A major investor in World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company backed by the family of former U.S. President Donald Trump, has claimed that the firm secretly implemented a mechanism to unilaterally freeze and restrict his private holdings of WLFI tokens.
On Sunday, Justin Sun, founder of the Tron blockchain, posted on social media platform X that World Liberty embedded what he described as a "backdoor blacklist function" within the blockchain-based contract governing its tokens. Sun did not provide evidence to support his claim.
He wrote that this feature grants World Liberty unilateral power to freeze, restrict, and effectively confiscate the property rights of any token holder without prior notice, justification, or any avenue for recourse.
World Liberty's official account on X responded to Sun's allegations on Sunday, stating: "We have contracts. We have evidence. We have the truth. See you in court, buddy."
World Liberty is one of the most prominent among several profitable cryptocurrency ventures co-founded by the Trump family. The company announced in 2024 that it would empower small investors with control over capital flows through a decentralized finance application, though the application has yet to launch.
An analysis released last year indicated that World Liberty generated over $460 million in revenue for the Trump family in the first half of 2025.
Sun became the largest publicly known investor in the then-nascent World Liberty in late 2024, spending tens of millions of dollars to purchase WLFI tokens and being appointed as an advisor to the company. According to a social media post he made in January 2025, he later acquired additional tokens worth at least $75 million.
In a 2024 interview, Sun described his investment as a vote of confidence in the Trump family's "exceptional projects."
In March of this year, Sun reached a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, paying $10 million to resolve a lawsuit filed in 2023. The suit accused Sun of fraudulent activities, including selling unregistered crypto securities and concealing promotional payments made to celebrities. Sun did not admit to any wrongdoing.
World Liberty's risk disclosure statement notes that the company reserves the right to freeze wallet addresses and associated tokens it deems linked to illegal activities or violations of its terms.
Other cryptocurrency firms, such as Tether, the world's largest stablecoin issuer, also possess the authority to freeze user tokens. According to previous statements from Tether, such actions are typically taken when illegal use is suspected or at the request of law enforcement.
In his Sunday post on X, Sun claimed that World Liberty wrongly blacklisted his WLFI token wallet in 2025, making him the "first and largest victim" of this World Liberty tool. His tokens were frozen last September. At that time, World Liberty stated it had no intention of blacklisting anyone and was merely responding to "malicious or high-risk activities that could harm community members."
On Monday, Sun referenced unspecified blockchain records on X, claiming they showed his digital wallet was "blacklisted" by an account possessing special administrative privileges.
Sun asserted that this proves a single individual at World Liberty has the power to freeze any token holder's assets. "Who is this person?" he asked.
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