## Justin Sun Accuses Trump-Affiliated World Liberty Financial of Misconduct

Tron founder and prominent crypto investor **Justin Sun** has publicly accused **World Liberty Financial (WLFI)**, a project linked to former President Donald Trump, of serious misconduct and lack of transparency. This comes after Sun was previously at the center of pay-to-play allegations involving the Trump administration's SEC, fueled by his substantial investments in WLFI and the TRUMP memecoin.

### The Core Allegations: Backdoor Controls and Risky Borrowing

Sun has focused on two critical issues with the WLFI project:

1. **Backdoor blacklisting function**: The WLFI smart contract reportedly contains a function that allows the team to freeze any holder's tokens without notice or explanation.
2. **$75 million treasury loan**: The project's treasury recently borrowed approximately $75 million by pledging about **5 billion WLFI governance tokens** as collateral on its affiliated DeFi platform, Dolomite. This borrowing arrangement has drawn direct comparisons to how **Alameda Research borrowed against FTX's FTT token** before the exchange's collapse.

> "I have always been an ardent supporter of President Trump and his crypto friendly policy. As an early supporter who invested heavily in World Liberty Financial, I did so because I believed in the vision that was presented to the public: a decentralized finance platform that..."
> — H.E. Justin Sun 👨‍🚀 🌞 (@justinsuntron) April 12, 2026

### Sun Declares Himself the "Largest Victim"

Sun has called himself the **"first and single largest victim"** of World Liberty Financial. In September of last year, the project blacklisted roughly **545 million of his WLFI tokens** (worth about $9 million) after he transferred them amid heavy selling pressure. At the time, Sun posted publicly on X, insisting on his innocence and demanding the tokens be released.

In response, World Liberty Financial stated: "We do not seek to blacklist anyone. We respond when alerted to malicious or high-risk activity that could harm community members."

Sun wrote in his recent statement: "I denounce the ongoing token scandals by the bad actors at WLFI... Every action taken by the WLFI team to extract fees from users, to secretly implant backdoor controls over user assets, to freeze investor funds without disclosure or due process, and to treat the crypto community as a personal ATM — all of these actions are illegitimate and were never authorized by any fair, transparent, or good-faith community governance process."

### World Liberty Financial Fights Back

World Liberty Financial has mocked Sun and disputed his claims on X, posting: "Does anyone still believe @justinsuntron? Justin's favorite move is playing the victim while making baseless allegations to cover up his own misconduct. Same playbook, different target. WLFI isn't the first. We have the contracts. We have the evidence. We have the truth. See you in court pal."

> "Does anyone still believe @justinsuntron? Justin's favorite move is playing the victim while making baseless allegations to cover up his own misconduct. Same playbook, different target. WLFI isn't the first. We have the contracts. We have the evidence. We have the truth. See..."
> — WLFI (@worldlibertyfi) April 12, 2026

### Background: SEC Settlement and Political Connections

Notably, previous SEC charges against Sun and his companies were **settled last month**. The long-running case accused him of wash-trading TRX tokens and conducting unregistered securities offerings. Rainberry, one of Sun's entities, paid a **$10 million fine** with no admission of wrongdoing.

Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee previously highlighted the absence of a conviction in a letter to the SEC, tying it to perceptions of **pay-to-play** because Sun had invested at least **$75 million into Trump-linked projects**. Sun has taken a more defiant stance against WLFI since the case was resolved.

### Broader Context: Major Players and Political Ties

The controversy extends beyond Sun:

- **Binance** holds roughly **$2 billion in World Liberty Financial's USD1 stablecoin**, a position expected to generate tens of millions in annual revenue for the Trump-affiliated project. Trump pardoned former Binance CEO **Changpeng Zhao (CZ)** after his short prison stint for anti-money laundering failures.
- A firm tied to **UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan** committed **$500 million to World Liberty Financial** days before Trump's inauguration, taking a 49% stake and sending $187 million to Trump family entities.
- By contrast, developers behind the **Samourai Wallet Bitcoin privacy app** remain in prison for comparable money laundering facilitation charges.

### Impact on Crypto Industry and Bitcoin

The wave of alleged grifting and potential conflicts of interest around the Trump administration's crypto dealings has possibly **dulled the pro-bitcoin tailwind** many in the industry anticipated. According to reports, Trump-linked ventures pulled in roughly **$1.4 billion in 2025**, much of it from memecoins, stablecoins, and tokenization plays rather than Bitcoin itself.

There remains an opportunity for regulatory clarity through the **CLARITY Act**, but policy groups like Coin Center and the Bitcoin Policy Institute have warned that **developer protections must not be removed** before the bill reaches a vote, as it could leave builders exposed to legal risk and potentially push activity offshore.

