Tron Founder Justin Sun Sues Trump-Linked World Liberty Financial Over Frozen Assets

Justin Sun, the creator of Tron, has filed a lawsuit against World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture backed by members of President Donald Trump's family. Sun alleges that the firm unfairly locked his $WLFI tokens and engaged in a fraudulent scheme to seize his property through misrepresentations regarding token rights. The dispute stems from a $45 million investment Sun made in 2024, which he claims was driven by the project's promises to promote decentralized finance (DeFi) and the Trump family's association with the venture. According to the filing, relations between the parties deteriorated in July 2025 after Sun declined to mint the company's USD1 stablecoin on their specific terms. A central claim in the lawsuit is that World Liberty modified its smart contract in August 2025 to introduce a 'blacklisting' feature. Sun asserts this change was implemented without a governance vote or disclosure to investors, effectively allowing the company to freeze specific wallets without warning. Sun argues the freeze served a dual purpose: pressuring him to mint $200 million of the company's USD1 stablecoin on the Tron blockchain and manipulating the market price of $WLFI by preventing a major holder from selling. By locking his position, the complaint argues the company artificially propped up the token's value for its founders and treasury. Furthermore, the lawsuit suggests that these centralized controls could classify World Liberty as a money transmitter under U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) rules, potentially subjecting the firm to strict registration and anti-money laundering requirements. The filing also includes allegations of threats made by co-founder Chase Herro regarding the burning of tokens and reports to U.S. authorities.