SEC, Tron Foundation, and Justin Sun Seek Pause in Ongoing Case
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), along with the Tron Foundation and its founder Justin Sun, filed a joint motion on Wednesday, aiming to pause the ongoing legal proceedings against the crypto entrepreneur and his organization. This motion bears similarities to those submitted in the SEC’s current litigation against both Coinbase and Binance, where the involved parties expressed their commitment to exploring a potential resolution.
Last week, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced that the SEC had tentatively agreed to dismiss its case against the exchange, pending approval from the commission. In their filing, the parties emphasized that it would be beneficial for all involved to stay this matter while they evaluate possible resolutions. They collectively asserted that no party or non-party would suffer any prejudice from such a stay.
Furthermore, the motion highlighted that a stay would serve the interests of the Court and the public at large, as reaching a resolution would help conserve judicial resources by eliminating the necessity for the Court to address the defendants’ pending motion to dismiss the complaint.
The SEC initially filed suit against Tron, Sun, and BitTorrent in July 2023, accusing them of engaging in market manipulation, fraudulent activities, and the issuance of unregistered securities. According to the SEC, Sun attempted to inflate the trading volume of the TRX token through a practice known as wash trading, with the regulator alleging that employees of the Tron Foundation conducted over 600,000 such trades.
District Court Judge Edgardo Ramos, who is overseeing this case, previously denied the SEC’s request to compel Tron to submit an additional response regarding pre-trial motions. Last year, Tron had already filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit entirely.
In a related development, Justin Sun has taken on the role of adviser to World Liberty Financial, a company linked to former U.S. President Donald Trump, following his investment of $30 million in WLFI tokens. In an intriguing twist, World Liberty has also invested in Tron’s TRX token, adding it to its token treasury.
