The latest ally of President-elect Donald Trump in the cryptocurrency market is a Chinese-born entrepreneur. Recently, this man was also accused of fraud by U.S. regulators and is the same billionaire who spent $6.2 million to buy... a banana.
Justin Sun (1990), the founder of the Tron blockchain, invested $30 million in the cryptocurrency project backed by the Trump family called World Liberty Financial in November. Notably, Sun invested in the project just as it seemed to struggle to reach its fundraising goals, jeopardizing potential payments to the Trump family. Sun currently serves as an advisor to World Liberty.
There are many troubles surrounding Sun. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Sun and three of his businesses in 2023. The agency accused Sun of selling unregistered securities, manipulating token prices, and paying Lindsay Lohan along with some other celebrities to promote his plans.
Notably, for the past seven years, Sun has consistently engaged in shady activities in the cryptocurrency world. Price volatility and major scandals may have caused some contemporaries to leave, but Sun continues to remain unfazed by past controversies and legal battles.
Just a few days before investing in World Liberty, Sun spent over $6 million at a Sotheby's auction for a piece of art that included a banana taped to a white wall. He then held a press conference to showcase himself eating that banana.
To attract attention, Sun stated: "I want to be the Elon Musk of the cryptocurrency world. Although it may sound crazy or too ambitious for some, I ultimately think that a lot of what we do will yield great results."
According to Dennis Kelleher, CEO of Better Markets, a group advocating for tighter financial oversight, Sun's investment in World Liberty seems to be an effort to win over the incoming Trump administration. 'But this is a very serious lawsuit,' he said. These allegations 'are not something that even the new SEC chair would easily dismiss.'
A spokesperson for Tron stated that they "strongly oppose these accusations and any wrongdoing." Sun's companies have sought to dismiss the lawsuit.
Sun stated that he decided to invest in World Liberty after seeing Mr. Trump and his sons Eric and Donald Jr. promote their interest in "merging cryptocurrency and traditional finance." The sale of World Liberty tokens is not just about bringing digital assets into the mainstream.
According to sources, the organization owned by the Trump family will earn 75% of the net revenue if the project raises $30 million.
By mid-November, World Liberty had raised about $20 million. Then, Sun joined in, investing $30 million to ensure that the Trump family would receive their payment. "I always wanted more people to get involved in the cryptocurrency industry," Sun said. A spokesperson stated that Sun's investment decisions are not politically motivated.
Sun came to the U.S. in 2011 to pursue a master's degree at the University of Pennsylvania. He became fascinated with Elon Musk and Tesla. And during the law school entrance exam, he learned about bitcoin and became captivated by cryptocurrency – which later helped change the direction of Sun's career.
Sun launched the Tron blockchain in 2017 as a faster and cheaper alternative to Ethereum and sold $70 million in TRX tokens before China declared this fundraising method illegal and issued a ban. In 2018, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin accused Sun of copying his white paper.
Tron has also become a popular destination for transactions using Tether, the world's largest stablecoin.
According to cryptocurrency analytics firm TRM Labs, nearly half of the illegal cryptocurrency volume occurred on the Tron blockchain last year. Tron is currently collaborating with TRM to detect illegal activities and has helped freeze about $70 million in assets this year. As a blockchain, Tron does not evaluate user intentions, a spokesperson for Sun said.
Since then, Sun has expanded his operations into a network of companies and attracted attention in every possible way.
In 2021, Sun took the title 'Sir' after winning the right to appoint a representative for Grenada at the World Trade Organization, although this Caribbean nation later revoked Sun's position.
Sun paid $28 million for a front-row seat on a space tourism rocket developed by Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. However, he did not take the trip, citing scheduling conflicts.
When the cryptocurrency empire FTX of Sam Bankman-Fried collapsed in 2022, Sun gathered reporters in Singapore to announce that he would consider purchasing some assets from the exchange. However, no deals were made afterward.
Fearing the influence of Sun, Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., canceled the listing of a token issued by BiT Global this month, citing "unacceptable risk" that the coin would fall into Sun's hands. BiT, advised by Sun, has sued Coinbase over its decision. A spokesperson for Sun stated that the delisting "is not even evidence of any wrongdoing" by Sun.
Sun even tried to make an argument about cryptocurrency with one of the market's opponents, Warren Buffett. In 2019, Sun offered $4.6 million for a chance to have dinner with the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway.
However, Sun postponed the last-minute meeting, then changed the location. By the time the meeting was rescheduled, Sun apologized for "over-promoting" and "tending to exaggerate the situation." For his part, Buffett continues to stay away from bitcoin.
But recently Sun asserted: 'I think Warren Buffett made a mistake.'