Justin Sun, founder of blockchain platform Tron, poses for a photo in Hong Kong, China, Friday, May 8, 2020.
Calvin Schitt | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Tron blockchain founder Justin Sun announced on Monday that he has invested $30 million in Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency project, World Liberty Financial.
“We are excited to invest $30 million in World Liberty Financial @worldlibertyfi As our largest investor,” Sun said. I wrote it in X’s post.
Sun recently made national headlines when he spent $6.2 million at a Sotheby’s auction to buy a banana duct-taped to a wall.
World Liberty Financial, the Trump-branded crypto platform, aims to become a kind of digital asset bank where customers are encouraged to lend, borrow and invest in digital coins.
Mr. Trump licenses his name and publicity considerations to the business through an LLC with no liability. In return, Trump’s LLC received billions in tokens and the right to receive 75% of any proceeds above the $30 million threshold.
The platform launched the WLFI token last month, saying: road map The initial sale was aimed at raising $300 million at a valuation of $1.5 billion.
Prior to Sun’s investment, $21.2 million worth of tokens had been sold. As of Monday afternoon, $51.2 million worth of tokens had been sold, according to the website. Sales now appear to be above the $30 million threshold to begin distributing profits to Trump’s LLC.
“The United States is becoming a blockchain hub; Bitcoin Thanks to @realDonaldTrump ! TRON is committed to making America great again and leading in innovation. Let’s go! ” Sun added.
WLFI co-founder Zachary Folkman said “well over 100,000 people” are on the whitelist to invest in the token. However, as of Monday afternoon, only about 20,400 unique wallet addresses held the tokens. blockchain data It is tracked by Etherscan and represents approximately 20% of the total number of subscribers.
“We’ve seen a number of similarly large acquisitions in recent weeks, and we’re confident in our continued success and in building something that will help make finance freer and fairer,” Folkman said in a statement. said. “We expect to see further such developments in the coming weeks and months.”
President Trump won’t be inaugurated until January, but Sun’s investment in WLFI and the proceeds, which are expected to be directed to Trump LLC based on the terms disclosed, could help Trump pursue new ventures like his social media company. is highlighted. Trump Media Technology Group And this crypto venture could offer a more direct opportunity for individuals to enrich the president-elect than his hotels and office buildings.
During President Trump’s first term, there were near-constant questions about whether lavish spending by foreign governments on Trump’s Washington, D.C., hotel rooms and banquets violated the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause.
This provision prohibits federal officials from accepting payments or anything of value from foreign governments and their representatives.
But prices for rooms and office space at Trump hotels are relatively fixed, and costs weigh on gross profits.
By contrast, as Sun’s token purchase demonstrated, investors in Trump’s new ventures can instantly inject tens of millions of dollars at little or no cost to Trump.
Spokespeople for President Trump’s transition office, World Liberty Financial and Sands Tron did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Mr. Sun’s acquisition comes as Mr. Trump continues to actively work on his list of appointees. The president-elect finished appointing his cabinet over the weekend and then took over the leadership of other government agencies and departments.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said, He met with President Trump on November 18 to discuss the appointment. Throughout the day, conversations swirled about the possibility of President Trump creating the White House. first crypto emperor.
By the end of the week, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, a longtime opponent of cryptocurrencies and whose term does not expire until June 2026, announced that he would step down on Inauguration Day.
In March 2023, the commission revealed fraud and unregistered securities charges against Sun, as well as his Tronix and BitTorrent crypto backers Jake Paul, Lindsay Lohan, Soulja Boy and others. It also revealed separate violations against celebrities.
The SEC alleged that Sun committed fraud by manipulating the trading activity of the two tokens to appear as if they were actively traded when none existed. On the other hand, fees for unregistered offers and sales are applicable to Genesis, Gemini, coinbaseBinance, Kraken.
President Trump has not yet chosen a candidate to replace Gensler to lead the SEC. Under new leadership, securities regulators may choose to drop some enforcement actions against major crypto ventures. It is unclear how the Tron incident will be affected.
The cryptocurrency industry has come out strong this election cycle. Several prominent sector leaders, including Gemini co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, as well as several executives from crypto companies fighting the SEC, have donated to PACs supporting the Trump campaign.
