SouthernWorldwide.com – World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture co-founded by President Donald Trump and his sons, has initiated legal action against crypto billionaire Justin Sun, filing a defamation lawsuit on Monday. The company alleges that Sun orchestrated a public smear campaign to damage their business.
The lawsuit, lodged with the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Florida, seeks unspecified damages and a public retraction of statements Sun disseminated on social media concerning World Liberty Financial.
These accusations represent a significant escalation in the ongoing dispute between World Liberty Financial and Sun, a prominent investor. In April, Sun himself had sued the startup, alleging fraud and claiming he was unlawfully prevented from selling digital tokens valued at up to $1 billion.
World Liberty Financial, which made its debut in 2024, was established by Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and entrepreneurs Zachary Folkman and Chase Herro. According to CoinMarketCap, its tokens have experienced a substantial decline, losing approximately 81% of their value over the past year and are currently trading at around 6 cents.
“Scorched earth” tactics
Within its lawsuit, World Liberty Financial contends that Sun deliberately bet against the company’s crypto tokens, identified by the ticker $WLFI. The company further asserts that Sun engaged in so-called straw purchases, utilizing third parties to acquire tokens in an effort to mask his identity.
World Liberty Financial also stated that it had frozen tokens belonging to one of Sun’s companies as a protective measure for “World Liberty and the broader community of $WLFI holders.”
The lawsuit claims, “Nevertheless, rather than work constructively with World Liberty to address the misconduct, Sun embarked on a scorched earth pressure campaign against World Liberty to try to extract hundreds of millions of dollars from World Liberty, including having his counsel threaten litigation designed to ‘light World Liberty on fire’.”
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“When World Liberty refused to capitulate to Sun’s threats, Sun launched his public smear campaign,” the company further alleged.
Sun’s legal representatives have not yet responded to requests for comment.
In a post on X, Sun characterized World Liberty Financial’s lawsuit on Monday as a “meritless PR stunt.” He added, “I stand by my actions and look forward to defeating the case in court.”
The World Liberty Financial lawsuit details allegations that Sun made false statements on social media. These include claims that the company “treat[s] the crypto community as a personal ATM” and that its governance practices were irregular. World Liberty Financial also accused Sun of enlisting online influencers and utilizing “fake social-media ‘bot’ accounts to amplify his lies.”
“Collectively, Sun’s posts were viewed millions of times and generated widespread media coverage,” the lawsuit asserts.
Given Sun’s prominent status within the cryptocurrency industry, his remarks are alleged to have been “profoundly harmful to World Liberty.”
Sun, the founder of the decentralized blockchain platform Tron in 2017, possesses a net worth close to $12 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. In 2024, he garnered attention for his $6.2 million acquisition of a piece of conceptual art that featured a banana duct-taped to a wall.
