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 its charges brought against Tron founder Justin Sun, the Tron Foundation, and 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 TRX price via wash trading and paying celebrities to promote the tokens without disclosure.

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.

Since President Donald Trump took office, the SEC has dropped several lawsuits it brought against prominent crypto institutions like Coinbase and Uniswap.