World Liberty Financial—the cryptocurrency company launched by President Trump and his sons—is taking billionaire investor Justin Sun to court, accusing him of defamation after he publicly claimed the firm froze his assets without justification.
In a lawsuit filed Monday, the Trump-linked company alleges Sun carried out a “campaign of defamatory statements” on X, damaging its reputation and business relationships.
“Sun’s posts impugn World Liberty… causing substantial and ongoing harm,” the complaint states.
Sun, founder of the crypto platform TRON, was one of World Liberty’s earliest and largest backers, purchasing roughly 3 billion tokens following the company’s launch in fall 2024.
The dispute has been simmering for months. Last summer, Sun claimed on social media that his tokens had been frozen. He escalated the fight in April by suing World Liberty, accusing the firm of orchestrating an “illegal scheme to seize property.”
World Liberty disputes that claim, saying it acted within clearly disclosed authority when it froze the tokens. The company also accuses Sun of misconduct, including suspected short selling, using straw buyers, and deploying bots and influencers to spread false claims.
Sun fired back Monday, dismissing the lawsuit as a “meritless PR stunt” and vowing to fight it in court.
The high-stakes clash now pits a Trump-backed crypto venture against one of the industry’s most prominent global investors—setting up a legal battle with major implications for both sides.
