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Crypto blogger and book author Ben Armstrong, also known in the crypto space as BitBoy, has taken to Twitter to share his thoughts on the recent lawsuit initiated by the US SEC regulator against the founder and former chief executive of Tron Foundation – Justin Sun.
Will TRX now be treated as XRP by exchanges?
In his tweet, BitBoy also claimed that Justin Sun did wash trading with TRX. BitBoy at one point in the past was getting close to buying TRX, thinking that it would “have a good run”. However, he never did, apparently, and now Ben Armstrong wonders if the fate that has befallen XRP thanks to the SEC regulator is going to happen to TRX.
Wow. Was literally explaining to some folks last night what Justin Sun with wash trading $TRX
— Ben Armstrong (@Bitboy_Crypto) March 22, 2023
Was getting ready to actually add some Tron to the portfolio bc I thought it would have a good run. But now… is TRX going to face suppression like XRP?https://t.co/ZiKFtZsVBN
After the US securities regulator filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs in December 2020, many large exchanges began delisting the popular cryptocurrency as the SEC claimed that it was an unregistered security. Among those platforms were Coinbase, Bitstamp, and many others.
Justin Sun, according to the SEC chair Gensler, conducted illegal sales of TRX and BTT tokens, distributing them to investors and at the same time creating secondary markets for these cryptocurrencies through Tron Foundation and BitTorrent. Those secondary markets were allegedly heavily manipulated by Sun using wash trading.
The SEC claims that Sun and his team created a targeted campaign to promote TRX and BTT. This included payments to celebrities, such as Lindsey Lohan and several others.
Over the past few months, the US securities regulator has increased its activity hitting crypto exchanges with lawsuits, as if striving to gain full control over the crypto space.
SEC plans to sue Coinbase
The regulatory agency has sent Coinbase exchange a Wells notice – a document that it usually sends prior to filing a lawsuit against the recipient. Now, a publicly traded exchange Coinbase has received one.
The crypto community has responded to that move of the regulator by criticizing it heavily. Among those who commented on that step on Twitter was Ripple chief technology officer David Schwartz.
In a series of tweets, he doubted that the SEC is actually protecting investors, tweeting “If this is the SEC protecting American investors, imagine if they tried to hurt them”. It also remains doubtful whether the Howey test that the SEC applies to digital tokens can be used to determine whether they are securities or not, according to some highly qualified securities lawyers at major law companies (as pointed out by former Meta’s head of blockchain David Markus).
Prominent crypto trader and podcaster Scott Melker believes that “Coinbase is going to bury the SEC in court”, since the facts are on their side.
Coinbase is going to bury the SEC in court. They have the war chest and facts on their side. The judicial system has been dunking on the SEC in every available situation.
— The Wolf Of All Streets (@scottmelker) March 22, 2023
Let’s go. https://t.co/HRmH55U1qG
Earlier this year, the SEC made a crackdown on the Kraken exchange and initiated a subpoena against the SushiSwap dex. Besides, Gary Gensler stated that Ethereum might also be a security, which goes contrary to the “verdict” that it is not made by the regulator several years earlier.
Arman Shirinyan
Alex Dovbnya
