Justin Sun's Crypto Empire Settles SEC Lawsuit with $10M Penalty

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) wants to settle an active lawsuit against Justin Sun's crypto empire. The proposed final settlement has already received a sign-off from Sun's legal team, but remains subject to court approval.

What's the Scoop?

• Initial Complaint: Under the Biden Administration, the SEC charged Justin Sun and three of his wholly-owned companies (Tron Foundation Limited, BitTorrent Foundation Ltd., and Rainberry Inc.) for selling TRX and BTT tokens as unregistered securities, and for fraudulently manipulating the price of TRX through extensive wash trading. At that time, the SEC also charged eight celebrities for illegally promoting TRX and BTT without disclosing that they were compensated for doing so and the amount of their compensation.
• Proposed Settlement: On Thursday, the SEC filed a proposed final judgment in its case against Sun. It would settle wash trading charges with Sun's Rainberry Inc. with a $10M penalty and require the entity to permanently desist from unlawfully offering or selling any security. All other charges would be dismissed with prejudice, meaning the SEC could not pursue future charges for the prior actions.
• Happily Resolved: In a response to the proposed settlement posted to X, Justin Sun proclaimed that he, "will continue to focus on accelerating innovation in the United States and... look[s] forward to working with the SEC to develop guidance and regulations for crypto going forward."