Justin Sun has accused Trump-affiliated World Liberty Financial of misconduct and a general lack of transparency.

Justin Sun vs. Trump-Linked Crypto Project: Inside the $75M Loan Scandal and Blacklisting Controversy

**XRP** is trading inside a massive **9-year ascending triangle** on the monthly chart, with options volume surging **215.78%** to **$3.76 million**, signaling potential for a major price move.

### The 9-Year Ascending Triangle
Since 2017, the pattern has repeated: XRP hits the upper resistance, gets rejected, and retraces to find support at the rising trendline. After the recent August 2025 rejection, analysts like Ali Charts are watching for a retest of the macro support between **$0.75 and $0.80**. This zone is viewed as a key "buy the dip" opportunity before the triangle reaches its apex. Ali Charts noted on X: "When a 9-year consolidation finally breaks, the move is usually historic."

### The Paris Blockchain Week
XRP Ledger is set to take center stage at the **Paris Blockchain Week**. On April 15, Markus Infanger, SVP of RippleX at Ripple, will participate in a fireside chat focusing on blockchain's evolution from an asset class to core market infrastructure. The session will explore how organizations are leveraging blockchain to enhance financial processes, with Infanger highlighting real-life deployments of the XRP Ledger.

### The Options Explosion
Options volume has exploded by **215.78%** to **$3.76 million**, indicating that traders are positioning for a significant move. The Long/Short ratio on Binance stands at **2.59**, with top traders showing a **2.81x long bias**. Open Interest remains substantial at **$2.42 billion**, with XRP holding levels well above its pre-2025 baseline.

### XRP Price Prediction for April 13
XRP is showing minimal movement today, up just **0.1%**. In addition to the 9-year triangle, a large descending triangle has formed since the July 2025 peak, with price now at the apex—the convergence point of the upper descending trendline and horizontal support around **$1.30**. These compression points often resolve in sharp moves, and given the prolonged buildup, the move could be substantial. Immediate resistance is at the BB midline of **$1.3399**, with the upper band at **$1.3871** as the next target. The RSI at **43.20** is neutral-to-bearish but showing early signs of curling upward.

Image: Shutterstock

XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) is trading inside a giant 9-year ascending triangle on the monthly chart with options volume surging 215.78% to $3.76 million.

XRP's 9-Year Ascending Triangle: Is the Historic Breakout Imminent?

## Bhutan's Bitcoin Experiment Unwinds

Bhutan is quietly unwinding one of the most unusual **bitcoin experiments** any government has ever run. The Royal Government of Bhutan transferred roughly **319.7 BTC** worth $22.68 million to two addresses on Thursday, according to Arkham Intelligence data. Roughly 250 BTC went to a wallet previously used to route funds for sale via Galaxy Digital and OKX. Another 69.7 BTC was sent to a new, unmarked address.

This transaction is part of a series of ongoing sales that have been going on for a while.

Bhutan held approximately **13,000 BTC** in October 2024, accumulated through a **hydropower-backed mining operation** run by Druk Holding and Investments, the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund. That was the proof-of-concept for **sovereign bitcoin mining**—a tiny, landlocked country with cheap renewable energy, no legacy financial infrastructure to protect, and a sovereign wealth fund willing to experiment.

Since then, it has sold steadily. Holdings now stand at **3,954 BTC** worth roughly $280.6 million, a **70% reduction in 18 months**. Arkham data shows **$215.7 million in bitcoin** has moved out of Bhutan's holding addresses this year alone, with $162.6 million of that going to unlabeled wallets.

![Bhutan (Sittichok Glomvinya/Pixabay)](https://www.coindesk.com/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.sanity.io%2Fimages%2Fs3y3vcno%2Fproduction%2F850c38128aa8b785d3e9dcb693fdf3c390bde105-1920x1440.jpg%3Fauto%3Dformat&w=3840&q=75)

### The Selling Accelerates in a Bullish Market

The selling has accelerated into a market where virtually every other major holder is doing the opposite. **Strategy bought 4,871 BTC** for $330 million last weekend, bringing its total to 766,970. U.S. spot ETFs absorbed approximately **50,000 BTC in March**. The Ethereum Foundation staked $93 million of ether in a single day rather than sell. Even gold-backed sovereign funds have been adding to positions during the Iran conflict.

Bhutan is the **only sovereign-level holder visibly liquidating**. But there is also a question about whether the mining operation itself is still running.

