The story of Justin Sun, the mastermind behind TRON
By Justin Sun, born in 1990 in Qinghai Province, a sparsely populated area in Western China, embarked on a remarkable journey that would eventually lead him to become one of the most influential figures in the world of cryptocurrencies.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in History from Peking University and a Master’s degree in East Asian Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, Sun developed a passion for cryptocurrencies and invested in Bitcoin early on. In late 2013, he became both an advisor and the chief representative for Ripple Labs in China.
In July 2017, Justin Sun established the non-profit TRON Foundation in Singapore. The foundation launched an ICO for TRX, dubbed the “killer Ethereum,” just prior to China’s implementation of a ban on such fundraising initiatives. Despite successfully raising approximately $70 million, the ICO faced backlash when its white paper was scrutinized. It turned out that the document contained substantial portions borrowed from other blockchain projects, lacking proper attribution.
The rise of the USDD stablecoin
April 2022 marked the debut of USDD, an algorithmic stablecoin pegged to the value of the TRX token and supported by a $10 billion reserve of highly liquid assets. Initially, USDD’s operational structure closely mirrored the UST model from the Terra ecosystem, which ultimately failed. Launched on May 5, 2022, the USDD token expanded its reach beyond the TRON network, becoming accessible on Ethereum and BNB Chain via the BTTC cross-chain protocol.
Following the depegging of the «related» UST and significant challenges facing the Terra ecosystem, the TRON DAO Reserve purchased $61 million worth of BTC and TRX to support the algorithmic stablecoin USDD. Justin Sun pledged to invest $2 billion to stabilize the “stable coin” following its recent decline. He emphasized that the TRON ecosystem would remain committed to USDD and asserted that he had no involvement in the destabilization of UST, attributing its downfall to “excessive, rapid growth.”
The wealth of Justin Sun
As of July, experts from Arkham Intelligence calculated the value of Sun’s cryptocurrency holdings at $1.04 billion. By February, Justin Sun held the fifth-largest position among TRX holders. Analysts estimate that 34% of the TRX issued during the 2017 ICO was given to the TRON Foundation, with the project’s founder likely receiving the biggest portion of that allocation. Between 2017 and 2023, Bitcoin and Ethereum dominated Sana’s cryptocurrency holdings, surpassing TRX in value.
OpenSea data reveals that Justin Sun possesses one NFT from the CryptoPunks collection and 36 unique tokens within The Sandbox, collectively valued at approximately $175,000, based on their lowest market prices. Additionally, he invested $15 million to acquire a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT on the Tron blockchain, now serving as his profile picture on X. The business magnate also shelled out $10.5 million for Tpunk#3442, an NFT resembling the Joker.
