Tron goes public, and Brother Sun enters the crypto world for a capital frenzy of "shell buying and coin purchasing."

Original authors: Sleepy, Kaori, Peggy, BlockBeats

On June 16, 2025, it was reported that Sun Yuchen will facilitate Tron’s reverse merger to list on NASDAQ. According to public information, this transaction involves a complex capital structure with a $100 million investment, warrants, and convertible preferred shares. After the transaction is completed, SRM will be renamed "Tron Inc." and will begin holding TRX tokens as strategic assets for the company. Sun Yuchen himself will join the company as an advisor.

The vehicle for this transaction is a NASDAQ-listed company called SRM Entertainment, and the structure and financing arrangements for the entire deal were orchestrated by the boutique investment bank Dominari Securities, headquartered in New York.

The reverse merger of SRM Entertainment is not a precedent for Tron and Sun Yuchen. Prior to this, there has been a capital frenzy in the crypto space known as "listing to buy tokens." A large number of crypto capital groups have been aggressively acquiring listed shell companies through reverse mergers, turning them into capital tools for hoarding tokens and driving up prices. From Bitcoin to SOL, ETH, and XRP, Sun Yuchen watched everyone play so enthusiastically that he could no longer resist.

Two Pieces of the Puzzle in the Transaction Structure: SRM and Dominari

Sun Yuchen's operation is realized through the reverse acquisition of SRM Entertainment, a NASDAQ-listed company that hardly anyone has paid attention to.

SRM was originally an established company producing theme park derivatives, primarily making toys and souvenirs for clients like Universal Studios and Disney. It has no crypto background and only barely surpassed a market cap of $100 million after being influenced by news, but it possesses a valuable asset: its NASDAQ listing status.

In the current environment, such a "clean shell" is often more valuable than the company itself, and Sun Yuchen clearly targeted this point.

The planner behind this transaction is Dominari Securities, a boutique investment bank based in New York, whose parent company, Dominari Holdings, has been actively transitioning into emerging asset fields in recent years.

Interestingly, the Trump family also appears behind this company: former Trump Organization executive Ron Lieberman joined the board at the end of 2024; Trump's two sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, also joined the advisory board in early 2025 and participated in financing; even its office is located in Trump Tower, just two floors away from the Trump Organization's office.

In this transaction, SRM provides the shell resources, Dominari is responsible for structural design and financing matchmaking, while Sun Yuchen acts as a "private investor," investing $100 million into SRM in exchange for 100,000 shares of Series B convertible preferred stock and 220 million warrants, with a conversion price of $0.50 per share. If all conversions are completed in the future, he will hold up to 420 million shares, far exceeding SRM's current circulating shares, effectively achieving control.

After the transaction is completed, SRM will be renamed "Tron Inc.," and Sun Yuchen will serve as the company's advisor. The new company will also emulate MicroStrategy's strategy by incorporating TRX into the core of its balance sheet as a strategic holding asset.

This is a typical "shell + asset packaging" operation: on one hand, it bypasses the compliance barriers of traditional IPOs, and on the other hand, it legally introduces TRX into the asset narrative of the U.S. stock market.

On the surface, the entire transaction appears to be a capital restructuring, but in reality, it is a set of moves orchestrated by Sun Yuchen to achieve identity legalization through a shell, circumvent regulatory disclosures with his advisory role, and inject TRX as an asset into the listed company system. Through this transaction, he stitches together the valuation systems of tokens and companies, crypto assets and Wall Street.

The Capital Game of Shell Listings in the Crypto Space: Sun Yuchen Finally Joins the Game

After MicroStrategy gained fame in the U.S. stock market, the "Bitcoin strategic reserve" model became a new barometer in the capital market. However, interest in "hoarding tokens" quickly expanded from Bitcoin to other mainstream cryptocurrencies, and the market soon grasped a set of "basic operations": reverse merging with shell companies, announcing company name changes and financing token purchases, leading to soaring stock prices, and initiating a positive cycle of "dual flying" for stocks and tokens.

