Tron founder Justin Sun has taken legal action against World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm with ties to the family of former US President Donald Trump, alleging that the company locked up his $WLFI token holdings without justification, made false representations, and threatened him. The lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday, claims that World Liberty's leadership engaged in an unlawful scheme to seize Sun's tokens, which he had purchased after being approached by the company's team in 2024. According to the suit, Sun invested $45 million in $WLFI tokens due to the project's claims about promoting decentralized finance, an issue he is deeply passionate about, as well as the Trump family's involvement with the project.
A spokesperson for World Liberty Financial 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, World Liberty's principals became hostile towards him. The lawsuit alleges that World Liberty made fraudulent misrepresentations about the economic rights and liberties associated with purchasing $WLFI tokens, including 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, has 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 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 the market price of $WLFI tokens. 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 concerns, suggesting that World Liberty's ability to issue, freeze, and reassign tokens may qualify it as a money transmitter under US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network rules, subjecting it to registration and anti-money laundering requirements. Other allegations include threats made by World Liberty's co-founder, Chase Herro, to burn Sun's $WLFI tokens and to report him to US authorities.
Portions of the lawsuit have been 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 to be treated equally to other early investors. He also expressed opposition to a new governance proposal published by World Liberty on April 15.