Key Points
- Justin Sun, co-founder of Tron, has denied rumors that his cryptocurrency holdings were liquidated during a recent market downturn.
- Sun has also announced the creation of a $1 billion fund to combat fear and uncertainty in the crypto space during volatile times.
Justin Sun, co-founder of Tron, has firmly dismissed rumors suggesting that his cryptocurrency holdings were liquidated amidst a significant downturn in the crypto market.
These speculations surfaced early Monday morning Asia time after an account posted details of a supposed liquidation.
Addressing the Rumors
Within a short span, Sun responded to the rumor, labeling it as “false”. He stressed that Tron “rarely” partakes in leveraged trading strategies, as he doesn’t see substantial benefits for the industry from such trades. According to Sun, his company prioritizes activities that provide more support to the sector and innovators, such as developing projects and providing teams with liquidity.
The $1B Fund
In a following post, Justin Sun announced the creation of a $1 billion fund aimed at combating fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) in the crypto space during volatile periods. Although he did not disclose detailed plans for the fund, Sun emphasized the industry’s growth over the past year. He stated, “We should reject FUD and keep building. That’s why we’re creating a $1 billion fund to combat FUD, invest more, and provide liquidity.”
Despite the announcement, the crypto community noted the word “rarely” Sun used in his first post and inquired further. Many believe that his post does not reveal the whole story. Jeff Kirdeikis, a retired Bitcoin enthusiast, stated: “Spot buy [$1 billion worth of] BTC, or you’re bluffing.”
The Origin of the Rumor
The tweet that ignited the liquidation rumor attached a screenshot allegedly showing Sun’s crypto holdings and stating, “Justin Sun finally got liquidated.” However, the image was initially posted by the decentralized analytics platform Parsec, with no reference to Sun.
Adding fuel to the speculation, Arthur Hayes, the former CEO and co-founder of BitMEX, posted that his sources in traditional finance had informed him that a significant player had suffered heavy losses. “No idea if this is true, I won’t name names, but let the fam know if you are hearing the same?” he added.
These rumors circulated as Bitcoin saw around a 14% drop in the past day to $52,400. The cryptocurrency also experienced a 13% decline in its market cap during the same period, currently standing at $1.03 trillion. Similarly, Ethereum dropped 20.5% to $2,300 in the past 24 hours, down by 32% over the week.
Meanwhile, Nasdaq slid 3.4% last week following disappointing quarterly earnings from tech giants like Amazon.
Last month, as the market reacted to the German government’s Bitcoin sell-off, Sun had proposed to buy all BTC off-market from the country. He also recently made headlines for purchasing 1,614 Ether ahead of the spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) launch.