Arkham data shows Bhutan's last **bitcoin inflow exceeding $100,000** was recorded over a year ago. A government that once generated bitcoin from power harnessed from its own rivers may now simply be spending down what it accumulated, with no new supply coming in to replace what it sells.

Druk Holdings has not responded to several emails and calls from CoinDesk over the past week, the latest of which was sent in the Asian morning hours on Friday. It has not publicly commented on the transfers or the status of its mining operation.

![(CoinDesk)](https://www.coindesk.com/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.sanity.io%2Fimages%2Fs3y3vcno%2Fproduction%2Fc6805e28f7f2ca5a11158db92fa063057a06e675-1494x1154.png%3Fauto%3Dformat&w=3840&q=75)

### The Economics Behind the Shift

The economics may explain the shift, however. Bhutan's mining operation was viable when difficulty was lower, and bitcoin traded above **$90,000**. At current levels near $71,000, with network difficulty at **all-time highs** and the post-halving block reward reduced to **3.125 BTC**, the margins on small-scale sovereign mining have compressed significantly.

The same hydropower that made Bhutan's operation novel may now generate more **revenue from electricity sold to neighboring India** than from bitcoin mining, as mining hardware depreciates with every difficulty adjustment.

Choosing to sell rather than hold or mine is a data point about the gap between bitcoin's narrative appeal to nation-states and the operational reality of maintaining a position through a prolonged drawdown.

Bhutan's remaining 3,954 BTC is now smaller than what Strategy purchases in a typical week. The kingdom that once held 13,000 bitcoin mined from its own mountains is watching a single company in Virginia accumulate more in five days than Bhutan has left.

The kingdom's holdings have dropped from 13,000 BTC to 3,954 since October 2024, with $215.7 million moved out this year alone. Its last mining inflow over $100,000 was recorded more than a year ago.

Bhutan's Bitcoin Exodus: 70% of Sovereign Holdings Sold as Mining Operation Goes Silent

The cryptocurrency market is experiencing a broad sell-off, with the total value of all cryptocurrencies plummeting from a peak of **$4.4 trillion** in October last year to just **$2.4 trillion** today. This decline is driven by sluggish adoption rates and investors trimming exposure to risky assets amid rising economic uncertainty.

While every major cryptocurrency is down from its peak—including **Bitcoin**, which has declined by 43%—the smaller end of the market is bearing the brunt of the losses. Speculative meme coins **Shiba Inu (SHIB)** and **Dogecoin (DOGE)** have each plummeted by almost **70%** from their 52-week highs.

![A Shiba Inu dog looking at the camera, Dogecoin Shiba Inu.](https://g.foolcdn.com/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fg.foolcdn.com%2Feditorial%2Fimages%2F864153%2Fa-shiba-inu-dog-looking-at-the-camera-dogecoin-shiba-inu.jpg&w=3840&op=resize)

## Shiba Inu's Relevance Continues to Fade

Shiba Inu was created in 2020 as an alternative to Dogecoin, built on the **Ethereum** platform to offer faster, lower-cost transactions. In 2021, it delivered an incredible return of **45,278,000%**, driven entirely by speculation. However, the token is now down **93%** from its 2021 peak.

For a cryptocurrency to deliver sustainable upside, it needs a consistent source of demand—either from consumers using it for payments or investors viewing it as a store of value. Unfortunately, Shiba Inu struggles in both areas. According to Cryptwerk, only **1,144 businesses worldwide** accept Shiba Inu as payment, making it impractical for widespread adoption due to extreme volatility.

In 2023, developers launched **Shibarium**, a Layer-2 blockchain solution to improve efficiency, but it hasn't moved the needle in adoption. Without sustainable demand, further downside is the path of least resistance, predicting a **50% loss** from current levels over the long term.

## Dogecoin Has a Glaring Supply Problem

Dogecoin was created in 2013 as a joke to lighten the mood in the cryptocurrency industry. It gained popularity when figures like **Tesla CEO Elon Musk** started discussing it, leading to a market capitalization of over **$90 billion** by 2021. However, like Shiba Inu, its rally was fueled by speculation, and it's now down **87%** from its 2021 peak.

A key issue for Dogecoin is its supply. New coins are constantly mined, with **5 billion coins** entering circulation each year. With **153.7 billion coins** currently in circulation, supply will roughly double over the next three decades. This means the value of each coin needs to **halve** to maintain a constant market cap, unless it finds sustainable demand.

Dogecoin's main use case remains tied to social media hype, and it has struggled to become a viable payment mechanism or store of value. Without real utility, it faces significant long-term pressure.

Cryptocurrencies are suffering a broad sell-off right now, and it might get worse for two particular meme tokens.

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