The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has settled its fraud case against Justin Sun and his companies, the Tron Foundation and BitTorrent Foundation. Court filings show Sun will pay a $10 million civil penalty, and the remaining claims will be dismissed permanently. The resolution marks a significant closure to a lawsuit that accused Sun of market manipulation and selling unregistered securities.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dismissed its fraud case against Justin Sun and his companies, Tron Foundation and BitTorrent Foundation. According to court filings, the SEC seeks a settlement where Sun will pay a $10 million civil penalty for violating federal securities law.
The remaining claims will be dismissed with prejudice, meaning they cannot be refiled. In a social media post, Sun confirmed the dismissal, stating, “Today’s resolution brings closure…The future is bright.”
The regulator initially sued Sun and his firms in early 2023. The SEC had alleged they manipulated the markets for Tron (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT) and sold the tokens as unregistered securities.
The lawsuit was paused after Donald Trump became U.S. President in early 2025. The Trump Administration has rolled back many prior SEC enforcement actions to advance its crypto policy goals.
The move has attracted criticism from some political figures. Ranking Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren warned the SEC against being used for political purposes, stating, “The SEC should not be a lap dog for Trump’s billionaire buddies.”
A former SEC chief of staff, Amanda Fischer, called the settlement an “embarrassment to the agency and the crypto industry.” Critics have noted Sun is an investor in a crypto firm backed by the Trump family.
The price of TRX did not show a significant reaction to the news at the time of reporting. The altcoin was trading at $0.28 following a broader market retracement.
