Justin Sun Locks $78 Million in WLFI Tokens, Strengthens World Liberty Financial Governance

Quick Breakdown

• Justin Sun commits 5.2 million WLFI tokens valued at $78 million to protocol-owned liquidity.
• Lockup spans 10 years, locking 78% of his governance holdings to promote decentralization.
• World Liberty Financial reaches 1.4 million users and $500 million TVL amid token surge.

Justin Sun, founder of TRON, has locked 5.2 million World Liberty Financial (WLFI) governance tokens, valued at approximately $78 million, to bolster the protocol’s liquidity and decentralization efforts. The move, December 22, 2025, commits the tokens to protocol-owned liquidity pools for up to 10 years, representing 78% of Sun’s personal holdings in the project. 

Justin Sun is still blacklisted by WLFI

in 3 months, his locked tokens dropped $60m in value

absolutely brutal https://t.co/3Af2px04h5 pic.twitter.com/4qxuiE4qwJ

— Bubblemaps (@bubblemaps) December 22, 2025

World Liberty Financial, a DeFi platform backed by Sun and with ties to the Trump family, has seen rapid growth, with 1.4 million registered users and $500 million in total value locked (TVL). This strategic lockup aims to reduce selling pressure on WLFI, which trades at around $15 per token following a recent price rally. 

Sun emphasized the commitment on X, stating that it aligns long-term incentives between founders and the community. The platform, launched in September 2025, focuses on tokenized U.S. Treasuries and stablecoin yields, attracting institutional interest despite regulatory scrutiny over its political ties.

Sun’s lockup signals Long-Term confidence

The token commitment follows WLFI’s mainnet launch and integration with major chains like Ethereum and BNB Chain. Protocol-owned liquidity now holds over 10% of the circulating supply, enhancing stability for yield farming and lending features. Analysts view this as a maturity signal for memecoin-adjacent projects, in contrast to earlier criticisms of insider dumps. World Liberty Financial reported 200,000 daily active users last week, driven by 20% APY on stablecoin deposits backed by real-world assets.

Broader implications for DeFi governance.

Sun’s action comes amid heightened focus on founder alignment in DeFi. Similar moves by projects like Yearn Finance have stabilized prices during market dips. WLFI’s governance model allows token holders to vote on treasury allocations, with locked tokens earning boosted rewards. Critics note potential conflicts from Sun’s TRON ecosystem overlap, but on-chain data shows transparent vesting schedules. The platform plans to expand USD1 stablecoin issuance in Q1 2026, targeting cross-chain remittances.