advertisement

Justin Sun Postpones Lunch With Warren Buffet, Sparking Controversies

Tron’s CEO, Justin Sun have had quite an interesting Tuesday with contradictory claims about what went down, a medical ailment or an apparent legal issue in China. 

It all started Monday night about when it was announced that the 28-year-old entrepreneur has postponded a long-awaited lunch with finance titan Warren Buffett, due to a bout of kidney stones. Following which another report surfaced that suggested the rescheduling is because Sun was in China and is barred from leaving the country by the government amidst accusations of lawbreaking.

Seemingly, the last narrative got debunked in the afternoon when Sun broadcasted a live video from a high-rise San Francisco building, that had the Bay Bridge in the background. He even went to joke that he wishes he were in Miami. The cryptocurrency space is nothing but volatile and even by 2019 standards it is hard to know what’s the real truth. 

The luncheon 

Sun won the said lunch in a charity auction earlier this year for a bid $4.6 million. Tron CEO purportedly intends to slyly introduce crypto-skeptical Buffett to a number of influential figures in the space. 

According to Tron, the Glide Foundation, which helps the homeless of San Francisco, received the money on June 5 and as of Monday, Sun lined up Circle’s Jeremy Allaire, Huobi’s Chris Lee, eToro’s Yoni Assia and litecoin creator Charlie Lee for the lunch with the Oracle of Omaha on July 25.

Though the topics to be discussed at the steak meal were not disclosed, it will mostly be about cryptocurrency as Buffett has been known to vocally disregard Bitcoin, calling it rat poison squared.”

The creator of the Tron blockchain protocol and head of its namesake foundation, Sun has been a controversial figure. Reportedly, he has convinced Buffett to move the charity lunch from its traditional New York location to the Bay Area.

Though, the Tron Foundation announced about the postponement late monday, reporting that Sun is ill and that all parties have “agreed to reschedule at a later date.”

The Chinese Theory 

A Chinese business news outlet suggested that the illness might be an excuse. As per an article published by 21st Century Business Herald, Sun was accussed of illegal fundraising via the Tron project. Allegedly, the Tron network operated illegal gambling services accessible to Chinese residents, taking aim at Sun’s early startup Peiwo, a social app, accusing it of illegal involvement in the pornography business.

The media outlet went on to cite multiple sources, that Justin Sun was inside mainland China. The article implyed that Sun might not be able to leave the country without addressing the alleged issues, stating:

“Without a clear answer to these questions raised, will Justin be able to have this $4 million meal?” 

As aforementioned, Sun posted a Weibo account denying the allegations by the publication.  Sun wrote, adding:

“The illegal fundraise accusation is wrong. Tron complied with regulators and refunded investors on Sept. 20 in 2017, immediately after the order [of a ban on initial coin offerings] from seven ministries in China. The Tron foundation is based in Singapore in compliance with local regulations and laws … and does not involve any flow of capital, or any crypto or fiat currency onramp.”

However, Sun did not include any detail regarding his whereabouts. 

Spreading like wild fire

Another Chinese outlet that is often widely cited by Western media, Caixin cited in a report that Sun was under Chinese government control and though he isn’t facing formal charges, he was not allowed to leave the country. Later published in English translation, the article repeats some of the allegations from the earlier 21st Century Business Herald story. The news created ripples throughout the industry.

“That report’s totally inaccurate, and we posted a photo, several photos today of Justin in San Francisco.”

The live video 

So as to clarify everything, Sun broadcasted a Periscope video, panning the camera around as evidence of his location, showing off the Bay Bridge and noting that it is not the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. Sun added: 

 “I’m not feeling quite well but I think we gonna postpone [the lunch] but definitely looking forward to it. It’s pretty comfortable in San Francisco.”

Edwards referred to Sun’s current kidney stone, “some moments you’re in excruciating pain, some moments you’re fine.”

Amidst all the confusion, the native token of the Tron network, Tronix slid 11 percent on Tuesday. Just passed by Stellar’s XLM to become the 10th largest crypto by market capitalization – $1.68 billion versus $1.67 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Read more:Binance Coin Price Analysis – Will BNBUSD Further Depreciate To $24?

Image Source – Tron Twitter

Get Latest Cryptocurrency And Bitcoin News

Signup this form below to get latest Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin news, directly in your mailbox

Note:

Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We try our best to keep things fair and balanced, in order to help you make the best choice for you.