Anika Begay
Amid the cryptocurrency market crash, rumors surfaced that Tron founder Justin Sun’s positions had been liquidated. Sun denied the rumors and criticized the community’s FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt), promising to create a fund to help the industry.
Justin Sun Denies Settlement Rumors
Over the weekend, the cryptocurrency market saw a significant retracement that dragged its market cap below the $2 trillion mark. As a result, hundreds of thousands of positions were liquidated, with the amount skyrocketing to over $1 billion.
Related Reading: Here’s Why Bitcoin and Ethereum’s Price Crashed
As reports of massive liquidations mounted, the community speculated on the entities that faced some of the $372 million Ethereum (ETH) liquidations. One report caught investors’ attention after it claimed that “Justin Sun has finally been liquidated.”
Rumors intensified when Arthur Hayes, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, shared on X that “someone big has been screwed and is dumping all crypto.” Hayes claimed the information came from his “TradFi birdies,” but did not share any names.
Community speculates about Sun's liquidations. Source: Arthur Hayes on X
Some have speculated that Hayes was referring to the founder of Tron and his team, which apparently intensified the FUD. However, Sun clarified that the rumors were false and criticized leveraged trading strategies. He stated that they “rarely engage” in these strategies because they do not believe they are beneficial to the industry.
He also emphasized that he prefers activities that “provide more support to the industry and entrepreneurs, such as staking, node management, project work, and helping project teams provide liquidity.”
After clearing up rumors of liquidation, blockchain analytics firm Spot on Chain revealed that Sun’s portfolio took a hit after the cryptocurrency market downturn. According to the report, Sun’s ETH holdings saw their massive value drop after the second-largest cryptocurrency dropped by 20%.
Sun has reportedly purchased 377,590 ETH since February 2024 at an average price of $3,051. His portfolio took a $280 million hit after ETH’s trading price fell below his average purchase price over the weekend.
$1 Billion Crypto Fund to ‘Fight FUD’
Following his clarification, the Tron founder also took to X to offer reassurance to the cryptocurrency community. He believes investors need not worry about the market crashing, as the sector has “grown significantly over the past year.”
Sun also suggested that the market fluctuation is “not due to negative news” and refused to participate in the ongoing FUD. For him, the community should reject FUD and “continue to build” the industry. As a result, he announced the creation of a fund to combat negative sentiment and invest in the cryptocurrency industry.
Sun annouces fund to fight FUD. Source: Justin Sun on X
According to the post, the $1 billion fund will be used “to combat FUD, invest more, and provide liquidity,” but further details on the project have yet to be revealed.
The crypto community criticized Sun’s proposal, claiming that the Tron founder had made “false announcements” in the past. Meanwhile, others questioned the purpose of the funds, wondering if they would be used to “pay Twitter bots” or “hire anti-FUD units.”
Investors claimed that Sun was “creating FUD to fight FUD,” while others called for him to “buy back $1 billion in assets,” as he offered during the German government’s Bitcoin fire sale. However, some in the community praised his efforts to reassure the community during the market crisis.
Ethereum is trading at $2,242 in the three-day chart. Source: ETHUSDT on TradingView
Featured image from Unsplash.com, chart from TradingView.com
