Tron Archives | Protos https://protos.com/tag/tron/ Informed crypto news Tue, 10 Dec 2024 12:58:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.6 https://protos-media.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/30110137/cropped-protos-favicon-32x32.png Tron Archives | Protos https://protos.com/tag/tron/ 32 32 Wrapped Bitcoin hides bitcoins for WBTC on Tron https://protos.com/wrapped-bitcoin-hides-bitcoins-for-wbtc-on-tron/ Mon, 09 Dec 2024 18:18:14 +0000 https://protos.com/?p=81766 Wrapped Bitcoin has removed WBTC on Tron from its dashboard where it provides proof-of-reserves for the various forms of the token.

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On August 9, BitGo announced that it was transitioning Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) to a new “strategic partnership between BitGo, Justin Sun, and the Tron Ecosystem.”

The announcement continued that this partner would would “continue to provide real-time proof-of-reserves.”

Despite specifically referencing the Tron ecosystem and promising that real-time proof-of-reserves would also continue, WBTC on TRON, as well as WETH on TRON, have been removed from the WBTC dashboard, meaning the proof-of-reserves for this token is no longer available.

The dashboard no longer includes WBTC on Tron but still features the versions on Ethereum, Base, Kava, and Osmosis.

An on-chain review of WBTC on Tron doesn’t show any substantial changes in the supply recently. However, it’s not currently possible to verify the BTC that is meant to collateralize these tokens.

Read more: Coinbase to delist WBTC months after Justin Sun controversy

These changes to WBTC come quick on the heels of Sun-advised HTX redeeming thousands of WBTC it hadn’t previously disclosed.

It’s not clear why WBTC made this change, especially as it continues to advertise on its homepage that it’s “Completely transparent. 100% verifiable.”

This change to not disclosing its backing brings WBTC on Tron in line with Sun-owned Poloniex’s BTC on Tron product. This product is approximately 1,000 times larger than WBTC on Tron, makes up a massive portion of all BTC on HTX, and doesn’t disclose where the backing is held.

Protos has reached out to BitGo, BiT Global, WBTC, and Justin Sun but none responded immediately to questions about why these products were removed from the website.

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Justin Sun reveals Poloniex issues prevent proof of reserves https://protos.com/justin-sun-reveals-poloniex-issues-prevent-proof-of-reserves/ Wed, 18 Sep 2024 16:01:34 +0000 https://protos.com/?p=75357 Poloniex has a page on its website titled 'Proof of Reserves,' but this only shows how much Tron is on the platform.

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Justin Sun has taken to X (formerly Twitter) to explain that “all exchanges in the industry have already implemented proof of reserves (PoR).” He followed up this pronouncement by further emphasizing that “there is only one explanation for why” exchanges have yet to do it — “they are unable to meet the requirements.”

This reveal was somewhat surprising as Poloniex, a cryptocurrency exchange owned by Sun, has not implemented PoR, and as such we are forced to conclude that Poloniex is also “unable to meet the requirements.”

Poloniex has a page on its website that claims to be a “Proof of Reserves,” but this page only shows how much Tron is on Poloniex, neglecting every single other asset. 

These issues become especially interesting in light of the fact that Sun has recently focused so many of his criticisms on the newly launched cbBTC, Coinbase’s wrapped-Bitcoin product. He has repeatedly emphasized that the lack of disclosure surrounding where the bitcoins are stored represents a fundamental problem with cbBTC. 

However, again, Poloniex is a problem. Poloniex offers a popular Bitcoin on Tron product that is far larger than cbBTC. This product has a market cap of approximately $6.7 billion, far larger than the $110 million that cbBTC represents. Poloniex also refuses to disclose where the bitcoins for this product are held.

Even more troubling, the Poloniex product represents more than half of all bitcoin at Sun-advised HTX, making Sun’s insistence on these cbBTC issues even more inexplicable.

Read more: Launch of cbBTC, WBTC competitor, sparks Justin Sun hypocrisy

Poloniex has previously committed to providing a PoR audit, but no audit has been provided for Poloniex, and Sun now insists that “auditors can’t guarantee that the funds are still on-chain.”

