USD1 slipped to $0.99707 on Monday before rebounding toward its $1 peg, according to price data. The brief deviation followed claims by World Liberty Financial of a coordinated short and social media attack targeting the Trump-backed stablecoin.
World Liberty Financial said attackers compromised several cofounder accounts, paid influencers to spread negative sentiment, and opened large short positions in its free-floating WLFI token. The company stated that USD1’s mint-and-redeem mechanism and full 1:1 reserve backing stabilized trading, while WLFI fell about 3% during the episode.
A coordinated attack was launched against USD1 this morning. Attackers hacked several WLFI cofounder accounts, paid influencers to spread FUD, and opened massive $WLFI shorts to profit from the manufactured chaos.
— WLFI (@worldlibertyfi) February 23, 2026
It didn’t work.
Thanks to USD1’s sound mint-and-redeem mechanism…
Was USD1’s Dip A Depeg Or Market Noise?
Small stablecoin price deviations are common across exchanges due to liquidity spreads and arbitrage lags. Market participants generally do not classify fluctuations of 0.01% to 0.03% as a depeg unless the discount persists, raising the question of whether Monday’s move reflected structural stress or short-term volatility.
USD1 is backed by reserves custodied at BitGo, including short-term U.S. Treasuries, according to the company. The mechanics of the alleged attack remain unclear, though market observer Wu Blockchain reported that co-founder Eric Trump deleted several posts on X before the token’s move lower.
The incident arrives amid broader scrutiny of World Liberty Financial’s operations. Earlier this year, WLTC Holdings LLC applied to establish a national trust bank to expand USD1 services, while a United Arab Emirates-based entity used the token to facilitate a $2 billion investment in Binance, intensifying debate around political and cross-border ties.
Stablecoin resilience often hinges less on momentary price prints and more on redemption throughput under stress. The next catalyst will be whether on-chain redemption data and reserve attestations confirm uninterrupted convertibility as USD1 seeks wider institutional adoption.
