Justin Sun, founder of the Tron blockchain, has launched serious allegations against the World Liberty Financial (WLFI) project, claiming it secretly embedded a blacklist function in its smart contract that allows the unilateral freezing of user assets. Sun, who describes himself as WLFI's first and largest investor, stated his wallet was blacklisted in early 2025 without notice or explanation, violating core principles of decentralization and investor rights.
Sun explained his early investment was based on WLFI's public vision of promoting financial freedom, eliminating intermediaries, and making decentralized finance (DeFi) accessible. However, he alleges a critical detail was withheld: a hidden mechanism granting the project team authority to freeze, restrict, or take control of user wallets and assets. "This is the complete opposite of decentralization," Sun stated, characterizing the structure as "a trap disguised as a door."
Beyond the blacklist, Sun questioned the legitimacy of WLFI's community governance, claiming critical information was withheld from investors, participation was limited, and vote results may have been predetermined. He also accused the team of collecting user fees and freezing funds without a transparent, community-approved process.
The controversy emerges as WLFI faces separate concerns about its lending activity. The project has defended its strategy of using WLFI tokens as collateral to borrow stablecoins, calling it a standard DeFi practice and denying liquidation risks. WLFI also recently revealed a $65 million token buyback and highlighted upgrades to its USD1 stablecoin for AI-native payments.
Sun has publicly called on the WLFI team to unlock frozen tokens transparently and restore community trust, stating he and other investors oppose these alleged practices.
