Crypto mogul Justin Sun invests US$30 million in Trump tokens after banana artwork deal

Chinese cryptocurrency personality Justin Sun, founder of the blockchain Tron, said he invested US$30 million in US president-elect Donald Trump's cryptocurrency project, as the controversial entrepreneur returns to making high-profile moves amid bitcoin's historic climb.

Sun earlier this week bought US$30 million worth of WLFI, the crypto token of Trump's World Liberty Financial project, becoming the token's largest holder, according to data on blockchain analytics platforms.

"The US is becoming the blockchain hub, and bitcoin owes it to @realDonaldTrump!" Sun said on Tuesday in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "TRON is committed to making America great again and leading innovation."

The founder has become an adviser to World Liberty Financial following the investment, the project said on X.

Justin Sun, the founder of cryptocurrency platform Tron, was the buyer of Maurizio Cattelan's "Comedian" (2019) at a Sotheby's auction in New York on November 20, 2024. Photo: Handout alt=Justin Sun, the founder of cryptocurrency platform Tron, was the buyer of Maurizio Cattelan's "Comedian" (2019) at a Sotheby's auction in New York on November 20, 2024. Photo: Handout>

"Justin's insights and experience will be instrumental as we continue to innovate and grow," World Liberty Financial said in an X post, and welcomed Sun to its team.

Sun's pledge of support for the Trump-backed cryptocurrency venture came days after he spent US$6.2 million to purchaseComedian, a famous piece of work by the artist Maurizio Cattelan that features a banana duct-taped to a wall.

The artwork "represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes and the cryptocurrency community", Sun said on X. The crypto founder will live stream himself eating the banana in the artwork later this week, he said.

The crypto mogul's moves also came amid booming cryptocurrency prices fuelled by excitement around the re-election of Trump, who has promised to embrace the crypto industry and create a national bitcoin reserve.

Sun, who founded the Tron blockchain network in 2017, also owns file-sharing firm Rainberry, formerly BitTorrent, and is the adviser and public face of the cryptocurrency exchange HTX, formerly known as Huobi.

Sun said in January last year that he was planning to move to Hong Kong , which followed the city's new policies to attract virtual asset businesses.

The cryptocurrency exchange he backs, however, has not had any luck getting regulatory approval in Hong Kong, where Sun currently lives.