Who Is the Major Donor Who Contributed 42 Billion Won to the Trump Family's Cryptocurrency Business?

Cryptocurrency 'Tron' Founder Justin Sun
Buyer of 'Banana on the Wall' Auctioned for 8.7 Billion Won

Chinese-American businessman Justin Sun, who is facing allegations of securities regulation violations from U.S. financial authorities, has emerged as the largest investor in the cryptocurrency project "World Liberty Financial" (WLF) promoted by the family of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

Sun stated on his X (formerly Twitter) account, "I am very pleased to invest $30 million (approximately 42.2 billion KRW) in WLF as the largest investor," adding, "The U.S. is becoming a blockchain hub, and Bitcoin owes a debt to Trump. Tron is doing its best to make America great again and lead innovation."

Founder of cryptocurrency company 'Tron', Justin Sun Ex.

Earlier, during the election process, President-elect Trump maintained a cryptocurrency-friendly stance, saying he would "make the U.S. the capital of cryptocurrency" and "hold Bitcoin as a strategic asset." WLF is a project launched the day after Trump survived a second assassination attempt, reportedly led by Trump's sons, with an initial company valuation of $1.5 billion and plans to raise $300 million.

WLF also responded in a statement, "We are very pleased with the market reaction we have experienced," adding, "The large-scale investment indicates the project's early success." They further stated, "In fact, there have been several significant investments in recent weeks, and we are confident in future success as we build a platform that promotes freer and fairer finance."

Sun, a China-born businessman, is the founder of the cryptocurrency company Tron. The cryptocurrency "Tron" he issues ranks among the top 10 by market capitalization on Coinbase. Recently, he also made headlines by winning the bid for the installation artwork "Comedian" by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, known as the "banana taped to the wall," at a contemporary art auction in New York for $6.2 million (approximately 870 million KRW).

The controversy surrounding Sun's investment stems from a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last year. In March 2023, the SEC sued Sun for securities regulation violations. In the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Sun is accused of designing the offering and sale of unregistered securities in cooperation with his owned companies and violating anti-fraud provisions. Sun has responded by stating that the allegations "lack merit."

Earlier this year, Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, also suspended support for Sun's company Tron. Circle explained the suspension as a decision made under its risk management system that continuously evaluates the suitability of all blockchains for stablecoins. As of 8:10 PM Eastern Time on the same day on Coinbase, the price of the cryptocurrency "Tron" (TRX) was trading around 20 cents, down about 5% from the previous day. It has risen approximately 87% since the beginning of the year.