A highly publicized dispute between Justin Sun, founder of Tron, and WLFI, a crypto project linked to the Trump family, has escalated following Sun's sharp criticism of a new governance proposal. Sun described the proposal as 'one of the most absurd governance scams' he has encountered, alleging it is designed to punish token holders who vote against it by locking their tokens indefinitely.
He also claimed that he and other significant holders have been excluded from the voting process, with tokens representing about 4% of the voting power under his control being frozen. 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 capable of blacklisting users. The proposal in question would overhaul token lockups across the WLFI ecosystem, affecting over 62 billion tokens with new terms including multi-year lockups and vesting schedules. Insiders, such as team members and advisors, would face a two-year lockup followed by a three-year gradual release, alongside a 10% token burn upon opting in.
Holders who do not accept the new terms would remain locked indefinitely. Sun's criticism was echoed by Simon Dedic, founder of Moonrock Capital, who stated that early investors had been 'rugged' by the proposal. A spokesperson for World Liberty Financial defended the proposal, stating it was designed to align all participants in the WLFI ecosystem for the long term and ensure healthy market supply. The backlash marks the latest episode in the deteriorating relationship between Sun and WLFI, which has been escalating over months following disagreements over the project's handling of user funds and governance.