Protos has reached out to Poloniex about these issues, but at press we have not heard back. 

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Justin Sun’s USDD removes 12,000 BTC without DAO approval https://protos.com/justin-suns-usdd-removes-12000-btc-without-dao-approval/ Wed, 21 Aug 2024 16:06:22 +0000 https://protos.com/?p=73348 Despite Sun and USDD's claims that it is governed by a DAO, there are no governance votes that seem to correspond to the change. 

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USDD, the algorithmic stablecoin on Tron supposedly governed by the TRON DAO Reserve, has removed approximately 12,000 bitcoins from its collateral, despite the DAO not approving the change.

The coin was originally planned to be a Terra rip-off promoted by Justin Sun, however, ambitions to integrate it into the core of TRON were abandoned following the ignominious failure of Terra-Luna.

Previously, the USDD transparency page included approximately 12,000 BTC in 1KVpuCfhftkzJ67ZUegaMuaYey7qni7pPj; however, that address is no longer included. 

Despite Sun and USDD’s frequent claims that it is governed by a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), there are no governance votes that seem to correspond to this change

There has actually only been one vote in the entire history of the DAO, back in May 2023, when a vote was held to allow USDD to use ‘burned’ TRX for the stablecoin. This suggests that neither Sun or USDD understand what ‘burned’ means. 

USDD has had other issues surrounding its collateral, including storing a significant quantity at HTX, despite not consulting with the so-called DAO.

Read more: How involved is Justin Sun with WBTC’s new custodian BiT Global?

USDD has a total supply of approximately $744 million, making it larger than TrueUSD, Tether Gold, and the inspiration for the system, Terra Classic. 

The ‘Peg Stability Module’ for the token, which enables users to easily swap it for other stablecoins, is nearly drained, holding $19 million USDT, 0 USDC, 0 TUSD, and 0 UDSJ.

Protos has reached out to USDD for comment on these issues but has not received a response at time of publication. 

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Justin Sun proposes billion-dollar fund to save crypto https://protos.com/justin-sun-proposes-billion-dollar-fund-to-save-crypto/ Mon, 05 Aug 2024 12:59:44 +0000 https://protos.com/?p=71992 Sun is apparently keen to start a billion-dollar fund to save the entire crypto space in the midst of a 20% drawdown of most tokens.

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In another attempt to garner attention — much like his offer to buy Bitcoin from the German government, purchase TRON from holders on FTX, and otherwise throw money at numerous projects in the cryptocurrency industry — TRON creator Justin Sun is now, apparently keen to start a billion-dollar fund to save the entire space from self-immolation in the midst of a 20% drawdown of the price of most tokens, including bitcoin.

The offer, whether real or fictional, comes in the wake of a broader financial correction that’s seen the Japanese Nikkei lose 20% — all gains year-to-date — in a few days, and other important indexes, such as the S&P 500 and Hang Seng Index, also lose multiple percentages from their highs in a short period of time.

Investors appear to be rattled by US employment statistics and uncertainty about whether or not the Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell, will cut rates soon.

However, most crypto advocates have long held that the asset class shouldn’t correlate to other volatile financial markets, like tech stocks and flows into venture capital. In fact, Bitwise CEO, Hunter Horsley has suggested that “as rates come down and fears of recession loom, a lot of dollars parked in equities and fixed income will be looking for a new home.”

It’s unclear why that new home would be bitcoin, ether, or other cryptocurrencies.

Justin Sun’s offers have a poor track record

Previous offers by Sun to buy bitcoin from the German government and purchase TRON from holders on FTX have completely fallen through. Among those who have previously put forth similar recovery fund ideas are Sam Bankman-Fried — the buyer of last resort before the collapse of FTX — and Changpeng Zhao, who proposed a billion-dollar fund to save crypto in 2022.

Both have wound up behind bars.

Read more: Justin Sun connected Valkyrie sells TRON trust to Abra, report

For what it’s worth, CZ’s ‘billion-dollar fund’ never used the money as claimed, and any of the funds that were utilized were almost exclusively for Binance-related projects.

