Justin Sun settles SEC crypto case for $10M, awaits court approval

Tron founder Justin Sun agreed to pay $10 million to resolve a civil fraud case brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over trading in the Tronix (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT) crypto assets. The payment will come from one of his companies, the deal involves no admission of wrongdoing, and a federal judge in Manhattan must approve it.

The SEC sued Sun, 35, and Tron Foundation, BitTorrent Foundation and Rainberry in March 2023. The complaint alleged an illegal distribution of TRX and BitTorrent BTT, trading designed to inflate volumes by directing hundreds of thousands of tronix transactions between accounts he controlled, and undisclosed payments to celebrity promoters. According to the complaint, the trading generated about $31 million in proceeds. Celebrities named included actress Lindsay Lohan, singers Akon and Ne-Yo, and social media personality Jake Paul.

The case was filed during the tenure of SEC Chair Gary Gensler under former President Joe Biden. After President Donald Trump returned to the White House, the SEC paused the case in February 2025 to explore a possible resolution. Sun has since emerged as a prominent buyer of the World Liberty Financial token, a crypto asset in which Trump holds a partial ownership stake.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, criticized the agreement, arguing, “The SEC should not be a lap dog for Trump’s billionaire buddies.” The White House responded that policy decisions are made in the public interest. “The President is and always has been motivated solely by what is best for the American people,” spokeswoman Taylor Rogers wrote in a statement.

The court must still review and approve the settlement before the SEC’s claims are formally dismissed.

Previously, three Democrats asked the SEC to explain the 11-month pause in its case against Justin Sun and to preserve all related records and communications. They cited rising crypto industry donations, saying firms gave at least $85 million to Donald Trump and that companies later dropped by the SEC each gave over $1 million to his inauguration. The lawmakers also noted Sun invested over $75 million in Trump-aligned crypto projects, including World Liberty Financial, and raised national-security concerns citing his Chinese state media appearances and links to Chinese officials.