Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, has initiated a lawsuit against World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm with ties to the family of former US President Donald Trump. The lawsuit alleges that World Liberty froze Sun's $WLFI token holdings without justification, made false representations, and engaged in threatening behavior.
According to the lawsuit, Sun had invested $45 million in $WLFI tokens after being approached by World Liberty in 2024, partly due to the project's connection to the Trump family. However, when Sun declined to invest further in 2025, World Liberty's attitude towards him became hostile. The lawsuit claims that World Liberty made fraudulent statements about the rights and freedoms associated with purchasing $WLFI tokens, including claims about governance rights and the ability to transact freely. It is also alleged that World Liberty modified the smart contract governing $WLFI in August 2025 to add a 'blacklisting' function, allowing the company to freeze tokens in specific wallets without disclosing this change to investors.
The complaint argues that this modification was used to pressure Sun into minting $200 million of World Liberty's USD1 stablecoin and to manipulate the market price of $WLFI tokens. The lawsuit raises concerns about World Liberty's centralized control over its tokens and potential regulatory implications. Other allegations include threats made by World Liberty's co-founder, Chase Herro, against Sun and his businesses. Sun has stated that he attempted to resolve the issue amicably and seeks equal treatment as other early investors who received tokens.