One of the most talked-about figures in the cryptocurrency field, Sun Yuchen (Justin Sun), has once again pushed himself and his Tron into the hot headlines. Recently, Sun Yuchen's blockchain project Tron is planning to bypass the cumbersome reviews of traditional IPOs and quickly land on NASDAQ in the United States through a 'reverse merger.'
However, the brilliance of this capital drama goes far beyond that. The details of the transaction show that the protagonist in this investment is not Sun Yuchen himself, but his father, who will invest in shares with TRX tokens worth $100 million; even more striking is the fact that the orchestrator of the entire transaction has many intricate connections to the family of former U.S. President Donald Trump. Once the news broke, it triggered a market frenzy, while Trump's second son, Eric Trump, quickly issued a statement to 'cut ties,' staging a scene of 'urgent distancing' that made this political and business combination even more enigmatic.
The core of this transaction is that Tron has chosen a shortcut to the U.S. capital market. According to documents submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the specific plan is as follows:
Target for reverse merger: Tron will conduct a reverse merger with SRM Entertainment, a manufacturer of toys and related products already listed on NASDAQ.
New company born: After the transaction is completed, SRM Entertainment will officially be renamed 'Tron Inc.,' and Sun Yuchen will serve as an advisor to the new company.
Copying the Micro Strategy model: The core mission of the newly established Tron Inc. is to build a 'TRX treasury.' It will continue to buy and hold Tron’s native token TRX as the company’s main reserve asset for the long term. This model aims to provide a compliant stock investment channel for traditional investors who want to participate in TRX price fluctuations without directly touching or holding cryptocurrencies. The company also plans to distribute the profits generated from the successful implementation of the TRX staking program to shareholders in the form of dividends. The design of this transaction is quite ingenious, and Sun Yuchen stated: 'This deal will bring TRX into the main stage of Wall Street.'
In the report submitted by SRM Entertainment, the most surprising detail emerged: the mysterious 'private investor' in this deal is none other than Weike Sun, the father of Sun Yuchen. According to the agreement, Weike Sun will invest in SRM with TRX tokens worth $100 million. As part of the deal, the board of directors of SRM will be restructured, with three existing directors resigning and Weike Sun taking over as the new chairman of the board. Additionally, two other figures closely related to Tron—senior advisor Zhihong Liu from Tron DAO and Zi Yang, head of Tron scan—will also join the board.
This arrangement allows the core members of Tron to fully occupy this future listed company. Sun Yuchen himself will step back to an 'advisor' position, which is widely interpreted as a strategic arrangement aimed at reducing his personal regulatory sensitivity, especially since he and the Tron Foundation are still on the SEC's lawsuit list (although that lawsuit has been suspended since the Trump administration took office).
If the father-son team is already eye-catching, then the shadow of the Trump family adds political imagination to this transaction. The exclusive placement agent leading this reverse merger is the American investment bank Dominari Securities. This institution has an unusual background: its headquarters is located in the Trump Tower in New York, just two floors away from the Trump Group. More importantly, in February this year, Trump’s two sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, just joined the advisory board of its parent company, Dominari Holdings.
Initial reports claimed that Eric would hold an important position in the new Tron Inc. company. This immediately sparked heated discussions in the market regarding the deep entanglement of political power and crypto capital. However, just as the news was fermenting, Eric quickly issued a statement to clarify and attempt to 'distance' himself from the matter. He wrote: 'I have always been a loyal supporter of TRON and greatly appreciate Sun Yuchen. He is not only my close friend but also a leading figure in the crypto circle. That said, I have not publicly participated in this plan.'
This 'there's no silver here' statement not only failed to quell speculation but instead added fuel to the fire. He specifically emphasized that he 'has not publicly participated,' which led the outside world to speculate more about whether he had 'privately participated' or had behind-the-scenes influence. In fact, the close relationship between Sun Yuchen and the Trump family has long been traceable. He has not only been invited to attend a presidential dinner hosted for major investors of the TRUMP meme coin but has also invested $75 million in the DeFi project World Liberty Financial, led by the Trump family. This deep connection casts a thick layer of political color over this seemingly coincidental transaction.
Regardless of the backstory, the capital market has reacted in the most direct way. After the trading news was announced, SRM Entertainment's stock price skyrocketed by 533% in a single day, soaring from $1.45 to $9.19, with its market value increasing to approximately $158 million. The price of TRX also rose in response, briefly reaching $0.28.
In summary, the curtain of this reverse merger drama has just been raised, and the subsequent developments are worth continuous attention. If successful, it will not only bring unprecedented compliance and liquidity to Tron but may also provide a template for other crypto projects to enter the mainstream capital market.