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Justin Sun, among the largest investors in the Trump family’s primary crypto company, claims the company is misleading investors. It’s the most prominent instance yet of a crypto insider aligned with President Donald Trump calling out his family’s crypto dealings, which Democrats have said benefit from the president’s authority.
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Sunday on X, Sun, a billionaire who is among the most recognizable figures in the crypto industry, accused the Trump group, World Liberty Financial, of setting up a system that grants company officials unilateral power over user accounts. That includes the ability to freeze them.
Sun alleges that his account has been subject to a freeze since September and that he has not been able to sell his holdings. According to analysis by the blockchain tracking group Bubblemaps, the value of the holdings Sun has allegedly been unable to move has declined by more than $80 million, to about $43 million. Sun has said he spent at least $75 million on World Liberty tokens, at one point becoming its largest investor.
“I have always been an ardent supporter of President Trump and his crypto friendly policy,” Sun wrote. However, he said, “this is the opposite of decentralization. This is a trap door marketed as an open door. I denounce the ongoing token scandals by the bad actors at WLFI.”
World Liberty responded by accusing Sun on social media of engaging in misconduct himself that warranted the freeze and seeming to threaten a lawsuit. The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Sun in 2023 with fraud over crypto trades and illicit promotion. In March, the case was dismissed after he agreed to pay a $10 million fine.
“We have the contracts. We have the evidence. We have the truth,” World Liberty wrote on X. “See you in court pal.”
A representative for World Liberty referred NBC News to the comments on its X account.
World Liberty, which was co-founded by Trump’s three sons and lists Trump as a co-founder emeritus, was launched in 2024 in the heat of Trump’s third presidential campaign. Trump was removed from any official positions at World Liberty upon taking office. The White House has said he is not involved in managing his family’s crypto holdings.
World Liberty promised to become a world leader in the crypto and decentralized finance space, and Eric Trump remains a prominent figure in the crypto world. This summer, he will be the keynote speaker at the Bitcoin 2026 conference.
Dozens of crypto platforms have launched in recent years, all touting their own tokens, each of which is governed by the companies’ own rules. Many offer certain assurances around security and how the company’s money will be handled. Some have risen in value, but broadly the values of most tokens have declined along with the broader crypto market.
The value of World Liberty’s primary token, known as WLFI, has lost 74% of its value since August, and as of Monday it was trading at around 8 cents. However, its stablecoin, USD1, ranks among the 10 most heavily used stablecoins, which are crypto tokens designed to be traded at par with one U.S. dollar. The World Liberty stablecoins have enjoyed prominence thanks to prominent partnerships and their availability on large exchanges like Binance and Kraken.
Sun’s comments come amid broader investor concern about World Liberty’s finances. In February, Blockchain data first reported by CoinDesk shows, World Liberty borrowed $75 million from another crypto group, Dolomite, and used 5% of the entire supply of WLFI as collateral. That prompted fears on social media about whether World Liberty can make good on the loan if WLFI’s value continues to decline.
World Liberty said Thursday on X that it is “nowhere near liquidation,” adding it would simply supply more collateral if the price declined any further. It said Friday that it had already repaid $25 million.
Representatives for Sun and Dolomite did not respond to requests for comment.
Austin Campbell, a crypto consultant and instructor at New York University, said concerns about the loan arrangement appear justified.
“If you took this conduct and translated it to traditional markets, you would have some problems,” he said.
A representative for the SEC did not respond to a request for comment. Last year, House Democrats devoted an entire week to calling out the Trump family’s crypto activities, accusing Trump of “profiting off the Presidency.” The White House denied any wrongdoing.
World Liberty’s governing document says a Trump family-owned company has the rights to 75% of revenues from token sales after operating expenses are deducted. On his 2025 financial disclosure form, Trump listed more than $57 million in income from World Liberty. A representative for the Trump Organization did not respond to a request for comment. The White House has previously issued blanket denials of any conflicts of interest.
Shortly before his inauguration in January 2025, Trump used a separate corporate entity to launch another crypto token known as TRUMP. Like WLFI’s, the value of TRUMP has also plummeted, and today it trades at around $2.81, compared with as much as $45 around the time it launched. A coin Melania Trump launched around the same time has taken a similar trajectory. She has denied direct involvement in managing the coin.
Rob Wile is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist covering breaking business stories for NBCNews.com.
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