Tron founder Justin Sun’s World Liberty Financial (WLFI) token address was blacklisted on Thursday after transferring 50 million WLFI tokens to crypto exchange HTX.
Onchain data from Nansen and Arkham shows the address was flagged shortly after a $9 million transaction. The blacklisting fueled speculation that WLFI was restricting certain users from selling tokens and pressuring prices during the first week of public trading.
On Thursday, Sun responded to speculation in an X thread, saying in a translated post that his address had only carried out a few routine exchange deposit tests with very small amounts of WLFI tokens before creating address dispersion.
He emphasized that the activity did not involve any buying or selling and “could not possibly have any impact on the market.”
The restriction followed Sun’s earlier statement that he “will not be selling soon,” which suggested his continued commitment to the project.
“We have no plans to sell our unlocked tokens anytime soon,” Sun, who was an early presale participant in the WLFI token, said at the time. “The long-term vision here is too powerful, and I’m fully aligned with the mission.”
A spokesperson for Justin Sun responded to Cointelegraph’s inquiry on the matter, stating: “Justin and the WLFI team are in active communication about this matter.”
WLFI, a decentralized finance project backed by US President Donald Trump, officially launched trading on Monday. After briefly surging to a high of about $0.32, the token has since fallen sharply. By Thursday, it was down 22%, trading below $0.18, according to CoinMarketCap.
Related: What’s the real WLFI? How to avoid the scammers
World Liberty moves to shore up prices
The falling value of WLFI has emerged as a key concern for World Liberty Financial, which is exploring measures to restrict supply and support prices.
On Wednesday, the project burned 47 million tokens, according to onchain data. The move was intended to reduce circulating supply and, in theory, increase the value of remaining tokens.
Despite the burn, WLFI’s total supply remains at roughly 99.95 billion.
World Liberty has also floated a buyback program funded by protocol fees, with all repurchased tokens to be burned to further limit supply.
In the meantime, sharp price swings and mounting losses have eroded investor confidence. According to CoinMarketCap, WLFI ranks among the ten most bearish tokens by sentiment.
Related: Whales lose millions on Trump-linked WLFI’s 40% dip, despite 47M burn