The SEC settled with Tron and Justin Sun, requiring Rainberry Inc. to pay a $10 million fine and be barred from future securities violations.
SEC Settlement with Tron and Justin Sun
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reached a settlement with Tron and its founder, Justin Sun, on Thursday. Rainberry Inc., a company associated with the Tron network, will pay a $10 million fine and be barred from future violations of securities regulations.
Regulatory Action and Settlement Details
In 2023, the SEC sued Sun and Tron for alleged violations of federal securities laws. The charges included the sale and airdropping of Tron (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT) tokens, with the SEC alleging that the tokens were unregistered securities. Additionally, the regulator accused the defendants of engaging in an extensive wash trading scheme to manipulate the secondary market for TRX.
According to the SEC's court filing, Rainberry Inc. will pay a $10 million fine and be permanently barred from future securities violations. The settlement also dismisses all claims against Justin Sun, Tron Foundation, and BitTorrent Foundation. The Commission has approved the terms of the settlement, and the proposed Final Judgment is pending federal judge approval.
Historical Context and Recent Developments
During Gary Gensler's tenure as SEC Chair, the agency brought numerous lawsuits against crypto firms. However, most of these cases were dropped after President Donald Trump's re-election in January 2024, with Commissioner Mark Uyeda, the acting chair, leading the decision. The current SEC Chair is Paul Atkins.
In a separate development, Justin Sun purchased about $75 million worth of World Liberty Financial tokens (WLFI) shortly after Trump's re-election in 2024. By mid-2025, his overall ownership, including unvested tokens, reached nearly $700 million. The SEC's case against Sun was paused in conjunction with other crypto firm cases.
Statements from Parties Involved
Spokespeople for Tron did not provide a response by press time. A spokesperson for the SEC declined to comment. Justin Sun stated on X, "Today’s resolution brings closure, but I never stopped building. I will continue to focus on accelerating innovation in the United States and around the world and look forward to working with the SEC to develop guidance and regulations for crypto going forward."
### Updates
- March 5, 22:00 UTC: Additional context was added.
- March 5, 22:47 UTC: The SEC's refusal to comment was included, and Sun's WLFI token ownership was amended.
- March 5, 23:45 UTC: Sun's tweet was added for further clarification.
Source: Read Original Article
Post a Comment