Crypto billionaire and Tron (TRX) founder Justin Sun recently secured a limited procedural success in his ongoing legal dispute with World Liberty Financial. A federal judge in California ruled that Sun’s personal claims against the Trump-linked crypto project will remain in open federal court rather than being shifted entirely into private arbitration.
The decision, issued following a hearing on August 20, 2026, rejects World Liberty Financial’s bid to move the full set of claims behind closed doors and keep related documents sealed from public view.
Today, my counsel appeared in California federal court to oppose World Liberty Financial's @worldlibertyfi efforts to force our dispute into secret arbitration proceedings and seal documents from public view.
We argued forcefully that this case belongs in open court—and the…
— H.E. Justin Sun 👨🚀 🌞 (@justinsuntron) August 20, 2026
Sun, who co-founded the Tron blockchain and ranks among the wealthiest figures in digital assets, filed the lawsuit in April 2026 in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
The case, assigned to Judge James Donato, stems from Sun’s substantial early investment in World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token.
He committed approximately $45 million to acquire billions of the tokens, positioning himself as one of the project’s largest and earliest supporters at a time when the token sale needed momentum.
According to Sun’s complaint, after those funds helped the project raise hundreds of millions, World Liberty Financial embedded undisclosed controls in the WLFI smart contract.
These features allegedly allowed the company to freeze, restrict, or permanently destroy tokens held by any investor without prior notice.
Sun claims the company later activated those powers against his holdings, preventing him from selling tokens that had become tradable on secondary markets in September 2025 and stripping him of related governance rights.
He is seeking hundreds of millions in damages and previously obtained a court order blocking permanent disposal of the disputed tokens.
World Liberty Financial has denied the allegations.
Company representatives have stated that any freezing authority was disclosed in risk notices and the terms governing Sun’s purchases, and that actions were taken to protect the platform and its users after alleged misconduct by Sun.
The firm has also filed a separate defamation lawsuit against him in Florida, accusing him of running a public campaign that harmed the project’s reputation and token price.
Sun has dismissed that countersuit as baseless.
In the latest development, the judge determined that Sun’s individual claims belong in the public courtroom.
Claims involving companies controlled by Sun must still be sorted: the parties have been directed to meet and confer to decide which of those should stay in federal court and which should proceed to arbitration.
The ruling does not address the merits of the underlying fraud or contract claims and leaves open the possibility that World Liberty Financial could later seek dismissal of some or all counts.
Sun described the outcome as significant, emphasizing that token holders deserve visibility into how projects treat early supporters.
The dispute continues to draw attention because of World Liberty Financial’s ties to President Donald Trump and his family, who co-founded the venture.
WLFI has experienced sharp price volatility amid the legal uncertainty, losing a large portion of its value since public trading began.
While the procedural win keeps key elements of the case transparent and under judicial scrutiny, the core questions—whether the company improperly restricted investor assets and whether Sun breached agreements—remain unresolved and will require further litigation or negotiation.