Trump’s Crypto Project Burns Tokens as Sun Confronts Blacklist Fallout

World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a cryptocurrency project co-founded by U.S. President Donald Trump and his family, has taken steps to stabilize its token’s price following its public trading debut. On September 2, the platform executed a token burn, permanently removing 47 million WLFI tokens from circulation, or 0.19% of its total supply. This move is part of a proposed buyback and burn program, which aims to increase the scarcity of the token and potentially support its price. The total supply of WLFI tokens has now been reduced to just over 99.95 billion from an initial 100 billion, based on on-chain data from Etherscan [1].

The WLFI token debuted on secondary markets on September 1, with early investors allowed to sell portions of their holdings. The token briefly reached a high of $0.331 before declining to $0.23 by the following afternoon, a drop of 31% from its opening high [2]. The team behind World Liberty Financial attributes the price decline to speculative trading and offloading by short-term investors, and the token burn is intended to address these pressures. The company emphasized that the burn would “increase the relative ownership percentage of committed long-term holders,” while removing tokens held by those not aligned with the project’s long-term vision [1].

However, not all stakeholders are aligned in their support. Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun, one of the largest investors in WLFI, recently had 595 million tokens—worth around $107 million—blacklisted by World Liberty Financial. Sun accused the company of freezing his tokens “unreasonably” and called for their immediate unlocking. He stated that the frozen address had not engaged in any selling or transactions that would justify the blacklisting. According to blockchain data from Arkham and Nansen, the move followed a $9 million WLFI transfer to HTX [4].

World Liberty Financial defended its actions, stating it intervenes only to protect users from malicious or high-risk activity that could harm the broader community [5]. The company has not named Sun in its official statements but has reiterated that it does not engage in arbitrary blacklists. The dispute has raised broader concerns about governance and transparency in the project. Sun, who invested $75 million in WLFI, has pledged to purchase an additional $10 million in tokens and has continued to advocate for the project, including promoting its USD1 stablecoin on his platforms [6].

The token’s launch has also underscored the growing influence of Chinese crypto enthusiasts in the project. Binance, a major exchange with strong ties to the Chinese market, was the first to list WLFI, and the token has seen significant trading activity in Asia. Eric Trump, the president’s son, has been a vocal advocate for the project during recent trips to Hong Kong and Dubai, where he highlighted China’s growing role in the global crypto landscape [7]. The Trump family’s stake in WLFI, held through DT Marks DEFI, is estimated at $5 billion based on the token’s recent valuation [3].

Industry experts remain cautious about the long-term viability of WLFI. Kevin Rusher, founder of RAAC, noted that celebrity-backed tokens often struggle with credibility and long-term adoption. Mangirdas Ptašinskas of Galxe similarly emphasized the need for better infrastructure to support mainstream adoption, citing the sudden spike in Ethereum gas fees during WLFI’s market debut as a red flag for scalability [1]. The project faces the challenge of balancing speculative interest with institutional trust, as true growth in the crypto ecosystem is expected to be driven by long-term, institutional adoption rather than short-term hype.

Source: [1] World Liberty Burns 47M Tokens as WLFI Price Slides (https://cointelegraph.com/news/wlfi-token-burn-price-drop-world-liberty-financial) [2] Trump Family's WLFI Token Debuts 5 To 15 Times Above (https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacheverson/2025/09/02/trump-crypto-token-wlfi-world-liberty-financial/) [3] New crypto token boosts Trump family's wealth by $5 billion (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-wlfi-world-liberty-financial-crypto-wealth/) [4] Justin Sun urges Trump's WLFI to unlock “unreasonably” (https://cointelegraph.com/news/justin-sun-trump-wlfi-unlock-frozen-token) [5] World Liberty Financial Blacklists Justin Sun's Address (https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2025/09/04/world-liberty-financial-blacklists-justin-sun-s-address-with-usd107m-wlfi) [6] Top Trump crypto backer Justin Sun says his World Liberty (https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/top-trump-crypto-backer-justin-sun-says-his-world-liberty-tokens-unreasonably-2025-09-05/) [7] Trump-related token starts trading with support from Chinese (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-related-token-starts-trading-093000520.html)