So, will Sun follow through and create a billion-dollar fund to “combat FUD, invest more, and provide liquidity”? It remains to be seen, but regardless, the billionaire investor has just entered a minefield that previously took down the two richest CEOs in the crypto industry.

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Justin Sun connected Valkyrie sells TRON trust to Abra, report https://protos.com/justin-sun-connected-valkyrie-sells-tron-trust-to-abra-report/ Fri, 12 Jul 2024 17:09:15 +0000 https://protos.com/?p=70402 Valkyrie is an investment management firm, and Justin Sun has previously claimed that he's one of its largest shareholders.

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Bloomberg has reported that Valkyrie Investments has sold its private trusts, including its Tron Trust, to cryptocurrency lending firm Abra. 

Valkyrie is an investment management firm, and controversial cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun has previously claimed that he’s one of its largest shareholders.

Sun also has previously claimed he was the largest investor in Valkyrie’s futures-based Bitcoin ETF. 

Read more: Justin Sun’s empire may be on the verge of collapse

Additionally, CoinDesk has previously reported that Sun stored massive quantities of bitcoin at Valkyrie, taking advantage of its Separately Managed Account (SMA) platform. At one point, he apparently had in excess of $500 million worth of bitcoin stored at the firm.

The funds in Sun’s SMA seem to dwarf many of the private trusts, with an October filing for the Bitcoin Trust suggesting that it had sold less than $8 million of securities for the trust.

The Tron Trust is substantially larger, but still much smaller than the reported size of Sun’s SMA account, with a 2022 filing suggesting a total amount of securities sold of slightly less than $50 million.

Valkyrie has also launched a trust product for BTT, the token associated with BitTorrent that was launched by Sun. 

Abra is a cryptocurrency lender that has attracted attention from regulators, including the Texas State Securities Board, which alleged the firm was insolvent. Abra has since settled these cases with various US state-based regulators and has announced its intention to end its US retail business

Valkyrie previously sold its ETF business to CoinShares.

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Justin Sun’s empire may be on the verge of collapse https://protos.com/justin-suns-empire-may-be-on-the-verge-of-collapse/ Thu, 20 Jun 2024 15:59:08 +0000 https://protos.com/?p=68632 A close review of Justin Sun's wallets and entities reveals assets being quickly moved with inadequate disclosure.

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Justin Sun is one of the richest and most important individuals in the cryptocurrency ecosystem; however, his tendency to spread his vast wealth between a variety of different interconnected entities and addresses can make identifying the full extent of his activities very difficult.

Protos has reviewed many of the addresses we believe to be controlled by Sun and found a variety of different assets on Tron and Ethereum being rapidly moved between protocols and exchanges.

Ethereum

0x176F3DAb24a159341c0509bB36B833E7fdd0a132 is an address labeled as ‘Justin Sun 4’ on Etherscan. The address holds over 1,000 ether (ETH) worth more than $4 million, as well as over $50 million each of wrapped staked ether (wstETH) and staked USDT (STUSDT).

It regularly interacts with Aave, Sun-owned Poloniex, and Binance and is still regularly used, with the most recent transactions happening less than a week ago. 

0x3ddfa8ec3052539b6c9549f12cea2c295cff5296 is an address labeled ‘Justin Sun’ on Etherscan that has over $1 million worth of ETH as well as significant positions on Aave. It has interacted with Binance, Poloniex, and Uniswap and has sent over 566,000 ETH to the previously mentioned 0x176F3DAb24a159341c0509bB36B833E7fdd0a132.

0x611f97d450042418e7338cbdd19202711563df01 is an address labeled as ‘Justin Sun 3’ on Etherscan and has very few assets still in it; the majority of the remaining assets were withdrawn near the end of last year. This address, like many Sun addresses, interacted with HTX, Binance, Poloniex, and a variety of smart contracts.

0x621fe33ccf74038db90b18365cb450d677d4b3d8 or ‘Justin Sun 2’ was drained of its remaining assets about a year ago. It previously held massive quantities of staked ether (stETH) and withdrew funds from Sun-owned Poloniex.

An additional address believed to be Sun that we identified using Breadcrumbs seems to have been abandoned earlier this year, with most remaining assets moved out in February. This address interacts with both Binance and Kraken.

