The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Tron founder Justin Sun reached a settlement Thursday, resolving a lawsuit alleging violations of federal securities laws. Rainberry Inc., a company associated with the Tron network, will pay a $10 million fine and is barred from future violations, according to a court filing.
The SEC initially sued Sun and Tron in 2023, claiming the sale and airdropping of Tron (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT) tokens constituted unregistered securities offerings. The agency also accused the defendants of manipulating TRX’s secondary market through a wash trading scheme. The settlement, however, dismisses claims against Sun, the Tron Foundation, and the BitTorrent Foundation.
“The remaining claims against Rainberry would be dismissed with prejudice,” the filing stated, meaning the SEC cannot pursue similar cases against the same conduct in the future. The SEC’s approval of the settlement terms was also noted in the filing, with consent received from Rainberry, Sun, the Tron Foundation, and the BitTorrent Foundation.
The proposed settlement requires approval from a federal judge. The case unfolded during a period of heightened SEC scrutiny of the cryptocurrency industry under former Chair Gary Gensler, with numerous lawsuits filed against crypto firms. Following President Donald Trump’s reelection in January 2025, many of these cases were dropped, particularly under the leadership of acting Chair Mark Uyeda, and now Chairman Paul Atkins.
Sun’s investment in World Liberty Financial tokens (WLFI), a token linked to a company partially owned by Trump and his family, also drew attention. He purchased approximately $75 million worth of WLFI tokens after Trump’s reelection in 2024, with his total ownership, including unvested tokens, reaching nearly $700 million by mid-2025, according to reports. The SEC’s case against Sun had been paused last year alongside other crypto-related lawsuits.
Representatives for Tron did not respond to requests for comment. The SEC also declined to comment on the settlement. Sun, however, acknowledged the resolution in a post on X, stating, “Today’s resolution brings closure, but I never stopped building. I will continue to focus on accelerating innovation in the United States and around the world and look forward to working with the SEC to develop guidance and regulations for crypto going forward.”
