The SEC has effectively paused its fraud prosecution of Justin Sun, a Chinese national who has poured over $50 million into President Donald Trump’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial (WLF).
The SEC originally charged Sun in March 2023, accusing him of promoting unregistered securities and “fraudulently manipulating the secondary market” for a crypto token through a scheme known as wash trading. According to the complaint, Sun also paid celebrities, including Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul, and Soulja Boy, to endorse his digital currencies without revealing the payments—actions that allegedly violated federal law.
READ: What Is Going On With Justin Sun?
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The stakes intensified in December 2024, shortly after Trump won the presidential election. Sun announced his position as the largest investor in WLF, purchasing $30 million of its newly minted tokens.
“TRON is committed to making America great again,” he declared at the time, referencing his own blockchain company.
Trump’s interests immediately benefited: once WLF’s “initial net protocol revenue” reserve was met, a Trump-owned entity became entitled to 75% of all subsequent revenues. By covering the full reserve, Sun had effectively generated $18 million for Trump in a single move.
Sun, unfazed by the tokens’ non-transferable status or the indefinite lock on them, doubled down with additional investments. By early 2025, he had sunk a total of $75 million into WLF. As Bloomberg reported, this extraordinary infusion has resulted in more than $50 million flowing directly to Trump.
Sun celebrated the arrangement on social media, posting in January, “If I have made any money in cryptocurrency, all credit goes to President Trump.”
“Potential Resolution”
Just as questions about Sun’s dealings with Trump grew louder, the SEC case against him took an unexpected turn. The agency and Sun jointly asked a federal judge to stay the proceedings for sixty days so that “the Parties can explore a potential resolution.” The judge promptly granted the request, triggering speculation that the charges will be quietly settled or even abandoned.
Only months ago, the SEC accused him of artificially inflating the value of his digital assets through fraudulent trading schemes. Meanwhile, his exchanges and blockchain projects have suffered multiple hacks totaling hundreds of millions of dollars in losses, with some characterizing these as potential insider maneuvers.
This event follows another recent SEC retreat from litigation against Coinbase soon after the exchange openly supported Trump’s favored crypto token and made multimillion-dollar donations to pro-Trump organizations.
Information for this story was found via Popular Information and the sources and the companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
