Tron founder Justin Sun has initiated a lawsuit against World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm with ties to the family of former U.S. President Donald Trump, alleging the company wrongly locked his $WLFI token holdings, made false claims, and threatened him. The lawsuit, which mentions Sun's support for Trump, claims World Liberty's management engaged in an illegal scheme to seize his tokens, which he purchased after being approached by the company in 2024. According to the filing, Sun invested $45 million in $WLFI tokens due to the project's decentralized finance goals and its association with the Trump family.
A World Liberty Financial spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit. The company had asked Sun to continue investing in 2025, including a request to mint its USD1 stablecoin. However, when it became clear that Sun would not invest on their terms by July 2025, World Liberty's principals allegedly became hostile towards him. The lawsuit claims that World Liberty induced Sun to invest through fraudulent misrepresentations about the economic rights and liberties associated with purchasing $WLFI tokens.
These misrepresentations allegedly include statements about token holder rights, governance rights, and the 'freedom to transact.' Sun's suit also claims that World Liberty, despite presenting itself as a decentralized finance business, had centralized control over its tokens. The complaint states 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 to investors. The modification was not put to a governance vote, even as token holders had just approved a proposal to make a portion of the supply tradable. The lawsuit alleges that World Liberty's freezing of Sun's tokens served to pressure him into minting $200 million of the company's USD1 stablecoin on his Tron blockchain and to manipulate $WLFI's market price by preventing one of the largest holders from selling.
By locking up Sun's position, the complaint argues, World Liberty artificially supported the market price of $WLFI tokens held by the company's founders and its corporate treasury. The filing also raises regulatory questions, suggesting that World Liberty's ability to issue, freeze, and reassign tokens could qualify it as a money transmitter under U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network rules, subjecting it to registration and anti-money laundering requirements.
Other allegations include threats made by World Liberty co-founder Chase Herro to burn Sun's $WLFI tokens if he did not request their burning and to report Sun to U.S. authorities over allegedly inadequate know-your-customer documentation. Parts of the lawsuit were redacted, with Sun's team giving World Liberty the opportunity to decide whether these provisions should remain sealed.
In a social media post, Sun stated that he had attempted to resolve the situation in good faith and sought equal treatment as other early investors. He also expressed opposition to World Liberty's new governance proposal published on April 15.
Since Trump took office, Sun has visited the U.S. after previously avoiding the country, including attending a dinner event related to a different Trump-linked crypto project. Recently, Sun settled charges with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, agreeing to pay a $10 million fine to resolve a case from the previous presidential administration.