Highlights:
- Tron’s Justin Sun invested $30 million in Trump-backed World Liberty Financial, buying 2 billion tokens.
- WLFI faces slow sales, restricted access, and technical issues during its October launch.
- Despite SEC lawsuits, Sun continues investments, including $6.2M on viral banana artwork.
The founder of the Tron blockchain, Justin Sun, has announced a $30 million investment in World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a decentralized finance (DeFi) project backed by President-elect Donald Trump. Sun acquired 2 billion tokens at $0.015 each, becoming the largest investor in Trump’s crypto project.
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Initially, only $21 million worth of WLFI had been sold. After Justin Sun invested $30 million, total sales reached over $51 million, still far from the $300 million token sale target. On November 25, Sun expressed his enthusiasm about the investment on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “TRON is committed to making America great again and leading innovation.”
We are thrilled to invest $30 million in World Liberty Financial @worldlibertyfi as its largest investor. The U.S. is becoming the blockchain hub, and Bitcoin owes it to @realDonaldTrump! TRON is committed to making America great again and leading innovation. Let's go! pic.twitter.com/cISTsVYP1f
— H.E. Justin Sun 🍌 (@justinsuntron) November 25, 2024
WLFI Project Faces Slow Sales Amid Restrictions and Ambitious Vision
Launched in October, the project has struggled with slow sales due to restrictions limiting token purchases to non-U.S. persons and accredited U.S. investors. The WLFI coin acts as the governance token for the World Liberty Financial platform, allowing investors to borrow, lend, and earn interest in the DeFi ecosystem. However, unlike traditional cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, WLFI is non-transferable, preventing resale after purchase. Additionally, 63% of the token supply is reserved for accredited investors, restricting access to a limited group.
The launch also faced problems. The website crashed, making it hard to buy WLFI. This made some people doubt the project, especially because it was happening close to the U.S. election, and its goals weren’t clear.
Donald Trump serves as the platform’s “chief crypto advocate,” while his sons Barron, Eric, and Donald Trump Jr. are all “Web3 ambassadors.” The incoming president vowed to make the U.S. the world’s “crypto capital.” He also promised to implement stronger regulatory oversight of the crypto industry.
Zak Folkman, co-founder of World Liberty Financial, said:
“We are glad with the progress being achieved by World Liberty Financial and this large purchase of WLFI tokens is an indication that this project is doing well. Indeed, there have been a number of similarly significant purchases in recent weeks, and we are confident about future success and building out something that helps to make finance freer and fairer.
Sun Faces Legal Troubles but Continues High-Profile Investments
Sun’s investment comes amid ongoing legal issues with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC has filed a lawsuit against him, accusing him of fraud, market manipulation, and the unregistered sale of securities through his projects, Tronix (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT).
In updated court filings, the SEC claims that Sun frequently traveled to the United States while working with the Tron Foundation and other affiliated entities. This contradicts his claims of having minimal ties to the country. Despite these allegations, Sun remains undeterred and continues making high-profile investments.
On November 21, Sun revealed that he spent $6.2 million at auction on an artwork featuring a banana taped to a wall, with plans to eat it. TRX has fallen 4.22% in the past day, dipping below 20 cents. While it’s up about 84% this year, it remains roughly 15% below its January 2018 peak of 23 cents.
After over 6 minutes of heated bidding, Deputy Chairman of Sotheby's and Chairman of Sotheby's China, Jen Hua, placed the winning bid for ‘Comedian’ on behalf of @justinsuntron, Chinese collector and founder of cryptocurrency platform TRON. https://t.co/Vf6kMoHfOQ
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) November 21, 2024
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