A public feud between Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, and WLFI, a crypto project linked to the Trump family, has escalated after Sun denounced a new governance proposal as 'one of the most absurd governance scams' he has encountered. In a detailed post, Sun accused WLFI of designing a vote that penalizes token holders who oppose the proposal, potentially locking their tokens indefinitely. He also alleged that he and other major holders had been excluded from the voting process, claiming that tokens representing about 4% of the voting power under his control had been frozen. Furthermore, Sun questioned the legitimacy of the vote, suggesting that control over the protocol lies with anonymous wallet addresses, including a multisignature setup that can override outcomes and a separate account with the power to blacklist users.
Sun stated, 'This proposal is not governance, it is an exercise of power by a select few who are carefully engineering a further power consolidation and property expropriation operation.' The controversy surrounds WLFI's proposal to overhaul token lockups across its ecosystem, affecting over 62 billion WLFI tokens with new terms including multi-year lockups and vesting schedules. Insiders, such as team members and partners, would face a two-year lockup followed by a three-year gradual release, alongside a 10% token burn upon opting in. Token holders who do not accept the new terms would remain locked indefinitely. Simon Dedic, founder of Moonrock Capital, also criticized the move, stating that early investors had been 'rugged' by the Trump family themselves.
A spokesperson for World Liberty Financial defended the proposal, saying it was designed to 'further align all participants in the WLFI ecosystem for the long-run' and ensure 'healthy market supply.' The backlash marks the latest episode in the deteriorating relationship between Sun and WLFI, which has been building for months and includes previous accusations of user exploitation and threats of legal action.