Tron is about to go public through a reverse merger as U.S. regulators suspend their investigation to pave the way for it.

Author: George Steer, Philip Stafford Source: Financial Times Translation: Shan Ouba, Golden Finance

The digital asset platform Tron owned by crypto billionaire Justin Sun will go public in the United States, after U.S. regulators paused the fraud investigation into several of his companies.

According to informed sources, Tron will go public through a reverse merger with SRM Entertainment, a Nasdaq-listed company. This transaction is being managed by the boutique investment bank Dominari Securities, which is closely related to Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and is based in New York.

According to one insider, the new company will adopt a model similar to Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), buying and holding Tron tokens. Strategy founder Michael Saylor transformed his company into a high-leverage Bitcoin investment tool. Reports say that Eric Trump will take a senior executive position at the new company Tron Inc.

The transaction also includes Tron injecting up to $210 million in token assets into the new company, marking the latest deal in the surge of the U.S. crypto industry since Trump’s second presidential term.

was previously sued by the SEC and is now leveraging Trump to “turn crisis into opportunity”

In 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed charges against Sun Yuchen and his three companies (including Tron) for allegedly issuing unregistered securities and manipulating the market.

However, as Trump expressed his hope for a more “loose” regulatory approach to the crypto industry during his second term, the SEC and Sun Yuchen jointly filed a motion to suspend the lawsuit in February this year to explore the possibility of a settlement.

gets “closer” to the Trump family

Since then, Sun Yuchen has continuously strengthened his relationship with the Trump family. In May of this year, he attended a banquet hosted by Trump at the Virginia National Golf Club with the other 24 largest $TRUMP (Trump Meme Coin) holders.

In addition, Sun also invested 75 million dollars in the Trump family’s crypto project World Liberty Financial. This company has already generated 57 million dollars in revenue for Trump. Last week, World Liberty also issued its first batch of stablecoins (digital dollars) on the Tron blockchain founded by Sun Yuchen.

Sun Yuchen has long been regarded as one of the most controversial figures in the crypto industry, frequently making headlines due to his flamboyant actions. In 2019, he spent 4.6 million dollars to win a charity auction to have lunch with Warren Buffett. In 2023, he purchased an artwork titled “a banana taped to the wall” for 6.2 million dollars and ate it in public, causing a sensation.

Sun Yuchen was born in China and is currently a citizen of Saint Kitts and Nevis, having previously served as Grenada’s permanent representative to the World Trade Organization.

Dominari Securities, which leads the trading of Tron listings, is headquartered in Trump Tower, located two floors below the Trump Organization’s office.

According to a previous report by the Financial Times, after the bank submitted documents on February 11 disclosing that Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump joined the advisory board, its parent company Dominari Holdings saw its stock price soar by 580% within six weeks.

Dominari also owns a crypto miner, American Bitcoin, which partnered with well-known miner Hut 8 to develop a bitcoin mining farm and strategic reserve warehouse, formerly known as American Data Centers, which was restructured in March this year.

In addition, Dominari has raised millions of dollars for several private companies owned by Elon Musk, such as SpaceX and xAI.