Following Bitcoin, SOL, ETH, and XRP, now Sun Yuchen has also rushed in with his TRX.

Bitcoin Strategic Reserve: "Golden Finger" UTXO and Sora Ventures

In this capital feast emulating MicroStrategy, UTXO Management and Sora Ventures seized the opportunity and became the main driving forces behind this wave, gradually building a replicable BTC financial operation model: controlling marginally listed companies, restructuring management, and introducing Bitcoin as a core asset to create a new generation of "crypto narrative stocks."

The earliest case appeared in Japan. Metaplanet (formerly Red Planet) was once a budget hotel operator. In 2024, the company sold most of its hotel assets and rebranded as Metaplanet, transforming into a "Bitcoin reserve-type enterprise," subsequently continuing to accumulate BTC through bond financing. This transformation caused its stock price to soar from 50 yen to over 2000 yen, making it "Japan's first publicly listed company holding Bitcoin."

In early 2025, Sora Ventures and UTXO Management took action again, acquiring over 70% of the shares of "penny stock" Hong Kong Asia Holdings for approximately HKD 126 million, and restructuring it into Moon Inc., completely overhauling the board and management to establish a "Bitcoin as the core" company strategy. After announcing the purchase of its first Bitcoin, the stock price surged over 30% in a single day, with an increase of 1669% since the beginning of the year.

SOL Strategic Reserve: The Shadow Capital Behind "Retail Public Chains"

Solana's native token became the second cryptocurrency to be heavily bought by institutions.

SOL Strategies Inc., formerly Cypherpunk Holdings Inc., was initially a Canadian company that invested broadly in the blockchain space, including Bitcoin holdings. In September 2024, the company rebranded as SOL Strategies Inc. and completely focused on the Solana ecosystem, aiming to become an investor and infrastructure provider for Solana.

Shortly thereafter, the company launched a convertible bond financing mechanism of up to $500 million specifically for purchasing SOL tokens.

Another company is DeFi Development Corporation, formerly Janover Inc., which was initially an AI online platform focused on the commercial real estate industry, providing data, software subscriptions, and value-added services. After former Kraken Chief Strategy Officer Joseph Onorati took over, the company underwent a strategic transformation, adopting a policy of accumulating and compounding Solana (SOL) as its primary financial reserve.

In April of this year, the company announced an independent agreement with ATW Partners to establish a convertible note financing mechanism of up to $500 million for purchasing SOL tokens. Since the rebranding, DFDV's stock has skyrocketed 30 times in the past two months, primarily due to its shift in focus toward investing in Solana.

On June 3, real-time interactive online learning provider Classover Holdings, Inc. also announced it had reached a securities purchase agreement with Solana Growth Ventures LLC to issue up to $500 million in priority secured convertible notes, advancing its strategic plan to establish a treasury reserve based on Solana (SOL).

ETH Strategic Reserve: Joseph Lubin and His VC "E Guardians"

Following closely are Ethereum and its "E Guardians." In early June, during an interview with Bloomberg, Consensys founder and CEO Joseph Lubin revealed that the idea of "ETH MicroStrategy" was born after dining with MicroStrategy's "master" Michael Saylor.

Thus, at the end of May, SharpLink Gaming announced the completion of a $425 million PIPE (Private Investment in Public Equity) financing, which was reverse acquired by a number of established institutions heavily invested in Ethereum, including ConsenSys, Galaxy, and Pantera Capital, beginning to acquire ETH as reserve assets. This operation caused SharpLink's stock price to soar to a high of $124, increasing over 40 times since the financing news was announced.

Last weekend, SharpLink Gaming submitted an S-3ASR registration statement to the U.S. SEC, authorizing the resale of up to 58,699,760 shares related to the PIPE financing. This means that over 100 PIPE investors can choose to sell their holdings. The market misread this as "PIPE investors have begun to apply for exit," quickly spreading panic and causing its stock price to plummet nearly 70% in after-hours trading.

