From SEC defendant to Wall Street bell ringer, the remarkable "Gatesun" powerfully interprets the game of thrones.

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Original | Odaily Daily Report (@OdailyChina)

Author | Dingdang (@XiaMiPP)

From SEC defendant to Wall Street bell ringer, the remarkable "Gates' Grandson" powerfully interprets the game of thrones

On July 24, Eastern Time, the crypto world will witness a landmark moment: Tron Inc. (NASDAQ:TRON) will ring the opening bell at the Nasdaq exchange in Times Square, New York. This operation of going public through a reverse merger not only marks Tron’s official entry into the American financial arena but also dramatically places its global advisor Justin Sun on the core stage of Wall Street.

Three years ago, Sun Yuchen was almost shut out of the U.S. market due to the SEC lawsuit, but now he returns to New York as the bell ringer for Nasdaq. This "breaking the wall" action that crosses the cryptocurrency circle and traditional finance not only announces Tron’s key leap to mainstream but also reflects a turning point in the era where crypto assets gradually infiltrate the traditional system. For Sun Yuchen, the bell sound in Times Square will undoubtedly become the most metaphorical footnote in his career as a disruptor — when the hammer falls, it signals not only the opening of the trading day but also the clarion call for the crypto forces to advance against the traditional financial stronghold.

Background Review: Reverse Merging and Trading Details

News about TRON's reverse merger first appeared on June 16. At that time, multiple media outlets, including the Financial Times, reported that TRON planned to achieve indirect listing through a reverse merger with the NASDAQ-listed company SRM Entertainment, with the deal being handled by the investment bank Dominari Securities, which has connections to the Trump family.

According to reports, SRM Entertainment has signed a $100 million equity financing agreement with a private investor, proposing to issue 100,000 shares of Class B convertible preferred stock (conversion price of $0.50 per share, corresponding to 200 million shares of common stock), as well as 220 million warrants (exercise price of $0.50 per share). If all warrants are exercised, the total scale of the transaction could reach $210 million, which is more than 23 times the 17.24 million shares circulating prior to the SRM transaction.

According to the SEC filing, the leader of this financing is Sun Yuchen's father, Sun Weike, who injected TRX assets through the PIPE model to gain control of SRM and assumed the role of chairman of the board after the transaction was completed. The original members of the SRM board were completely replaced, and the core management team of Tron entered key committees such as audit, compensation, and nominations.

Although Tron DAO is not directly involved in transactions in terms of legal or governance structure, the entire process is generally perceived by the market as a capital path choice led by the TRON controlling team. The new company plans to incorporate TRX into its long-term strategic asset allocation, with an overall approach similar to Strategy's financial strategy for BTC: strengthening token credit anchoring through the identity of a listed company, constructing a stable narrative.* (Recommended reading reference: "Tron merges with SRM aiming for Nasdaq, Sun Yuchen's move in the atmosphere") *

Political Cryptoization: The Intersection of Interests Between Sun Yuchen and the Trump Family

Behind this reverse merger transaction, there is also a clear power logic clue: Trump family.

According to multiple sources, Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of Trump, and Eric Trump, the second son, have joined the advisory board of Dominari Holdings, the parent company of Dominari Securities, before the announcement of the deal, each receiving 750,000 incentive shares. They received 250,000 shares upon joining, and the remaining 500,000 shares will be unlocked based on company valuation milestones. Although Eric Trump stated that he would not hold a position at Tron Inc., there is still much speculation about the deeper significance of this relationship chain.

Sun Yuchen's connections with Trump's camp have become increasingly close. He is an advisor to the cryptocurrency project WLFI, which is led by Trump's allies, and he has invested $75 million to support the development of its stablecoin USD1, which recently launched on the TRON mainnet.

In early 2025, the SEC (which was then headed by pro-crypto commissioner Paul Atkins) jointly applied with the Sun Yuchen team to suspend the lawsuit and seek a possible settlement. At that time, the SEC's charges against Sun Yuchen were still unresolved, but it had gradually lost political momentum.

