Quem diria que um homem rico comendo uma banana poderia levar à demissão de três editores de mídia. Não muito tempo atrás, Justin Sun, um conhecido magnata da criptografia e fundador da Tron, gastou uma enorme soma de 45 milhões (US$ 6,2 milhões) para comprar e comer uma banana, o que atraiu ampla atenção da mídia global. Mas então, Sun Yuchen pressionou a mídia de criptografia independente CoinDesk para excluir um artigo sobre ele comendo bananas, o que causou a demissão de três editores seniores, causando polêmica novamente. Isso faz as pessoas se perguntarem: o que exatamente foi escrito naquele artigo? Quão influente é Justin Sun agora?
Pressure from billionaires
In late November, the cryptocurrency media CoinDesk published an article highlighting the recent striking actions of blockchain billionaire Sun Yuchen. The article detailed how Sun Yuchen devoured a banana worth $6.2 million purchased at a Sotheby's auction. This banana was originally created by an artist and is titled 'Comedian.'
The title of the article was (I watched Sun Yuchen eat the world's most expensive banana. I really don't understand), exploring the context of this behavior 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 Sun Yuchen and his blockchain company Tron have filed to dismiss the charges. Shortly after the release, CoinDesk faced significant 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 demand the article's removal.
Interestingly, Bullish, CoinDesk's parent company, quickly fired three senior editors citing restructuring and cost-cutting.
CoinDesk's independence is controversial
Bullish is a cryptocurrency exchange managed by a former president of the New York Stock Exchange and is expected to implement an IPO listing plan next year. In 2023, Bullish acquired CoinDesk for $75 million, far below the initially anticipated $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 previous owner went through a difficult period, and ultimately CoinDesk could not escape the 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 coverage, 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 tone of the article, which also discussed media coverage of Tron and Sun Yuchen's connections to illegal finance. It is understood that this 'illegal finance' refers to BiT Global.
Sun Yuchen is in 'new trouble'
Here is a brief introduction to BiT Global, an automated online investment platform that has launched a token supported 1:1 by Bitcoin, abbreviated as WBTC, and listed on the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. BiT Global announced in August this year that it would collaborate with Sun Yuchen to share control over cryptocurrencies. In fact, BiT Global is affiliated with Sun Yuchen, the founder of Tron.
The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase suddenly announced on November 19 that it would suspend trading of WBTC from December 19. The reason given was that 'the addition of Sun Yuchen poses unacceptable risks.'
In response to Coinbase's delisting action, BiT Global immediately initiated a lawsuit, accusing Coinbase of promoting its own competing product, Coinbase Wrapped BTC (cbBTC), which was launched on September 12 and has 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 of over $1 billion.
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