Tron

Sun is the founder of the Tron blockchain and has his hands in many of the protocols and projects spread across it.

As part of our previous reporting on Sun’s relationship with Tether, we were able to identify several addresses that were controlled by him. However, most of those addresses are abandoned at this point, nearly entirely drained of assets and no longer regularly used to transact.

It’s possible to observe millions of the USDT issued by Sun flowing to an address labeled as Binance by Breadcrumbs. Another address, which was abandoned in 2023, also interacted with then Huobi, now HTX, a Sun-affiliated exchange. 

There is one address that we were able to identify from the Tether Papers investigation that’s more recently used, holding nearly 24 million TRON (TRX) worth nearly $3 million. This address hasn’t been used in several months but has seen activity this year, and a closer review of its counterparties on Breadcrumbs reveals that it transacts with both Kraken and Binance. 

A sample of some Tron transactions from Sun addresses, created using Breadcrumbs.

Read more: Justin Sun’s empire crumbles as USDD depegs again

TT2T17KZhoDu47i2E4FWxfG79zdkEWkU9N is an address that many folks believe is Sun. It’s an important redeemer of TrueUSD, a stablecoin deeply connected to Sun. Arkham Intelligence also lists this address as one of its ‘AI-identified potential Sun addresses.’ This address currently holds over 1 billion TRX worth over $138 million.

It also holds a variety of other assets closely connected to Sun including over $225 million worth of USD Coin (USDD), over $60 million worth of TrueUSD, over $50 million worth of BitTorrent, $20 million SUN, over $5 million USDT, and over $40 million of JUST stablecoin (USDJ).

It interacts with entities across the crypto ecosystem including Binance, KuCoin, Bitfinex, Gate, JustLend, HTX, and SunSwap.

In total, these addresses, which likely only represent a portion of Sun’s activities on Tron, contain nearly a billion dollars worth of assets.

Bitcoin

Protos had previously identified one of Sun’s bitcoin (BTC) addresses that he issued USDT to. This address has not been used in over four years and has no meaningful assets in it.  

Earlier reporting has suggested that Sun has stored a significant portion of his BTC at Valkyrie Investments, where in 2022 it was reported that he had stashed approximately $580 million worth there, at the time representing over 90% of the assets at Valkyrie Digital Assets LLC.

Sun also has a variety of connections to Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) on Tron, a Poloniex-offered product that accounts for massive portions of the reserves at HTX, despite the fact that it will not disclose where it stores the backing assets.

Recently, Poloniex delisted this asset, making it unclear if anyone can possibly redeem it, a troubling aspect considering the solvency of two exchanges that depend on this product.

Other Justin Sun Projects

Many other projects linked with Sun also have strange connections or massive problems. 

USDD, the algorithmic stablecoin (that lacks a true algorithm) founded by Sun stores its collateral at Sun-affiliated HTX, including it in the calculation of HTX’s proof-of-reserves.

TrueUSD, a stablecoin where Sun is a partner market maker (and likely more), recently has seen its market cap collapse as one of its banks was forced into bankruptcy. 

stUSDT, which Sun often interacts with, is stored almost entirely in wallets or entities that he’s believed to control or influence.

The Sun-owned cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex had previously stated that it would demonstrate a ‘proof-of-reserves’ before ostensibly breaking that promise. 

HTX, formerly Huobi, the Sun-affiliated exchange, relies on both stUSDT and WBTC on Tron to maintain its reserves, both assets with problematic issues tied directly to Sun.

These problems together present a picture of a man desperately flinging money around while hoping the ongoing Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit that alleges he engaged in market manipulation and wash-trading disappears.

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USDD partners ignore HTX danger https://protos.com/usdd-partners-ignore-htx-danger/ Thu, 23 May 2024 16:00:19 +0000 https://protos.com/?p=66848 USDD, an algorithmic stablecoin, stores part of its collateral at HTX, a fact that no partners were willing to address.

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USDD is a massive stablecoin that describes itself as ‘algorithmic’ and has a market capitalization of approximately $730 million. However, despite this size and seeming importance, it has a variety of issues, from its design to its reserves and its partners.

