By Tom Wilson, David Gauthier-Villars and Elizabeth Howcroft
May 4 (Reuters) - World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture co-founded by U.S. President Donald Trump and his sons, said on Monday it had filed a defamation lawsuit against Hong Kong-based crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, in the latest escalation of a dispute between the project and one of its most prominent backers.
World Liberty posted a copy of its lawsuit on X in which it accused Sun of launching a "public smear campaign" including claims
that it said were false. The crypto project - one of several lucrative crypto businesses co-founded or controlled by the Trump family - said that Sun had done things he wasn't allowed to do with his tokens, including transferring them to crypto exchange Binance.
In April, Sun sued World Liberty Financial saying the company had illegally frozen the tokens he had bought. Sun said World Liberty secretly installed tools to prevent the sale of his tokens after they became tradeable in September 2025.
In its lawsuit, World Liberty said its ability to freeze tokens had been disclosed in the Terms of Sale.
Sun told Reuters: "The alleged defamation lawsuit that World Liberty announced on X today is nothing more than a meritless PR stunt. I stand by my actions and look forward to defeating the case in court." He posted the same message on X.
The president's son, Donald Trump Jr, reposted World Liberty's thread, with the comment "Read this entire thread for the truth!!!!" Zach Witkoff, World Liberty's chief executive and a co-founder, said on X, "I look forward to the truth coming out in court."
(Reporting by Dagmarah Mackos, Tom Wilson, Elizabeth Howcroft and David Gauthier-Villars; Editing by Susan Fenton, Tom Lasseter and Hugh Lawson)
