Who would have thought that a billionaire eating a banana could lead to the dismissal of three media editors? Recently, well-known crypto billionaire and Tron founder Sun Yuchen spent a whopping $45 million (6.2 million USD) to buy and eat a banana, drawing widespread media attention globally. However, Sun Yuchen later pressured independent crypto media CoinDesk to remove an article about him eating the banana, resulting in the dismissal of three senior editors and sparking further controversy. This raises the question: What exactly did that article say? Just how powerful is Sun Yuchen now?
Pressure from a billionaire
In late November, the cryptocurrency media CoinDesk published an article highlighting blockchain billionaire Sun Yuchen's recent attention-grabbing actions. The article detailed how Sun Yuchen ate a banana worth $6.2 million that he purchased at a Sotheby's auction. This banana was originally created by an artist and titled 'Comedian.'
The title of the article was (I watched Sun Yuchen eat the world's most expensive banana. I really don't understand), discussing the context of this act in the art world and introducing Sun Yuchen's background, including his legal disputes with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Sun Yuchen with fraud, but he and his blockchain company Tron have moved to dismiss the charges. Shortly after the release, CoinDesk faced immense pressure. According to Fortune, Sun Yuchen's team expressed dissatisfaction with the tone of the article, leading CoinDesk's parent company, the cryptocurrency exchange Bullish, to request the article's removal.
Interestingly, CoinDesk's parent company Bullish quickly fired three senior editors under the pretext of restructuring and cost-cutting.
CoinDesk's independence is under controversy
Bullish is a cryptocurrency exchange managed by a former president of the New York Stock Exchange and is expected to implement an IPO plan next year. In 2023, Bullish acquired CoinDesk for $75 million, significantly lower than the initially expected $200 million valuation, but this acquisition is seen as a strategic move to enhance the exchange's media influence.
Before Bullish acquired CoinDesk, the media's former owner went through a tough period, ultimately leading to CoinDesk's fate of being sold. Since the acquisition, Bullish has emphasized its commitment to maintaining CoinDesk's editorial independence. Nevertheless, Sun Yuchen's request to delete the article raised concerns about how sponsors influence media reporting, especially when significant economic interests are involved.
According to reports, Tron is a major sponsor of the CoinDesk Consensus conference series. Sources say that Sun Yuchen's team opposed the article not only due to its tone but also because it discussed media coverage of Tron and Sun Yuchen's connections to illegal finance. This 'illegal finance' refers to BiT Global.
Sun Yuchen is in 'new trouble'
Here is a brief introduction to BiT Global, which is an automated online investment platform that has launched a token supported 1:1 by Bitcoin, known as WBTC, and is listed on the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. In August of this year, BiT Global announced that it would collaborate with Sun Yuchen, sharing control over cryptocurrency. In fact, BiT Global is affiliated with Tron founder Sun Yuchen.
The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase suddenly announced on November 19 that it would suspend WBTC trading on the exchange starting December 19, citing 'unacceptable risks' associated with Sun Yuchen's involvement.
In response to Coinbase's delisting move, BiT Global immediately initiated a lawsuit, accusing Coinbase of trying to promote its competing product, Coinbase Wrapped BTC (cbBTC), which was launched on September 12 and has since become one of the most popular Bitcoin wrappers with a total locked value of approximately $1.4 billion. BiT Global filed a lawsuit against Coinbase on December 13, seeking damages exceeding $1 billion.
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