Changes to USDD

When USDD was launched, it was intended to inherit an algorithmic design reminiscent of the Luna-Terra system. The original whitepaper described how, by the end of 2022, Tron version 5.0 was going to be released, which would integrate USDD minting and redemption directly into the core of the protocol. However, as of press Tron version 5.0 has yet to be released

This version was meant to actually ‘burn’ the tron (TRX) used to issue new USDD; currently, the TRX that is ‘burned’ isn’t burned but instead held in a wallet and counted as collateral for the token.

Following the collapse of the Luna-Terra system, more recent whitepapers for USDD no longer mention being integrated into the core of Tron in this way. Additionally, USDD currently has no documented mechanism to redeem USDD.

Protos has reached out to Tron Network and USDD to see when version 5.0 will be released and whether or not it will integrate USDD in the manner described in the original USDD whitepaper. 

Is it even a DAO?

USDD is managed by the Tron DAO Reserve (TDR), which you would assume is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), but unfortunately, it doesn’t meaningfully fulfill that role. 

The governance page shows only a single proposal in the entire history of this protocol. This proposal allowed for the TDR to use the ‘burned’ TRX, despite that appearing to be inconsistent with what the word ‘burned’ means. 

There are no proposals that describe how the reserves are held, no proposals that explain why the direction of the protocol has changed, and no proposals that explain why certain partners have been added or removed for TDR. 

Does HTX have the funds it is supposed to?

USDD lists TZ1SsapyhKNWaVLca6P2qgVzkHTdk6nkXa as one of the addresses that hold the collateral for USDD. This address holds approximately 972 million TRX, worth approximately $120 million. It is also important to note that almost all of these tokens are staked. These funds, which are nominally managed by TDR, are also included in the HTX proof-of-reserves, which suggests that they’re currently held at HTX. 

There are no governance proposals that explain why these funds are being held in this way. Protos reached out to HTX and TDR but they didn’t provide clarification on why these funds are held in this way. HTX did claim that “the platform has never had any security incidents in the past 10 years,” despite this not being true. When asked for clarification about the previously disclosed security incidents, HTX reiterated that no security incidents had occurred. 

Issues with partners

USDD relies on the partners in the TDR to manage issuance of the token, a role that has become more important as USDD has seemingly abandoned its goal of integrating issuance directly into the core of Tron.

Alameda Research, the now-bankrupt trading firm that was embezzling billions of dollars worth of customer funds from FTX and was owned by financial criminal Sam Bankman-Fried, was just one of the partners for this product who have experienced significant issues. 

Justin Sun, an ‘advisor’ to HTX and a frequent promoter of USDD, owns Poloniex, an exchange that is one of the other partners. Poloniex has yet to finish a promised proof-of-reserves and has refused to disclose the reserves for its WBTC on Tron product, a significant portion of the ‘bitcoin’ on HTX.

Read more: Justin Sun’s empire crumbles as USDD depegs again

Multichain was a bridge before it was hacked, its chief exec was arrested, and the remainder of the team has lost access to the web presence and most of the other materials. Despite these issues, it’s still listed on the USDD website.

TPS Capital (also known as Tai Ping Shan) is listed as a partner, despite its website no longer being available. TPS Capital was an over-the-counter (OTC) trading desk that was deeply connected to Three Arrows Capital. 

FalconX is listed as a partner and also recently settled with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over charges of failure to register as a futures commission merchant

Other partners include Mirana Ventures, Amber Group, and Ankr. 

Protos has reached out to all of the current partners except for TPS Capital and Multichain to determine if they are concerned about collateral for USDD being stored at HTX and whether or not they participated in any type of governance process to choose to store the assets there. At time of publication, none of them have responded.

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Scoop: Justin Sun shot down BitTorrent moderation despite porn concerns https://protos.com/scoop-justin-sun-shot-down-bittorrent-moderation-despite-porn-concerns/ Wed, 08 May 2024 16:57:04 +0000 https://protos.com/?p=66028 Justin Sun pushed a no-moderation policy at file-sharing giant BitTorrent, according to documents received by Protos.

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Justin Sun, whose Rainberry LLC acquired BitTorrent in 2018, pushed a no-moderation policy at the file-sharing giant, as stated in documents received by Protos.

