Tron founder calls token freeze “unreasonable”
Tron founder and HTX advisor Justin Sun is pushing back after World Liberty Financial (WLFI) blacklisted his wallet and froze his tokens. Sun argued the move was “unreasonable” and urged the Trump family-backed DeFi project to restore his access.
The blacklisting came just hours after Sun transferred around $9 million worth of WLFI. At the same time, HTX-linked wallets sent tens of millions of WLFI tokens to Binance during a wave of heavy selling pressure.
Sun pleads innocence on X
Taking to X early Friday, Sun said he had invested not only money but also trust in the project. He claimed his WLFI tokens were “sacred and inviolable” and insisted he deserved the same rights as any other investor.
“I call on the team to respect these principles, unlock my tokens, and let’s move forward together toward the success of World Liberty Financial,” Sun wrote. He warned that freezing investor assets risks damaging confidence in the project.
Replying to commentary from Nansen CEO Alex Svanevik, Sun added simply: “I am innocent.”
World Liberty Financial blacklists Sun’s wallet
On Thursday afternoon, World Liberty Financial’s token contract blacklisted an address tied to Sun, preventing him from transferring or using his WLFI holdings. The project has not yet issued a public statement on the decision.
Blockchain data shows Sun’s address sent 50 million WLFI (worth about $9 million) to a wallet linked with HTX shortly before the freeze. Those tokens were later routed to other addresses, with another 60 million WLFI (worth $11.1 million) ending up in an HTX Gnosis Safe Proxy.
Community frustration and Binance transfers
Some community members speculated Sun may have had a private agreement not to sell his tokens. Others pointed to HTX activity, noting that a wallet connected to the exchange transferred over 60 million WLFI to Binance in recent days.
Coinbase executive Conor Grogan highlighted that these transfers represented over half of HTX’s WLFI holdings. Arkham Intelligence also linked the Binance deposit wallet back to Sun.
In response, Sun claimed the transfers were “general exchange deposit tests” with “very small amounts,” denying any market impact. However, the movement of large token batches is often enough to unsettle investors and drive selling pressure.
WLFI price volatility
WLFI, the native token of World Liberty Financial, began trading on exchanges earlier this week. On Thursday, the token fell about 24% at its lowest point before partially recovering to $0.19.
The drop coincided with broader exchange inflows, including from BitGo and Flowdesk, amplifying selling pressure.
Sun’s ties to World Liberty Financial and Trump tokens
Justin Sun has been a prominent backer of World Liberty Financial. He invested $75 million into WLFI tokens, was named an advisor to the DeFi project, and pledged to buy $100 million worth of the TRUMP memecoin.
Earlier this year, World Liberty Financial also purchased millions of dollars’ worth of Tron’s TRX token, further deepening the relationship.
