Trump Family’s World Liberty Financial Sues Crypto Billionaire Justin Sun Amid Token Freeze Dispute

World Liberty Financial, the crypto project co-founded by former President Donald Trump and his sons, has filed a defamation lawsuit against one of its biggest backers, Hong Kong-based billionaire Justin Sun. The lawsuit, filed in Florida state court and posted publicly on X, accuses Sun of launching a “public smear campaign” against the venture after Sun sued World Liberty for allegedly freezing his tokens.

Sun, founder of the Tron crypto network, had purchased $45 million worth of WLFI tokens and was initially a key adviser, helping to legitimize the Trump family’s crypto ambitions. But relations soured after World Liberty allegedly installed secret tools to block Sun from transferring his tokens once public trading began in September 2025. Sun’s lawsuit claims these freezes were illegal, while World Liberty counters that its bylaws and Terms of Sale allow such actions.

The Trump family’s crypto project also alleges that Sun engaged in market manipulation by short-selling WLFI tokens and transferring voting tokens to Binance to drive down the token’s market price. Sun denies these claims and calls the defamation suit a “meritless PR stunt.”

World Liberty’s CEO Zach Witkoff defended the lawsuit, accusing Sun of knowingly spreading falsehoods to harm token holders. Despite this legal drama, the WLFI token price briefly rallied following news of the countersuit but remains down roughly 72% since launch.

This dispute shines a harsh light on the Trump family’s crypto operations, which Reuters has reported have already netted the family over $1 billion. World Liberty’s bylaws funnel a staggering 75% of token sale revenue straight to the Trumps, raising serious questions about conflicts of interest and pay-to-play financial schemes tied to the former president’s name.

The public unraveling of this relationship between World Liberty and one of its earliest backers underscores the risks and opacity surrounding the Trump family’s ventures into unregulated financial instruments. As lawsuits fly and reputations clash, the real losers may be the investors caught in the crossfire of a crypto project built to enrich the Trump dynasty.