Crypto bigwig Justin Sun is not happy. He’s calling foul after World Liberty Financial, or WLFI, froze his digital tokens. Sun says this move is “irrational” and that he’s “innocent,” demanding his assets be freed up right away.
WLFI is a DeFi project linked to former President Donald Trump and his family. Sun has been a major supporter since 2024. He first put in $30 million for tokens, later becoming an advisor. By mid-2025, his total investment reached about $75 million. Before the WLFI token launched, his holdings were reportedly worth close to $700 million, with much of it still locked away. Sun also invested in other projects tied to the presidential family, like the TRUMP memecoin. The connections between WLFI and the Tron ecosystem have also grown, with WLFI’s own stablecoin, USD1, launching natively on Tron.
World Liberty Financial Freezes Sun’s Address
The trouble started Thursday. Data analyzed by Arkham Intelligence shows WLFI added one of Sun’s addresses to a blacklist. This locked up roughly 595 million WLFI tokens. These tokens are worth about $107 million today and now cannot be moved.
The freeze came right after Sun’s address sent several large amounts of WLFI tokens on the Ethereum network. One transfer alone was $9 million, headed to a wallet linked to the HTX exchange. WLFI hasn’t said why they made this decision. But some folks guess it’s to stop Sun from selling tokens too soon. Such sales could break “no-sell” agreements and crash the market. WLFI representatives haven’t replied to requests for comment.
The incident happened while WLFI’s price was already wobbly. The token debuted on exchanges earlier in the week and quickly shot up to a high of $0.3313. However, it has since lost more than 40% of its value. It now trades around $0.1884, according to CoinGecko. In the 24 hours before the freeze, the token dropped 20%. This fall was made worse by huge deposits into big centralized exchanges like Binance, some tied to HTX.
Justin Sun’s Response: “I am Innocent”
Sun fought back on X, directly speaking to the WLFI team and the global community on Friday. He expressed his disappointment.
To the World Liberty Financials team and the global community,
As one of the early major investors in World Liberty Financials, I have contributed not only capital but also my trust and support for the future of this project. My goal has always been to grow alongside the team…
— H.E. Justin Sun 👨🚀 (Astronaut Version) (@justinsuntron)
“As one of the early major investors in World Liberty Financial, I have contributed not only capital but also my trust and support for the future of this project,” he wrote. “However, during the course of operations, my tokens were frozen irrationally.”
Sun emphasized that he acquired the tokens just like any other investor and deserves the same rights. “Tokens are sacred and inviolable; this should be the most basic value of any blockchain. It is what makes us stronger and fairer than traditional finance,” he added. He asked the team to respect these principles and unfreeze his assets to move forward together toward the project’s success. He also simply wrote “I am innocent” in another post, responding to an analysis from Nansen CEO Alex Svanevik. Svanevik had examined transaction times and concluded that Sun did not cause the recent drop in WLFI’s price.
I am innocent. https://t.co/Vg0S0PT34z
— H.E. Justin Sun 👨🚀 (Astronaut Version) (@justinsuntron)
Sun insists his transfers were just “routine tests for depositing small amounts on exchanges.” He said they weren’t purchases or sales meant to shake up the market. Still, the crypto community is split. Some are skeptical, accusing him of trying to manipulate the market.
Community Reactions
The news sparked a lot of talk on social media. Analysts like Conor Grogan from Coinbase pointed out that a Binance wallet linked to Sun received over 60 million WLFI, worth $12 million, from HTX. This represented 52.6% of that exchange’s public holdings. Others, like Quinten François, wondered if Sun promised 20% yearly returns on HTX to get deposits, then tried to sell. If so, François suggested the freeze was fair. Earlier in the week, as WLFI hit exchanges, Sun had publicly said he wouldn’t sell his unlocked tokens anytime soon.
This whole situation shines a light on the risks in major DeFi projects, especially those tied to politics. WLFI has tried to steady its token with actions like ‘burning’ and ‘rebuying’ tokens. Yet, its price still swings wildly. The WLFI token did see a 6.5% gain in the 24 hours before this article was written.