TRON DAO Welcomes SEC Decision to Drop Case Against Tron Foundation and Justin Sun

• The TRON DAO has praised the US SEC’s decision to settle a case against Justin Sun, the TRON Foundation and the BitTorrent Foundation.
• Sun-owned Rainberry, formerly known as BitTorrent Inc., was ordered to pay a $10 million civil penalty to the regulator.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has settled its claims against Justin Sun and three related organizations in a decision the TRON DAO has termed “meaningful progress.”

In a court filing at the Southern District of New York on Thursday, the watchdog dropped the charges against Sun, the TRON Foundation and the BitTorrent Foundation. Announcing the dismissal, Sun said that the filing would bring closure to the multi-year court battle, but that he had never stopped building despite the legal woes. He added:

The TRON DAO said the dismissal showed that the watchdog is making meaningful progress toward making the US pro-innovation. It reiterated Sun’s message that the network would keep building and strengthening.

Announcing the dismissal, BitTorrent said it was pleased to resolve the matter and move forward.

“A new era of support for innovation is just beginning, and today’s resolution is an encouraging step for the future of innovation in the United States,” it added.

Critics Question TRON’s Link to World Liberty

In the filing, the SEC says it had reached a settlement with the defendants and was seeking to “achieve a global resolution.” While all the charges against Sun and the two foundations were dropped, the SEC demanded $10 million in a civil penalty from Rainberry, which was previously known as BitTorrent Inc.

The lawsuit was filed in 2023 under Chairman Gary Gensler. The SEC alleged that Sun and his three related entities engaged in securities violations by selling unregistered securities in TRX and BTT tokens. Sun also faced charges of wash trading, with the agency claiming he engaged in deceptive practices to prop up the price of the two tokens.

Additionally, he paid eight celebrities to push the tokens without revealing they were being compensated. These included Jake Paul, Lindsay Lohan, Akon, Soulja Boy and Ne-Yo. Six of the celebrities paid $400,000 in penalties to the SEC in a separate settlement.

Sun, the two foundations and Rainberry agreed to the settlement terms without admitting guilt. Rainberry also committed to never engage in deceptive trading practices.

While the TRON DAO celebrated the dismissal, others questioned the move. Amanda Fischer, who was the agency’s chief of staff under Gensler, called the penalty “a slap on the wrist” for an operation that made tens of millions of dollars.

Others have also linked the dismissal to Sun’s tie-ups with President Trump and his family’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial. Sun was among the earliest to back the project and has partnered extensively with it to expand its market. He is reported to have invested $75 million of his own money in WLFI.

Sun’s links to World Liberty have been publicly showcased over the past year. At a crypto conference in Dubai last year, Zach Witkoff, one of the co-founders of the project, stated, “I just got to thank you for the support, Justin. TRON is just an incredible technology, and we’re lucky to be partners with you.”