XRP Strategic Reserve: Ripple's Army No Longer Wants to Be the "Cult Coin"

Finally entering this reserve narrative is the long-established crypto asset XRP, which was once labeled a "cult coin." Against the backdrop of the SEC lawsuit gradually landing and Ripple's compliance path becoming clearer, XRP is gradually breaking free from past public opinion shackles and being redefined as a "low volatility, high liquidity" real reserve asset.

At the end of May, Webus International launched a $300 million financing plan, using XRP to build a global payment network aimed at the Southeast Asian market. Webus is a technology company headquartered in Hong Kong, focusing on cross-border payment systems and trading infrastructure.

Subsequently, VivoPower International PLC announced the completion of a $121 million private financing, with funds used to build an enterprise-level financial mechanism centered on XRP. VivoPower is a clean energy company headquartered in London and listed on NASDAQ, serving the Middle East and Australian markets for a long time. On June 12, Trident announced a financing plan for an XRP treasury of up to $500 million and appointed Chaince Securities LLC as a strategic advisor.

Make America Great Again: Sun Yuchen Hugs Trump's Thigh

On the evening of May 22, 2025, 220 cryptocurrency investors gathered for a lavish dinner with Trump at a golf club by the Potomac River, enjoying the "magnificent view of the Potomac River." The entry ticket was the $TRUMP meme coin officially issued by Trump that they held.

At this banquet, the top 25 investors enjoyed private VIP reception with Trump, while the top four investors received limited edition "Trump Tourbillon" watches. As the top holder of TRUMP, Sun Yuchen was one of the guests to receive this gift.

The most circulated video from the dinner came from Sun Yuchen. As the "top brother," he thanked Trump for everything he has done for the crypto industry from the podium, saying, "Just 100 days ago, they were chasing cryptocurrency people everywhere, and we couldn't hold such a grand event in Washington. It's the best thing I can think of in my life for all crypto people to gather in America and do crypto business."

In November 2024, just three weeks after Trump was re-elected president, Sun Yuchen announced a $30 million investment in WLF, soon adding another $45 million. According to the agreement, 75% of the subsequent funds went directly into the Trump family's account. Subsequently, Trump issued the meme coin $TRUMP, and Sun Yuchen also participated in the subscription.

Once the transaction was completed, the benefits quickly became apparent: Sun was appointed as an advisor to WLF. In early 2025, after Trump took office, the SEC gradually withdrew investigations into exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, and Robinhood, and "paused" the lawsuit against Sun Yuchen himself.

Sun Yuchen was also seen on stage at the TOKEN2049 conference in Dubai alongside Trump's son Eric Trump, laying the groundwork for a series of in-depth collaborations between the WLFI project and the Tron network.

Financial technology consultant Zennon Kapron stated that Sun Yuchen and Trump have many similarities. "To some extent, Sun and Trump can be said to be of the same kind: they both like to tell stories, enjoy creating grand scenes, and relish the process of attracting attention. Their trajectories beginning to overlap is actually not surprising."

Sun Yuchen's efforts to "get close" to Trump began during Trump's first term.

In 2019, after winning the opportunity to have lunch with Buffett, Sun publicly invited Trump, who was still skeptical about cryptocurrency at the time, to join. "Mr. President, you have been misled by fake news. #Bitcoin and #Blockchain are precisely America's best opportunities!" he wrote on social media, "I guarantee that after this meal, no one will understand crypto better than you!"

However, Trump did not accept the invitation. Six years later, Sun Yuchen became Trump's "guest of honor."

From investing in WLFI, endorsing $TRUMP, attending presidential dinners, to now leading a "MicroStrategy-like" listing path, Sun Yuchen has exchanged a series of bold bets for nearly dramatic returns. In this game that spans crypto, capital, and politics, the story of Sun Yuchen and the presidential family is far from over.