Justin Sun, the founder of TRON, announced that he spent $4.5M on lunch with Warren Buffett after teasing it for over a week. Sun loves creating hype through stunts. It’s something he has been doing for years. But, this latest publicity stunt could be a net negative to the entire cryptocurrency industry.
Sun had been teasing a special announcement for some time. Naturally, the TRX price rose in the days that followed. Then, the information was made. Justin Sun set a new world record by spending $4.5M for lunch with Warren Buffet. Sun also invited 孙宇晨 身价 leaders from the blockchain industry to join him and put a ‘world record’ by paying $4.5M. The proceeds will be donated to San Francisco’s charity.
Sun is perhaps the most creative huckster within the cryptocurrency space. TRON’s ICO, for example, raised $58M from only 40% of its tokens. The tokens were distributed to all exchanges free of charge, allowing maximum liquidity for speculation. Sun has been quiet throughout the bear market after being massively pumped in January 2018.
A flurry followed TRON’s announcement of its purchase of BitTorrent. Many employees quit soon after. Sun then created a new token called BitTorrent Token (BTT) instead of the native TRX token used for BitTorrent. Binance Launchpad was the first to sell the ticket. It seemed like it had all the hallmarks of a pump and dump.
This is the formula for Sun. Fake it till you make it. You will find it easier to launch an ICO if you have no idea behind it. You need to first get people excited about your ideas. Then, you will have to flesh out the pictures later. Repeat.
Buffett’s latest announcement permanently destroys any remaining credibility Sun once held beyond the fact that he was a showman. Even worse, it turns the entire cryptocurrency industry into a joke. Buffett won’t be looking forward to this lunch. Some members of the crypto community questioned Justin Sun’s statement. It is possible that he gave Warren Buffett some cryptocurrency.
Blockchain can only prove that some cryptocurrency is located at an address. It can’t prove that Warren Buffet is the rightful holder of this cryptocurrency unless Buffet signs a message containing a private key or moves some coins.
Justin is also becoming more interested in the Chinese government. The two main reasons why the communist government of Beijing has changed its mind about cryptocurrency is because it provided many jobs and was once a huge supporter.
Cheap energy is key to crypto mining. This means using dirty coal mines in China. However, they still make up the bulk of China’s electricity supply. Beijing has put strict rules on crypto mining to lower its carbon footprint.
The anonymity that crypto provides is second. In many cases, crypto has been linked to criminal activity because there isn’t a central bank. Payouts between two crypto wallets are not made from one person to the other but go from wallet to purse. Registration with a name is often not necessary. This implies anonymity.
China has seen many self-made billionaires in recent years. This means wealthy individuals have transferred their money to tax havens using crypto. To avoid taxes, the communist government has been actively hunting down billionaires, particularly since President Xi Jinping’s election.
After Justin Sun’s canceled lunch with Warren Buffett, there were rumors that Justin Sun was one tax evader. But the Tron CEO has consistently denied these rumors.