Sun Yuchen continues to open court confrontations before the OCC makes a final ruling on World Liber

Sun Yuchen claims victory in his first confrontation with World Liberty Financial

On August 20, a federal judge in California allegedly refused to submit all of his claims to private arbitration. The decision came shortly after the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) had just granted conditional approval to the World Liberty Trust Company, which was about to resume issuing USD1 stablecoins.

Brief summary

According to Sun Yuchen, Judge James Donato refused to submit all of his claims to private arbitration and allowed his personal claims to continue hearing in federal court. On August 14, the OCC granted preliminary conditional approval to the World Liberty Trust Company, which plans to take over the issuance of USD1 and its reserve management from BitGo. The fate of claims filed by Blue Anthem and Black Anthem has not yet been determined. As of this writing, a written order for the August 20 hearing has not been made public.

Sun Yuchen successfully retained some cases for trial in court

The standoff between Sun Yuchen and World Liberty Financial has been going on for months. The Tron founder purchased $45 million worth of WLFI tokens and filed the case in federal court in San Francisco in April this year. The dispute between WLFI and Sun Yuchen mainly involves the issue of token freezing and the control authority set by World Liberty in the WLFI contract. On June 2, World Liberty Financial asked Judge James Donato to force the plaintiff to accept arbitration and suspend the judicial process. A hearing on the request was held on August 20. After the hearing, Sun Yuchen said that his personal claim will continue to be heard publicly in the federal court. In other words, World Liberty failed to transfer the entire dispute to a private process. This distinction is crucial. In practice, arbitration often allows conflicts to be resolved outside of closed hearings, and the visibility of documents exchanged is extremely limited. However, no ruling has been made on the merits of the case. Blue Anthem Limited and Black Anthem Limited, also parties to the litigation, have their own claims, and their handling methods are still under discussion. Importantly, as of this writing, the judge's written order has not yet been made public.

World Liberty also prepares for USD1 bank

The timeline adds another dimension to the case. On August 14, six days before the hearing, the OCC granted preliminary conditional approval to the World Liberty Trust Company. The future National Trust Bank will be responsible for issuing and redeeming USD1 and managing its reserves. It plans to take over those businesses from BitGo, which currently holds the role. But the World Liberty Trust is not yet in a position to start operations. Final authorization depends on meeting multiple conditions set by the OCC. The bank must have at least $20 million in Tier 1 capital, maintain sufficient liquid assets to cover 180 days of operating expenses and notify regulators before any major changes in its business model occur. The OCC also reserves the possibility to modify, suspend or revoke its preliminary approval before the agency officially opens. Another element in the document deserves attention: World Liberty Trust cannot issue, hold, or trade WLFI tokens. But the OCC made it clear that World Liberty Financial indirectly shares part of the ownership with the future bank. On paper, this draws a clear line between WLFI tokens and USD1-related banking.

Previous token freeze raises doubts

The separation comes at a time when the exercise of control over certain assets related to World Liberty has become the core of multiple conflicts. In June this year, World Liberty Financial froze some HTX-related chain addresses as part of a sanctions compliance review. The cryptocurrency platform questioned the decision and suspended multiple trading pairs involving WLFI and USD1, while announcing that it would convert its users 'USD1 positions to USDT. A few months ago, in September 2025, a considerable portion of the WLFI tokens held by Sun Yuchen himself were also frozen after being transferred to the trading platform. This incident ultimately led to the current dispute. The legal battle is not limited to California. World Liberty sued Sun Yuchen for defamation and market manipulation in another case. At present, none of these lawsuits has ruled on the merits of the allegations.

Next steps will bring more clarity. On the one hand, Judge James Donato's written order will clarify which claims will remain in court and which may still be subject to arbitration. On the other hand, the World Liberty Trust must meet OCC requirements before it can obtain final authorization. These are two separate cases, but behind them lies the same fundamental question: As USD1 is about to enter a federally regulated banking framework-strengthened by U.S. stablecoin legislation-how far can the control exercised within the World Liberty ecosystem extend?