Tron founder Justin Sun has initiated a lawsuit against World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm with ties to the family of former US President Donald Trump. The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, claims that World Liberty unfairly froze Sun's $WLFI token holdings, engaged in fraudulent activities, and made defamatory statements against him.
According to the lawsuit, Sun had invested $45 million in $WLFI tokens after being approached by World Liberty's team in 2024, partly due to the project's association with the Trump family. However, when Sun declined to continue investing in 2025, including a request to mint World Liberty's USD1 stablecoin, the company's principals allegedly became hostile towards him. The lawsuit alleges that World Liberty made false representations about the economic rights and liberties associated with purchasing $WLFI tokens, including statements about token holders' rights and the freedom to transact.
Sun's suit also claims that World Liberty, despite presenting itself as a decentralized finance business, has centralized control over its tokens. The company is accused of modifying the smart contract governing $WLFI in August 2025 to add a 'blacklisting' function, allowing it to freeze tokens in specific wallets without disclosing this to investors. The complaint argues that this modification was used to pressure Sun into minting $200 million of the company's USD1 stablecoin and to manipulate the market price of $WLFI tokens.
The lawsuit raises regulatory concerns, suggesting that World Liberty's ability to issue, freeze, and reassign tokens may qualify it as a money transmitter, subjecting it to registration and anti-money laundering requirements. Other allegations include threats made by World Liberty's co-founder, Chase Herro, against Sun and his businesses. Sun has stated that he tried to resolve the situation amicably and seeks equal treatment as other early investors who received tokens.