Billionaire Justin Sun Launched ‘Smear Campaign’ Against Trump’s World Liberty, Lawsuit Alleges

Topline

World Liberty Financial, the crypto firm controlled by President Donald Trump and his family, sued billionaire cryptocurrency investor Justin Sun on Monday, accusing him of defaming the company after it took action against him for allegedly committing misconduct.

Justin Sun appears at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 27, 2025.

Key Facts

World Liberty sued Sun in federal court, alleging the billionaire launched a “public smear campaign” against the company after it accused him of misconduct.

After investing some $75 million in World Liberty in 2024, buying its $WLFI crypto token through entities he controls, Sun engaged in widespread misconduct, World Liberty alleges, including short selling of $WLFI tokens to suppress its price and making straw purchases to acquire $WLFI tokens on behalf of other investors.

Sun has denied the allegations of misconduct—and had sued World Liberty himself in April, accusing the company of unlawfully seizing his tokens and blocking his voting rights in the company’s operations.

“Rather than work constructively with World Liberty to address the misconduct,” the lawsuit alleges, Sun instead launched a “scorched-earth pressure campaign” against World Liberty to restore access to his tokens, and then publicly “smear[ed]” the company on X after World Liberty “refused to capitulate to Sun’s threats.”

Sun’s claims have been “profoundly harmful” to World Liberty, the lawsuit alleges, claiming his statements against the company have damaged its reputation and caused it to lose out on business opportunities.

Sun’s attorney has not yet responded to a request for comment.

What To Watch For

World Liberty’s lawsuit accuses Sun of defamation and asks for a jury trial and for the billionaire to pay an undisclosed amount in damages. It remains to be seen how the litigation will play out, and it could take months or years to resolve. Sun’s lawsuit against the company similarly asks for a jury trial and damages, as well as for World Liberty to unfreeze Sun’s $WLFI tokens. That case, filed April 21, also remains pending.

Forbes Valuation

Forbes estimates Sun’s net worth at $8.5 billion as of Monday morning, making him the 412th richest person in the world. The crypto investor—who’s claimed to Forbes his fortune is much larger, at some $40 billion—built his fortune after founding the Tron blockchain in 2017. He has also become known for various publicity stunts, such as paying $6.2 million at Sotheby’s for an art piece of a banana duct taped to a wall, which he subsequently ate.

What Did Justin Sun Say About World Liberty?

World Liberty’s lawsuit accuses Sun of defaming the crypto platform largely through a series of posts the billionaire made on X in April, nicknaming World Liberty “World Tyranny” and claiming World Liberty’s officials were “bad actors” whose efforts to freeze Sun’s tokens were “illegitimate and were never authorized by any fair, transparent, or goodfaith community governance process.” World Liberty has denied any wrongdoing and claimed Sun’s statements about the platform are false, alleging the company’s ability to freeze tokens was publicly disclosed and was included in its agreements with Sun.

Key Background

World Liberty Financial launched in 2024 as a decentralized finance platform “inspired by the vision of Donald J. Trump,” with the president and family members including his sons Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Barron Trump all involved with co-founding the venture. Sun first invested $30 million in World Liberty in November 2024—helping to keep the platform afloat and covering its operating expenses. He then went on to invest at least $45 million more in the platform, also buying the president’s $TRUMP meme coin when it launched shortly thereafter. Sun’s investment in Trump’s crypto ventures has been widely controversial, as the Securities and Exchange Commission then went on to settle its ongoing lawsuit against Sun for alleged securities fraud, as well as drop other investigations against crypto platforms.