Justin Sun’s Intervention in Techteryx’s TrueUSD Crisis
In a dramatic turn of events, Justin Sun has stepped in to rescue Techteryx’s TrueUSD stablecoin after nearly $500 million of its reserves became illiquid. This information has been corroborated by sources close to the situation, as well as by official documents filed in a Hong Kong court.
Techteryx acquired TrueUSD from TrueCoin in December 2020 and subsequently appointed First Digital Trust (FDT), a fiduciary based in Hong Kong, to oversee the management of its stablecoin reserves. According to legal documents prepared by the U.S. law firm Cahill Gordon & Reindel, FDT was tasked with investing these reserves in the Aria Commodity Finance Fund (Aria CFF), a registered entity in the Cayman Islands. However, court filings allege that approximately $456 million was improperly funneled into Aria Commodities DMCC, an unauthorized entity located in Dubai.
The court documents reveal that Matthew Brittain manages Aria Commodity Finance Fund through Aria Capital Management Ltd, while his wife, Cecilia Brittain, is the sole shareholder of the Dubai-based Aria Commodities DMCC. Interestingly, emails from Matthew Brittain are signed with a Dubai address, raising questions about the operations of these entities.
According to Matthew Brittain, ARIA DMCC is involved in trade finance, asset development, and commodity trading, while ARIA CFF is meant to finance commodity traders, including its own operations and third parties. Attestations from Moore CPA Limited indicate that FDT managed $501 million of TrueUSD’s reserves as of November 2024.
Legal documents also claim that Chok, presumably referring to Vincent Chok, directed approximately $15.5 million in undisclosed commissions to an entity named “Glass Door” and structured around $15 million in unauthorized trade finance loans from FDT to Aria DMCC. These transactions were later mischaracterized as legitimate fund investments, which plaintiffs allege constitutes fraudulent misrepresentation and misappropriation. One statement of claim describes the remittances to Aria DMCC as blatant acts of misappropriation and money laundering, made without any knowledge or approval from the plaintiff.
As of this writing, these allegations have not yet been litigated in court. Aria DMCC reportedly invested in various global projects characterized as relatively illiquid, including manufacturing plants, mining operations, maritime vessels, port infrastructure, and renewable energy initiatives. When Techteryx sought to redeem its investments from Aria CFF between mid-2022 and early 2023, it faced significant challenges, as Aria entities allegedly defaulted on payments and failed to honor redemption requests.
In July 2023, Techteryx took complete operational control of TUSD, terminating TrueCoin’s involvement. Following this transition, Justin Sun provided emergency liquidity support, structured as a loan, to stabilize the situation. The Techteryx team then quarantined $400 million in TUSD to ensure that retail redemptions could continue, shielding token holders from the impact of the issuer’s depleted reserves.
First Digital’s Position
In response to inquiries from CoinDesk, Vincent Chok, CEO of First Digital, firmly denied any wrongdoing or involvement in fraudulent activities. He emphasized that First Digital Trust acted solely as a fiduciary intermediary, executing transactions strictly according to the instructions given by Techteryx and its representatives. Chok stated that his firm was not accountable for independently evaluating or advising on the investment decisions made.
He noted that one of the main obstacles to early fund redemptions requested by Techteryx was ARIA’s concerns regarding anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) protocols related to the deal between TrueCoin and Techteryx, as well as uncertainty surrounding the ultimate beneficial owner of Techteryx. Chok expressed that he did not believe anyone named in the case considered Aria to be illiquid.
Chok added, “We have not yet had the opportunity to fully defend ourselves. We are fully committed to clarifying these matters as the legal and arbitration processes unfold.”
Matthew Brittain from Aria Group also responded to CoinDesk, rejecting Techteryx’s claims against ARIA DMCC and related entities. He asserted that Techteryx was fully aware of the terms agreed upon and that these were clearly outlined in the contracts that subscribers accepted when investing in ARIA CFF.
Brittain echoed Chok’s concerns regarding Techteryx’s beneficial ownership, citing coverage from the Wall Street Journal. The Hong Kong writ identifies Li Jinmei as the ultimate beneficial owner of Techteryx, with a spokesperson confirming that this individual is distinct from Jennifer Yiyang, the previous owner, despite some media inaccuracies. Brittain pointed out that the subscriber had not resolved these beneficial ownership issues.
The Impact of Prime Trust’s Collapse and SEC Settlement
As these events unfolded, TUSD faced additional challenges, including the collapse of its banking partner and increasing regulatory scrutiny in the U.S. In mid-2023, Prime Trust, an independent crypto custodian based in Nevada that was not involved in this specific case but was utilized by TrueUSD for fiat transactions, was placed into receivership by state regulators. Authorities alleged that Prime Trust had misappropriated customer funds to cover withdrawal requests, raising alarms about its financial viability.
Court filings from Nevada revealed that Prime Trust owed around $85 million in fiat obligations while only having about $3 million available. This was not the last complication for TrueUSD. In September 2024, TrueCoin and TrustToken, the previous owners of the stablecoin, reached a settlement with the SEC over allegations that they had falsely marketed TrueUSD as fully dollar-backed while secretly investing reserves in high-risk offshore funds. Without admitting any wrongdoing and without detailing the nature of their offshore investments with Aria’s companies, both TrueCoin and TrustToken agreed to pay civil penalties and return profits totaling over $500,000 to resolve allegations of fraud and unregistered securities offerings.
For his part, Brittain expressed that investing in Aria was not suitable for a stablecoin’s reserves. “ARIA CFF has never positioned its strategy as highly liquid or appropriate for the reserves of a stablecoin,” he stated in an email.
