Why is the Trump family project WLFI collaborating with Kernel DAO?

According to community voting, the support rate for the tradable proposal of WLFI exceeds 99.9%, while KERNEL's maximum rise exceeds 30%. What is the connection between the two projects?

Written by: Nicky, ForesightNews

On July 10, the official page of the Trump family's crypto project World Liberty Financial (WLFI) showed that the community vote on its token transferability proposal has entered its final stage — with a support rate of 99.93% and an opposition rate of only 0.07%. The voting will conclude on July 17. If the proposal passes, WLFI will officially launch "transferability."

On May 28 this year, WLFI announced its integration of USD1 with Kernel DAO, becoming a re-stakable asset. The core of this cooperation is to upgrade stablecoins from traditional "static lending tools" to "dynamic infrastructure supporters." For WLFI, this means its stablecoin can provide economic security guarantees for third-party applications; for Kernel DAO, it is a key opportunity to validate the feasibility of its re-staking model.

Affected by this news, KERNEL's maximum rise on that day exceeded 23%, and then it fell from $0.206 all the way down to $0.999 on June 22. As of the time of this writing, KERNEL's price has retraced from the rise to around $0.115 today, and investors should be aware of the risks.

WLFI×Kernel DAO: The "Third-party Security Empowerment" Experiment at USD1

The USD1 stablecoin of WLFI, which previously existed mainly as a circulating medium within its ecosystem. According to WLFI's official description, the integration with Kernel DAO now allows users to stake USD1 to the Kernel network, making it a "re-stakable asset" — this portion of the asset can not only provide economic security for applications within the Kernel ecosystem but also earn Kernel points as rewards simultaneously.

The essence of this mechanism is to transform stablecoins from "idle assets in the funding pool" into "energy units that support decentralized infrastructure." In traditional lending models, the returns on stablecoins primarily come from borrowing demand (annual returns of about 2% - 4%), with funds locked in and limited in use; however, through Kernel DAO, the sources of returns for USD1 are expanded to support various infrastructures such as Rollup sequencers, decentralized oracles, and data availability networks. The operation of these infrastructures requires stable financial support, so users holding USD1 essentially become "distributed security nodes," with returns dynamically adjusted as demand grows.

For users, the appeal of re-staking lies in "yield enhancement" and "function expansion". The USD1 after re-staking maintains high liquidity: users can deposit it into stablecoin pools on platforms like Curve to earn additional yields, or use it as collateral to participate in lending, structured products, and other strategies. This means that the "operating mode" of USD1 has upgraded from "single power supply" to "multi-line collaboration", supporting network operations while providing users with staking rewards.

Kernel DAO: The Infrastructure Service Provider for Cross-Chain Re-Staking

To understand why WLFI chose to collaborate with Kernel DAO, it is necessary to clarify what Kernel DAO is.

Kernel DAO is a DeFi protocol focused on re-staking technology, with the core goal of activating the utility of existing assets through the "re-staking" model. The so-called "re-staking" refers to users re-investing their staked assets (such as stablecoins) into a decentralized network, while supporting multiple protocols or infrastructures, thereby breaking the traditional staking limitations of "asset locking and single yield."

Kernel DAO's business covers multiple public chains, with core products including:

• Kernel: A cross-chain re-staking protocol running on the BNB Chain, allowing users to stake assets such as BNB and BUSD, which are then algorithmically allocated to different decentralized validator networks (DVNs), providing security for infrastructure such as Rollup sequencers, oracles, and data availability networks;
• Kelp: A liquidity re-staking protocol on Ethereum, focusing on the release of liquidity for staked assets within the Ethereum ecosystem. Users can earn additional returns by re-staking LP (Liquidity Pool) tokens;
• Gain: RWA tokenized yield protocol, which transforms traditional financial assets such as real estate and corporate bonds into on-chain yields through compliant means, promoting the connection between DeFi and the real economy.

These three products are governed by the KERNEL token, and early supporters and ecosystem participants can earn incentives through staking or contributions. Currently, the KERNEL token has been listed on major exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase, Upbit (BTC/USDT trading pair), and Bithumb (Korean won trading pair).

According to DefiLlama data, as of the publication date on July 10, 2025, the total value locked (TVL) of Kernel DAO reached 1.47 billion USD, with Kernel's TVL being approximately 132 million USD.

Current Status and Potential: The "Early Stage" Characteristics Behind $6370

Although the collaboration between WLFI and Kernel DAO is seen as an experiment in "stablecoin re-staking," the current data still appears immature. According to the Kernel official website, as of today, the total amount of USD1 re-staked in Kernel is only $6,370. This figure is almost negligible compared to Kernel DAO's total locked value (TVL) of $1.47 billion and Kernel's TVL of $132 million.

However, "small base" also means growth potential. From the industry trend, the re-staking model of stablecoins is on the rise: the low yield of traditional lending (3% APY) contrasts sharply with the high yield of re-staking (approximately 5%, which can exceed 10% after adding liquidity strategies), and more and more users are starting to pay attention to the new paradigm of "involving stablecoins in infrastructure support."

If the community vote for WLFI passes smoothly, the "re-staking entry" of USD1 will be further opened, encouraging more users to shift from "holding" to "participating". Perhaps in the future, WLFI will also join the ranks of re-staking, injecting incremental funds into Kernel DAO.

Conclusion: The "Second Curve" Experiment of Stablecoins

The collaboration between WLFI and Kernel DAO is not just a functional upgrade of a single stablecoin, but also a re-empowerment of the stablecoin's value, which will be redefined in terms of value dimensions. The value of traditional stablecoins remains at "medium of exchange" or "store of value," while the re-staking model allows them to become "co-builders of infrastructure" — this may be the "second curve" of stablecoins.

For investors, the story of Kernel DAO is just beginning: the $6370 re-staking amount is a starting point rather than an endpoint, and with the push from WLFI, its growth potential is worth paying attention to. Of course, risks also exist — re-staking relies on the stability of the infrastructure, and if the validating nodes fail or there are vulnerabilities in the smart contracts, it could affect returns or even the safety of the principal.