According to a deposition by former BitTorrent CEO, Jordy Berson, Sun regularly lied to the Apple and Google App stores, not only about moderation on his apps, but also about the 30% cut of sales promised to Apple once listed.

In the deposition, Berson repeatedly discusses how numerous employees, including himself, wanted Sun to implement some level of moderation on the ‘BT Live’ product — planned for launch in India and China in early 2019 — but were always advised against any moderation.

Berson claims that Sun’s catchphrase soon became “It will be fine. Let me worry about that.”

Meetings in India and China

The product was initially intended to be developed and built by a US team but first launched in India; a major market for BitTorrent. TRON maintained a headquarters in Beijing, China, where executives from China and North America would meet to discuss new concepts and how they could be implemented.

It’s unknown if TRON still has any office space in China.

During this time, it’s clear that Sun was a micromanager at BT Live, with Berson stating that “even though [some budgets were as little as] $5,000… Justin needed to approve [them].” Sun also had a nasty habit of agreeing to a budget and then backing out of the agreement at the last second.

Read more: Scoop: Justin Sun falsely claimed diplomatic immunity in lawsuit

Dark Side of the (Justin) Sun: Money, it’s a crime

In the deposition, Berson states, “Justin communicated to me that users wanted an unmoderated experience; that the product would be more popular, would get more users if we allowed any kind of content in the product.”

According to Berson, despite numerous individuals proclaiming their fear that BT Live would inadvertently be aiding in the distribution of ‘elicit pornography, and, in particular, child pornography,‘ Sun ‘mentioned with conviction that [BT Live] should not have moderation.’

Sun’s plan to skirt by without moderation on the platform amounted to what he described as ‘two boxes’ — one box at the top of the app when you open it, featuring ‘PG content’ and a second box that would require users to scroll far down before encountering the unmoderated content.

Sun also wanted users to tip content uploaders using his currency BitTorrent token.

If and when BT Live was taken down from app stores due to a lack of moderation, Berson said, Sun’s… plan was to do what he often did and “temporarily fix the issue” only to “go back and unfix it so it was more about whether or not they (Apple and Google) noticed rather than whether we had to [have a moderation policy] or not.”

Sun wanted a place where the users could do elicit [sic] activity, including… child pornography,” Berson added.

Besides creating a toxic work environment wherein many employees were either fired for perceived insubordination or resigned due to not wanting to be involved with such terrible content moderation policies, BT Live was yet another example of decentralization theater from Justin Sun.

According to one longtime cryptocurrency executive on background, “It’s almost like an admission that he’s LARPing on a protocol level” with BitTorrent seemingly having the ability to moderate its databases but choosing not to — partially due to Sun’s desires, but also to present the appearance of no control.

Protos reached out to Sun for comment and will update the story if he replies.

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Scoop: Justin Sun falsely claimed diplomatic immunity in lawsuit https://protos.com/scoop-justin-sun-falsely-claimed-diplomatic-immunity-in-lawsuit/ Thu, 02 May 2024 13:46:32 +0000 https://protos.com/?p=65670 Justin Sun claimed his ambassadorial role granted him diplomatic immunity. Unfortunately, this only applies while on official business.

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According to sources familiar with the Richard Hall and Lukasz Juraszek vs Rainberry Inc. lawsuit, Justin Sun was not entitled to use diplomatic immunity to avoid liability concerning his actions while running the BitTorrent buyer.

This is despite long-term claims from the Tron founder’s legal team that his ambassadorial roles handed him this loophole.

A Web3 of lies

In 2021, Grenada announced that Sun had been appointed the Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Grenada to the World Trade Organization. This is true, as evidenced by a 2024 Grenadian news article that states Sun was terminated from his UN position, along with a slew of other foreigners who had cushy diplomatic roles, in 2022.

Protos has also obtained documentation confirming Sun’s status as a diplomat for Grenada and a visa proving that he was Ambassador for Science and Emerging Technology for Grenada’s Mission to the United Nations.

However, as detailed by the Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Executive Office of the Secretary-General, Shirin Yaseen, this ambassadorship only grants diplomatic immunity in Switzerland when a representative is on a mission.

