A heated public dispute between Tron founder Justin Sun and the Trump-linked cryptocurrency project WLFI escalated on Wednesday after Sun vehemently criticized a newly proposed governance plan, labeling it as 'one of the most absurd governance scams' he has encountered. In a detailed post, Sun accused the project of devising a vote that penalizes dissenting voices, with token holders who oppose the proposal facing the risk of having their tokens locked indefinitely. Furthermore, he claimed that he and other significant holders were excluded from the voting process, stating that tokens representing approximately 4% of the voting power under his control had been frozen.

Sun also questioned the legitimacy of the vote, suggesting that control over the protocol rests with anonymous wallet addresses, including a multisignature setup capable of overriding outcomes and a separate account with the authority to blacklist users. 'This proposal does not represent governance,' Sun stated.

'It is an exercise of power by a select few who are carefully orchestrating a further consolidation of power and expropriation of property.' The criticism revolves around WLFI's new proposal to overhaul token lockups across the ecosystem, with over 62 billion WLFI tokens subject to new terms, including multi-year lockups and vesting schedules. Under the plan, tokens held by insiders would face a two-year lockup followed by a three-year gradual release, alongside a 10% token burn upon opting in.

Early supporters would have slightly shorter vesting terms but no burn, with up to 4.5 billion tokens potentially being permanently destroyed. Holders who do not accept the new terms would remain locked indefinitely, according to the proposal. Sun is not alone in his criticism, as Simon Dedic, founder of Moonrock Capital, expressed that early investors had been 'rugged.' A spokesperson for World Liberty Financial stated that the proposal was designed to further align all participants in the WLFI ecosystem for the long term, aiming to ensure long-term participation and a healthy market supply.

The backlash marks the latest episode in the deteriorating relationship between Sun and the project, with tensions building over months.