A Trump-linked crypto project’s governance structure is under fire from its biggest investor — and the implications for user funds are not theoretical
MT
Morgan Thatcher
SEC enforcement action · Apr 13, 2026
Source: DojiDoji Data Terminal
The WLFI token is down 75% from its September peak, trading at $0.079 — an all-time low — as users confront a stark reality: their assets can be frozen at will by anonymous parties.
In September, World Liberty Financial froze one of Justin Sun’s wallets after he transferred WLFI tokens to HTX, the crypto exchange he owns. The move locked his holdings in place. Sun responded by accusing the project of implanting backdoor controls, freezing investor funds without disclosure, and treating the community like a “personal ATM.”
He demanded public identification of who controls the single guardian external owned account and the 3/5 multisig that governs the WLFI smart contract. That structure, Sun warned, gives a small, unnamed group unilateral power to freeze any token holder’s assets. “Community governance and voting are meaningless,” he said. “Every proposal, every vote, every claim of decentralised decision-making is theatre.”
World Liberty Financial fired back with a public threat of litigation, calling Sun’s allegations “baseless” and accusing him of playing the victim. The exchange freeze, the accusations, and the counter-accusations have laid bare a governance model where control is concentrated, not distributed.
The project’s financial moves have compounded the risk. Reports show World Liberty Financial used five billion WLFI tokens as collateral to borrow $75 million in stablecoins through Dolomite, a DeFi protocol founded by a World Liberty Financial adviser. That position exposed lenders to volatility and created a withdrawal bottleneck for some USD1 holders.
CORE3, a crypto ratings firm, assigned WLFI a D grade — among the riskiest in its coverage — citing insider-heavy token ownership and weak security oversight. The token’s collapse mirrors broader altcoin declines, but its structural flaws are specific, self-imposed, and now actively contested by its largest investor. The credibility of a Trump-linked crypto venture is no longer just a market question. It’s a governance crisis.
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