Read more: Justin Sun insists he never meant to sell Tron and BitTorrent to US investors

“Issues of immunity regarding diplomats/representatives is a bilateral issue between the country in question and the US,” said Yaseen. “Immunity comes into effect only when we are carrying out our official functions.

She added, “There’s no retroactive immunity.” This suggests that, regardless of whether or not Sun briefly obtained the immunity status, it shouldn’t have, and wouldn’t have, affected the outcome of the civil court case.

The source says that Sun first claimed diplomatic immunity in March of 2022, which is only a few months before the crypto billionaire lost his Grenadian WTO and UN ambassadorships altogether. As such, it’s odd that his legal team continued to suggest that Sun had any diplomatic immunity whatsoever through May 2023.

Sun’s plans fail

It’s clear that Sun attempted, through investing in Grenada, to create a diplomatic bubble in which he was untouchable — civilly and criminally. 

But the horse Sun hitched his wagon to bolted quickly when Grenada’s ruling party lost an election and he was stripped of his titles. Additionally, the titles and immunities Sun was able to acquire were so narrow in scope that there is no possibility that they would have functioned in the way Sun hoped.

Ultimately, the arbitrator in the civil case against Sun stated that:

“It is evident that Sun’s refusal to appear at deposition, in violation of the Arbitrator’s order are willful – they are knowing and intentional. Sun’s refusal to appear involves a violation fundamental to the case; despite his prior conduct acknowledging that his deposition was appropriate he refuses to be deposed at all.

Read more: Justin Sun directed wash trading scheme from his US apartment, SEC claims

Endgame

Sun and Rainberry have settled the civil suit brought against them by Richard Hall and Lukasz Juraszek; diplomatic immunity didn’t pay off.

The arbitrator in the civil suit struck Sun’s testimony from the record and ordered a default against him. It’s unknown exactly what settlement was reached.

Sun doesn’t take trips to Switzerland or visit San Francisco anymore — his days of appearing at the World Trade Organization and making excuses for missing lunches with Warren Buffett are behind him. Instead, the billionaire spends the majority of his time hopping between countries where he’s least likely to be extradited to the US, and marketing TRON and his cryptocurrency exchanges.

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Poloniex WBTC depegs threatening Justin Sun’s empire https://protos.com/poloniex-wbtc-depegs-threatening-justin-suns-empire/ Mon, 29 Apr 2024 16:14:08 +0000 https://protos.com/?p=65378 Poloniex, a Justin Sun-owned exchange, offers a WBTC product on Tron that's currently trading at a more than 20% discount on Poloniex. 

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Poloniex, a Justin Sun-owned exchange, offers a wrapped bitcoin (WBTC) product on Tron that is currently trading at a more than 20% discount on Poloniex. 

The WBTC pair traded against BTC on Tron has WBTC worth only 79% of BTC, currently on 0 volume over the last 24 hours.

Poloniex has previously refused to disclose to Protos where it holds the bitcoin for this WBTC product and has yet to complete a promised ‘proof-of-reserves.’ Protos has again reached out to Poloniex to attempt to determine where the reserves for this product are held, what the timeline is for the exchange to finish its promised proof-of-reserves, and for clarification on the relationship between Sun-owned Poloniex and Sun-advised HTX.

Read more: Where is Justin Sun’s money?

The last part is important because the WBTC on Tron product offered by Poloniex is a massive portion of the bitcoin held at HTX, formerly Huobi. 

The most recent proof-of-reserves provided by HTX reveals that over half of all bitcoin on HTX is this WBTC on Tron product, representing over 14,400 bitcoins worth almost $900 million.

There are other connections between Poloniex and HTX, including the fact that the Poloniex support website hosts a page for the ‘Huobi Platform User Agreement.’

HTX and Poloniex are not the only Sun-connected entities exposed to this WBTC on Tron product, with JustLend having nearly 92k bitcoins worth approximately $5.6 billion.

To summarize: JustLend, Poloniex, and HTX are all exposed to this WBTC on Tron product that currently is trading at a massive discount and whose issuer refuses to disclose where the reserves for the product are held.

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