In business, a friendship can turn into distrust overnight. Justin Sun makes it bitter experience. He who had displayed himself close to the Trump clan, going so far as to assume the same Trump to display his loyalty, finds himself today in turmoil. His involvement in World Liberty Financial (WLFI), Crypto project carried by the Trump family, turns into the dramatic soap. From the support displayed to banking, it only took a price collapse and public accusations to switch this fragile balance.
In short
- The token WLFI fell 61 % in a few days after its official launch.
- Justin Sun's address was blacklisted, blocking around 595 million tokens unlocked.
- Sun claims that his transactions were only minor tests, without impact on the market.
- The Crypto community ignites, between accusations of manipulation and defense of simple technical transfers.
Justin Sun, a strategic ally that has become pariah in the Trump universe
In November 2024, Justin Sun invested $ 30 million in WLFI, a crypto-active present in Binance, Bybit and OKX for a few days. A few months later, his participation reached 75 million, then nearly 700 million in tokens on the eve of the launch.
It is a strategic role: Sun is perceived as an ally of the Trump clan, even praising the presidential vision on the regulation of digital assets. However, from the start of the beginning of September, the dream turns into a nightmare. WLFI climbs to $ 0.47, then collapses at $ 0.18 in a few days, a fall of 61 %.
The protocol reacts By blacklisting Sun's addressfreezing between 540 and 595 million tokens unlocked, more than $ 100 million, as well as 2.4 billion tokens locked.
For the one who embodied the crypto guarantor of the Trump project, the irony is biting: a key investor, he becomes persona non grata.
War of stories: Justin Sun against World Liberty Financial (WLFI)
WLFI officials accuse a crypto scholarship of having manipulated the tokens, and suspect Sun of questionable activities. In response, the founder of Tron is expressed directly on X: ” Our address only carried out some deposits on an exchange platform, with very low amounts, then made a dispersion of addresses. This did not involve any purchase or sale, it is therefore impossible that these operations had the slightest impact on the market ».
In a second message, Justin Sun publicly asked the WLFI team to raise the frost on his tokens in order to be able to move towards a common success. He defended the idea that a real financial brand should be based on solid principles: equity, transparency and confidence. For him, freezing investors' assets amounts to taking dangerous unilateral measures, which violate the legitimate rights of the carriers and risk starting confidence in World Liberty Financial more widely.
But despite this defense, the accusations persist and the case is turned away, digging a gap between Sun and his former Trump allies.
The crypto community between suspicions and back fire
The case takes on another dimension on the networks. Some accuse Sun of bypassing its locks via “20 % APY” offers which would encourage users to deposit their WLFI, then sold on the Catimini on Huobi.
Others go so far as to portray it as an “infiltrated agent” from a foreign state. In contrast, blockchain analysts like Bubblemaps put into perspective, believing that the transfers observed (up to $ 9 million) are more like internal movements than for sales.
Key figures for the WLFI crisis
- The token WLFI dropped 61 % after launch, from $ 0.47 to $ 0.18;
- Justin Sun still holds nearly $ 700 million in WLFI tokens, mostly locked. ;
- 595 million tokens unlocked (≈107 million $) were frozen by the protocol;
- Investors entered above $ 0.33 already displayed −45 % losses.
In the midst of these contradictory stories, an observation is essential: the first investors like Sun remain largely beneficiaries, while the small carrying people pay the invoice. The promise of a decentralized finance carried by WLFI has turned into a narrative battlefield, where the image of Trump and the reputation of Sun find themselves taken in a storm of suspicions and resentments.
The story of Justin Sun recalls that alliances in politics and crypto are often fragile. Elon Musk knows something about it: formerly close to Donald Trump, he ended up bickering with him with tweets. This showdown even forced Tesla's boss to temporarily give up his political party project to avoid a public conflagration. Like what, in business as well as in politics, affinities last only for a thread.
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