In the following months, Sun Yuchen made frequent moves: he appeared on the cover of the English version of Forbes, being dubbed as the "crypto billionaire who helped the Trump family earn $400 million"; attended the Token 2049 summit alongside Eric Trump; became the guest of honor at the "TRUMP" token community dinner, receiving a limited edition Trump watch; and even rumors circulated that he "only stays at Trump hotels."

Behind this series of intensive interactions is the intertwining of political resources and capital tools, which may also be an important support for TRON's entry into the US stock market.

Market Performance and TRON Ecosystem Data

With the advancement of capital pathways, the TRON network itself is also continuously demonstrating growth momentum.

On May 29, Artemis, in collaboration with Dragonfly and Castle Island Ventures, released a report indicating that USDT holds an absolute dominant position in the current stablecoin payment market, with over 60% of its transaction circulation completed via the TRON network. The annualized payment scale is estimated to reach 72.3 billion USD by February 2025, significantly outpacing USDC's performance in similar scenarios, which is still in the market share catch-up phase.

TRONSCAN data shows that as of mid-July, the total number of active accounts on the TRON network has exceeded 320 million, with a total of over 10.9 billion on-chain transactions and a total locked value (TVL) exceeding 24.6 billion USD. Stablecoin-related assets remain the main source of contribution. Among them, the current circulation of TRC 20-USDT is 81.6 billion, ranking first across all chains globally; the total supply of the native stablecoin USDD has increased to 500 million, showing a significant growth.

From the perspective of the distribution and supply of stablecoins, Tron is just slightly below Ethereum. Compared to other public chains, the two are far ahead in terms of market share.

From SEC defendant to Wall Street bell ringer, the amazing "Gates Sun" powerfully interprets the Game of Thrones

On the mainnet, the deflation process of TRX has officially started. The TRON community passed Proposal No. 102 with an overwhelming majority on June 13, reducing the block reward for TRX from the original 16 TRX to 8 TRX (a 50% reduction), and the voting reward from the original 160 TRX to 128 TRX (a 20% reduction), with the aim of increasing TRX's annual deflation rate from 0.85% to 1.29%. This reduction in production aims to accelerate the deflation process of TRX and optimize TRON's economic model to ensure the long-term sustainable development of the network.

Currently, Tron Inc. has advanced the inclusion of TRX into the listed company's treasury system and has submitted an application for a TRX staking ETF in cooperation with the asset management company Canary. If approved smoothly, TRX may become one of the core narratives in this cycle. However, the cryptocurrency market is highly volatile, and investments should be made with caution.

Sun Yuchen and the "New Financial Myth"

Looking back at the past two years, Sun Yuchen's trajectory can be described as a "dramatic comeback." In 2023, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Sun Yuchen and TRON, accusing them of issuing unregistered securities and manipulating market transactions, walking on the edge of the law; in 2024, betting on Trump and becoming a real driver of political capital; in 2025, integrating on-chain narratives while going public through a shell company. Each step is taken in the gaps of the times, and each step carries significant symbolism.

Rather than saying he is conducting a company listing, it is more accurate to say it is a transformation of identity: from SEC defendant to Nasdaq advisor, from on-chain storyteller to Wall Street capital legend. "Asia Weekly" has once again featured him on the cover with the title "Global Crypto Pioneer." From a talented young man harboring the "Peking University dream" in 2011 to becoming one of the recognized Chinese leaders in the crypto industry, the remarkable Gates Sun is becoming synonymous with the "new financial myth."

From SEC defendant to Wall Street bell ringer, the remarkable "Gates Sun" powerfully interprets the game of thrones

But regardless of the title, in this era of "narrative is reality," Sun Yuchen has indeed completed an important proposition: How can crypto projects systematically "infiltrate" the mainstream system?

And Tron’s bell ringing is just the first chapter of this story.

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