Trump Jr. and Witkoff Advocate for World Liberty Financial
At the Consensus Miami 2026 conference on Thursday, Donald Trump Jr. and Zach Witkoff took center stage to advocate for World Liberty Financial (WLFI), which is currently embroiled in a legal battle initiated by Justin Sun, the founder of Tron. This marked the first joint appearance of Trump Jr. and Witkoff at a significant cryptocurrency event, where they aimed to bolster the reputation of their DeFi project amid mounting challenges since its inception in late 2024.
Legal Troubles and Allegations
The legal troubles began when Sun filed a federal lawsuit in California in late April, claiming that World Liberty had improperly frozen his tokens, revoked his voting rights, and threatened to destroy his assets permanently. In response, Witkoff criticized Sun’s allegations as “completely without merit,” referring to the lawsuit as a “desperate attempt to shift the focus away” from accusations concerning Sun’s own actions.
Public Image and Scrutiny
The Consensus Miami event provided a platform for World Liberty Financial to reshape its public image before an audience of 20,000 crypto enthusiasts, especially amid ongoing scrutiny that extends beyond the lawsuit itself. Earlier this year, a Wall Street Journal investigation revealed that an entity linked to Abu Dhabi had purchased a 49% stake in WLFI for $500 million, just days ahead of Trump’s inauguration. Following this revelation, Senator Elizabeth Warren urged the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to delay the review of WLFI’s application for a bank charter due to potential conflicts of interest.
New Developments and Market Performance
Additionally, World Liberty Financial introduced its USD1 stablecoin across various blockchain networks and launched a tokenized real estate product in February that is associated with a Trump resort in the Maldives. Currently, WLFI trades at approximately $0.08, which marks a significant downturn of over 75% from its peak value in September 2025.
