SEC dismisses claims against Justin Sun and Tron Foundation, BitTorrent developer Rainberry agrees to pay $10M fine

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has dismissed charges it brought against Tron founder Justin Sun, the Tron Foundation, and the BitTorrent Foundation in 2023, according to a Final Judgment entered by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Thursday.

Another Sun-related entity, Rainberry (formerly BitTorrent Inc.), which developed the BitTorrent protocol and BTT cryptocurrency token under Sun's leadership, was ordered to pay a $10 million civil penalty to the SEC.

In 2023, the SEC accused Sun and his three related companies of unregistered securities sales of TRX and BTT tokens. Sun was also accused of fraudulent manipulation of the TRX price via wash trading and paying celebrities to promote the tokens without disclosure.

"I am very pleased to confirm that the SEC has moved to dismiss all claims against me, Tron Foundation, and BitTorrent Foundation," Sun told The Block. "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. The future is bright."

According to Thursday's filing, the defendants agreed to the SEC’s terms without admitting or denying the allegations. In addition to the fine, Rainberry has agreed never to engage in deceptive market practices for securities, without admitting guilt. The court must still approve the judgment. 

Sun acquired BitTorrent in June 2018 and released the BTT token a year later. Throughout the course of the trial, the global crypto entrepreneur raised jurisdictional concerns over the SEC's authority, which the SEC had contested, though the parties consented to jurisdiction for the purposes of the settlement, according to the filing. 

In 2023, eight celebrities including Lindsay Lohan and Jake Paul were accused of “illegally touting” TRX and BTT tokens without disclosing that they were being paid. Six of the celebrities, not including musicians Cortez "Soulja Boy" Way and Austin Mahone, agreed to pay $400,000 in disgorgement, interest, and penalties to settle the charges without admitting fault. 

Since President Donald Trump took office, the SEC has dropped several lawsuits it brought against prominent crypto institutions like Binance, Coinbase, and Uniswap. In February 2025, the agency requested a stay in the Tron case to explore a potential settlement.

Sun has made massive investments in Trump family-backed crypto initiatives, including purchasing at least $75 million worth of World Liberty Financial's WLFI token and $100 million of the $TRUMP memecoin launched the weekend before Inauguration Day. Sun was later invited to a gala dinner hosted by Trump and awarded the "Trump Golden Torbillon."

At times, World Liberty has also held multi-million dollar TRX positions.

In January, three U.S. House Democrats accused the SEC of retreating from its crypto-related enforcement, specifically highlighting the case against Sun, while noting crypto companies donated at least $85 million to President Trump's reelection campaign. Since early 2025, the agency has dismissed more than a dozen crypto cases.

(This breaking news story was updated with additional context.)