- WLFI buybacks and burns stirred excitement, but unburned Solana reserves worth $638K keep traders watching closely for next moves.
- Market mood flipped fast as funding rates turned negative after mid-September, leaving long traders exposed and sentiment shaken.
- WLFI hit $0.26 before sliding near $0.18, and with open interest cooling, traders now face a market stuck in neutral territory.
World Liberty Financial (WLFI) is shaking up the crypto market with bold buyback and burn actions.
According to blockchain tracker Lookonchain, the project repurchased 6.04 million WLFI tokens worth $1.06 million and later burned 7.89 million tokens valued at $1.43 million. The move followed fee collections across Solana, BSC, and Ethereum. However, 3.06 million WLFI worth $638,000 still remain unburned on Solana.
Besides these direct market moves, WLFI’s price performance has kept traders on edge. On Coinglass, the token’s value ranged between $0.20 and $0.25 between September 10 and 26. Price levels peaked around mid-September near $0.25 but steadily declined after September 16. Consequently, prices now hover around $0.20 to $0.21.
Funding Rates and Market Sentiment
Moreover, WLFI’s funding rate history reveals clear sentiment swings. Early September showed positive funding rates as longs dominated. Bitget led the pack with highs above 0.15% between September 10 and 15.
However, conditions shifted after September 16. Negative funding rates took over, especially between September 21 and 23. Binance, Bitmex, and Crypto.com recorded rates below -0.10% during this bearish phase. Hence, long traders began facing heavy penalties as sentiment turned.
Additionally, the eight-hour funding structure highlighted contrasting exchange behaviors. While some platforms stayed neutral, others displayed sharp deviations in both directions. This underlined fragmented trader sentiment across different exchanges.
Technical Picture and Open Interest
The Coinalyze chart from September 21 to 27 shows the WLFI price at $0.2074, down 0.18%. Resistance formed at $0.26 on September 21 as sharp sell-offs capped gains. However, prices later consolidated between $0.19 and $0.21 through September 25. On September 25, WLFI even tested lows near $0.18 before bouncing back.
Furthermore, open interest started above 460 million during the initial surge but later cooled to around 460.502 million. Volume spikes matched volatile sessions, reinforcing the link between trader activity and sharp price swings. Currently, technical indicators suggest WLFI has entered a neutral zone.
WLFI’s aggressive buyback and burn program has energized the market. However, the funding rate swings and failed resistance tests show sentiment remains fragile.
