Prevent early investors from arbitrage! Trump WLFI proposes a token lock-in for 4 years, Sun Yuchen angrily blasts: World tyranny

The DeFi project WLFI supported by the Trump family has sparked a storm due to an aggressive governance proposal. The founder of Tron, Justin Sun, criticized the plan as a “governance scam,” accusing it of forced token locking and blacklisting mechanisms that deprive investors of rights.

The governance proposal ignited outrage, with Sun denouncing it as a ridiculous scam

The decentralized finance (DeFi) project World Liberty Financial ($WLFI), supported by the Trump family, recently fell into a public controversy over an aggressive governance proposal. Justin Sun, founder of Tron, posted a lengthy message on social platform X yesterday (4/15), publicly criticizing the proposal.

Image source: X/@justinsuntron

He directly pointed out that the plan is a “world tyranny,” completely diverging from the project’s original promise of “world free finance.” Sun noted that this plan, packaged as a “long-term commitment” and “governance integration,” is actually one of the most absurd governance scams he has seen.

He emphasized that the proposal uses coercive methods to force token holders into long-term lockups, even punishing users who vote against it. Such practices deprive investors of property rights and freedom of expression, turning on-chain voting into a political spectacle manipulated by a few.

This public conflict symbolizes a complete breakdown in the relationship between Justin Sun and the $WLFI project team. As an early core supporter, Sun had invested between $30 million and $75 million and once served as an advisor to help promote the project. However, as disagreements over token release, governance rights, and fund utilization widened, Sun claims that his tokens have been locked, representing about 4% of his voting power being effectively frozen. He believes that under this “disobedience equals punishment” mechanism, the project’s governance outcomes have been predetermined before voting even begins, with community members involved in discussions becoming temporary actors in an expansion of power.

• Related news: Justin Sun blasts Trump family WIFI: hidden backdoor blacklist, treating crypto community as personal ATM

Four years of lock-up restrictions, investors worry about becoming a cash machine

According to the latest governance proposal released by $WLFI officials, the project plans to overhaul the large-scale release terms of over 62 billion $WLFI tokens in its ecosystem. The proposal sets strict vesting schedules: for the founding team, advisors, and partners’ 40 billion tokens, there will be a two-year lock-up (Cliff), followed by a three-year gradual release; for early supporters’ 17 billion tokens, the same two-year lock-up and two-year gradual vesting are required.

This means early investors must wait up to four years to fully control their investment share, a period that even exceeds Trump’s possible second presidential term. Additionally, the plan includes a voluntary burn of about 4.5 billion tokens, claiming to demonstrate the core team’s confidence in the project and reduce market supply.

This blueprint, claiming to “stabilize the market,” has triggered strong backlash within the community. Many early investors have noted that since investing in October 2024, the token’s value has plummeted from a high of $0.23 in September to around $0.08 now, a decline of over 70%.

Simon Dedic, founder of Moonrock Capital, bluntly stated that early investors have been “rugged” by the Trump family. He believes the project team is using lock-up clauses to prevent investors from arbitraging at high points, thereby maintaining apparent market stability.

Image source: X/@sjdedic Moonrock Capital founder Simon Dedic directly states that early investors have been “rugged” by the Trump family

What further unsettles investors is that if holders refuse these new vesting terms, their tokens will be locked indefinitely with no clear unlock pathway. This “forced renewal” with no options has led many participants to joke that their funds are trapped in contracts with no liquidity, effectively making them personal ATMs for the project team.

Anonymous control and blacklist mechanisms, a dictatorship under the guise of decentralization

Sun Yuchen exposed deeper concerns about the black box behind $WLFI ’s governance structure. He pointed out that the actual control of $WLFI ’s smart contracts lies with an anonymous multisign wallet requiring only 3/5 signatures, and the project has a “blacklist” guardian wallet capable of freezing assets of specific addresses at any time.

In another proposal from March 2026, voting rights are even linked to a 180-day staking period, further consolidating control among core insiders and early whales.

Sun Yuchen angrily stated that the project requires ordinary voters to undergo strict KYC and compliance checks, while the multisig managers with absolute power remain anonymous. This structure is a “dictatorship disguised as a DAO.”

This centralized control tendency is evident in past governance data. Analysis shows that although a past staking system vote received 99.12% approval, over 76% of supporting votes came from just 10 core wallets, indicating governance power is highly concentrated among a few.

Regarding Sun Yuchen’s accusations of “secret backdoors” and manipulation, the $WLFI team rebutted that the blacklist mechanism only targets malicious or high-risk activities, and hinted at preparing to face Sun Yuchen in court. Subsequently, legal threats and public backlash from Sun have intertwined, turning this crypto governance dispute into a legal and regulatory battle.

Market value shrinking and lending disputes, the project’s future in the legal arena

Amid ongoing governance disputes, $WLFI ’s market performance has also faced severe challenges. Currently, the token trades around $0.08, with a market cap of about $2.6 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of roughly $80 million. Although the project initially raised over $460 million to $550 million, recent financial maneuvers have raised suspicions.

$WLFI was reported to have deposited 5 billion tokens into the lending protocol Dolomite as collateral and borrowed about $75 million in stablecoins. Since one of Dolomite’s co-founders is an advisor to $WLFI , this related-party transaction has sparked concerns of conflicts of interest. The day after the loan was announced, the token price hit a new all-time low.

Sun Yuchen summarized that under such opaque and coercive conditions, the voting results lack legitimacy and should not be recognized by the community. He urged all $WLFI holders to express opposition through public channels and reserve all legal rights.

As the token release, burn mechanisms, and governance rights are reshuffled, this rupture in partnership reflects the difficulty in reconciling traditional political-business influence with the decentralization spirit after entering the DeFi industry. Facing upcoming legal proceedings, the question remains whether $WLFI can realize “world free finance,” or if, as opponents claim, it has become a massive governance scam—only to be revealed after regulatory and judicial intervention.