HONG KONG, April 23, 2026, 16:41 HKT
Tron founder Justin Sun has filed a lawsuit against World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture backed by Trump associates, over access to 4 billion WLFI tokens—worth roughly $320 million, according to Reuters’ estimates. The dispute centers on World Liberty’s decision to freeze and threaten to destroy Sun’s tokens. CEO Zach Witkoff dismissed the legal challenge as “entirely meritless,” arguing the firm’s actions were necessary to safeguard its own interests and those of its users. Reuters
This dispute hits Tron at a tricky time. Stablecoins—designed to track the dollar—anchor much of the network’s activity, with some $87.2 billion worth circulating on Tron as of Thursday, according to independent figures. CoinGecko puts TRX, Tron’s own token, at number eight among crypto assets by market cap.
Over the past two days, TRON and its partners have tried to steer the narrative elsewhere. On Monday, TRON DAO announced that LI.FI had integrated with its blockchain. The next day, Jumper revealed that it rolled out single-transaction transfers to and from Tron, spanning 14 major blockchains—streamlining the process for moving Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC onto Tron’s network. “The LI.FI link will reduce friction” for developers and users shifting assets between chains, TRON DAO spokesperson Sam Elfarra said. TMX Newsfile
In a San Francisco federal court filing, Sun accused World Liberty of quietly installing controls that prevented sales once WLFI started trading in September, then giving itself the authority to blacklist or reassign tokens. Bloomberg Law noted the lawsuit further claims World Liberty leaned on Sun to back its USD1 stablecoin and market it on Tron, allegedly souring on him when he wouldn’t cooperate.
World Liberty hasn’t addressed every specific allegation. According to Reuters, investors have already raised concerns about transparency, centralized governance, and a plan that may block early holders from freely trading their tokens until 2030.
Tron holders have seen a series of moves aimed at U.S. participants draw attention lately. Back in March, Reuters said Anchorage Digital—the only crypto bank with a federal charter stateside—planned to list Tron. CEO Nathan McCauley called the move a way to bring “one of crypto’s largest ecosystems” into a regulated setup. Reuters
The chain’s scale remains clear. According to a Messari report out this week—commissioned by Tron Network Limited—Tron handled $2 trillion in USDT transfers during Q1, putting it just behind Ethereum’s $2.2 trillion tally, even as average daily USDT transfer volume edged down from the previous quarter. As of Thursday, DefiLlama pegged Tron’s DeFi total value locked at roughly $5.05 billion.
TRX slipped nearly 1.3% Thursday to around $0.328, CoinGecko data showed, putting the token roughly 24% under its December 2024 high. Despite a busy week of fresh integration news running up against mounting legal challenges, price action stayed subdued.
The legacy of Sun’s regulatory troubles hasn’t faded. In March, he settled a 2023 civil fraud suit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, paying $10 million but sidestepping any admission of guilt. That closed out one legal cloud right as Tron targeted bigger inroads with institutions.
Risks remain on both sides. The claims against World Liberty are still just allegations—a court hasn’t weighed in yet. The company dismisses them as unfounded. This week, BIS General Manager Pablo Hernandez de Cos stressed that getting global stablecoin rules aligned is “critical” to prevent the market from splintering. World Liberty’s stablecoin business far outweighs most other blockchain segments, so any blow to oversight or trust could hit hard and fast. Reuters
