The long-simmering conflict between the crypto company owned by the Trump family and one of its main investors has burst into the public eye, with accusations of corruption and threats of legal action being exchanged. This feud coincides with other developments affecting World Liberty Financial, causing the company’s native WLFI token to drop to an all-time low over the weekend. Presently, the token is trading at just under $0.08, a 20% decline in the past week and over 76% off its value shortly after it became tradable last fall, hitting a low of $0.077 on Saturday.
After President Donald Trump’s speculated re-election in 2024, Justin Sun, the controversial founder of the Tron blockchain, acquired millions of dollars worth of WLFI from World Liberty. This purchase positioned him as the largest holder of the token, which allows holders to vote on certain governance proposals within World Liberty.
In September, following claims that Sun began transferring millions’ worth of his WLFI holdings, World Liberty blacklisted Sun’s wallet and froze his tokens, asserting that such actions violated the terms of his initial investment. Sun maintained he had no intention to sell the tokens, an act possibly restricted by his agreement with the company.
Sun urged those behind the official account to identify themselves publicly, accusing the WLFI team of embedding secret backdoors in their smart contracts to freeze any holder’s tokens without notice or recourse—an action contrary to crypto decentralization principles. On Sunday, Sun intensified his accusations against World Liberty, stating they treated the crypto community as a personal ATM and labeling its leaders, including Trump family members, as “bad actors.” He called for an unlock of all previously frozen tokens and disclosure of those controlling the company’s smart contracts.
World Liberty countered by dismissing Sun’s demands, characterizing him as an offender. The company stated in a Sunday statement that Sun often portrays himself as a victim while making baseless allegations to deflect from his own misconduct, hinting at potential legal action.
Sun did not respond to Decrypt’s requests for comment, and World Liberty directed inquiries to its X posts. This dispute is significant given the political ties between Sun and Trump’s administration. After Sun invested heavily in WLFI tokens and bought President Donald Trump’s official meme coin, a settlement was reached with the SEC over a fraud case involving Sun, leading to the resignation of the agency’s enforcement head.
Despite this public spat, its impact on Congress seems limited, as Democrats have previously used Sun as an example of “Trump’s crypto corruption.” If Democrats regain control in November—an event with 90% odds according to Polymarket—both World Liberty and Sun may face intensified scrutiny.