025/09/05/venus-recovers-13m-after-phishing-attack-disrupts-protocol/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">recover about $13 million</a> and has since resumed operations.</li>
 <li>Bunni, a DEX, disclosed that a <a href="https://www.cryptotimes.io/2025/09/05/bunni-reveals-code-flaw-behind-8-4-million-exploit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">rounding bug in its smart contract was exploited</a> for $8.4 million. The attacker manipulated liquidity pools through a flash loan exploit.</li>
</ul>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="cftc-clears-polymarket">CFTC Clears Polymarket</h3>
<p>Prediction market Polymarket, which gained traction during the 2024 U.S. elections, got a green light to <a href="https://www.cryptotimes.io/2025/09/04/cftc-approves-polymarket-to-launch-crypto-platform-in-the-us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">operate in the U.S. under a no-action letter from the CFTC</a>. The move gives the platform room to expand under certain conditions without facing enforcement.</p>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="starknet-goes-down-after-upgrade">StarkNet Goes Down After Upgrade</h3>
<p>Ethereum layer-2 <a href="https://www.cryptotimes.io/2025/09/02/ethereum-l2-starknet-faces-outage-a-day-after-major-upgrade/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">StarkNet faced an outage</a> just a day after a major upgrade. Block production stopped at 4:36 AM UTC on Sept. 2, with no transactions going through for hours. The StarkNet team confirmed the issue and said it was working to bring the network back online.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="news-you-might-have-missed">News You Might Have Missed</h2>
<ul>
 <li>Ripple rolled out its dollar-backed <a href="https://www.cryptotimes.io/2025/09/04/ripple-expands-rlusd-across-africa-with-local-exchanges/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">stablecoin RLUSD across Africa</a> with help from Chipper Cash, VALR, and Yellow Card.</li>
 <li>Uniswap governance is weighing a <a href="https://www.cryptotimes.io/2025/09/04/uniswap-votes-on-wyoming-entity-duni-for-off-chain-ops/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">proposal to set up a Wyoming entity</a>, DUNI, to handle off-chain operations while keeping on-chain governance intact.</li>
 <li>El Salvador announced Bitcoin Histórico, the <a href="https://www.cryptotimes.io/2025/09/02/el-salvador-to-host-first-government-backed-bitcoin-conference/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">first government-backed Bitcoin conference</a>, set for November 12–13 in San Salvador.</li>
</ul>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="top-highlight">Top Highlight</h2>
<p>One of Ethereum’s earliest investors reappeared after eight years of dormancy. The ICO participant, who put in $310,000 back in 2015, received 1 million ETH at the time. Now worth $4.3 billion, part of those holdings were finally moved, with <a href="https://www.cryptotimes.io/2025/09/06/ethereum-ico-whale-stakes-646m-as-price-holds-above-4-3k/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">150,000 ETH ($645M)</a> sent to a new staking wallet. Even after the transfer, the whale still controls another 105,000 ETH ($451.5M).</p>
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       <p>An <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ethereum?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">#Ethereum</a> ICO participant who received 1,000,000 <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24ETH&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$ETH</a> just woke up after 8 years of dormancy.<br><br>He moved 150,000 <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24ETH&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$ETH</a>($645M) to a new wallet for staking. <br><br>He invested $310K in the ICO via 3 wallets and received 1,000,000 <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24ETH&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$ETH</a> — now worth $4.3B.<br><br>After staking 150,000 <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24ETH&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$ETH</a>, he… <a href="https://t.co/B5CBTBJ2O5" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">pic.twitter.com/B5CBTBJ2O5</a></p>— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) <a href="https://twitter.com/lookonchain/status/1963770197871046708?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">September 5, 2025</a>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="what-to-expect-next-week">What to Expect Next Week?</h2>
<p>WLFI stays in focus after a messy first week that mixed hype with drama. Gemini’s IPO plans are set to draw Wall Street’s attention, DeFi platforms remain cautious after the hacks, and all eyes are on Bitcoin to see if it can hold above $110K as September trading picks up.</p>

Weekly Wrap: WLFI Token Drama, Gemini IPO, StarkNet Outage

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The Crypto Times

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