Dialogue with the most affectionate figure in the cryptocurrency world, Sun Yuchen: This time it really isn't marketing

Author: Dong Yuqing, Phoenix Technology

From "100% Listening to AI" to the First Doubt about Claude

Sun Yuchen has once again become the center of trending topics.

For those familiar with him, this is not surprising.

For more than a decade, Sun Yuchen has been one of the most topic-generating entrepreneurs in China's internet sector. From "Post-90s Entrepreneur Leader," founder of TRON, to purchasing a charity lunch with Warren Buffett for $4.567888 million in 2019, he has repeatedly entered the public eye through highly shareable events. After the climax of the Buffett lunch incident in 2019, Sun Yuchen even publicly apologized, expressing "deep remorse" for his behavior of "over-marketing and being overly sensational."

However, Sun Yuchen did not distance himself from the center of attention afterward.

In 2024, he purchased the banana artwork "Comedian" by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan for $6.2 million and ultimately ate the banana, once again becoming the subject of global media coverage.

The controversies surrounding him are not limited to marketing.

In 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Sun Yuchen and his related companies, accusing them of creating a false appearance of TRX trading activity through wash trading and failing to disclose payments made to celebrities for promoting related crypto assets. In March 2026, both parties reached a settlement in this nearly three-year-long case, with Rainberry agreeing to pay $10 million, while Sun Yuchen and related parties did not admit or deny the allegations.

From expensive lunches to expensive bananas, from cryptocurrency to repeated public events crossing technology, finance, and even entertainment, Sun Yuchen seems to be very aware of the value of attention.

Thus, when he proactively placed his ex-girlfriend, a 50 million yuan betrothal gift, a personal relationship, and a lawsuit demanding a 30 million yuan betrothal gift on social media, one question is hard to avoid:

Is this an emotional expression of an ordinary person after a relationship ends, or yet another instance of Sun Yuchen-style attention marketing?

Last night, Sun Yuchen suddenly ignited the Chinese internet.

At 1:30 AM Beijing time, Sun Yuchen had just come down from another event, his voice tinged with fatigue. He hadn't had the chance to check Weibo, and there were already over 20 trending topics related to him. Unfortunately, they were in the entertainment section.

"I haven't even looked yet."

Sun Yuchen had publicly declared, "You must listen to AI, 100%."

He told Phoenix Technology over the phone that decisions worth millions or tens of millions of dollars made by his company are now automatically executed by AI, including audits and reviews. His attitude towards AI is "unconditional trust"—until it comes to matters of the heart, where he had his first disagreement with Claude.

According to Sun Yuchen, this approximately 6,000-word long article was something he spent over ten hours writing in recent days, "almost no sleep for two nights." At that time, he was in Bhutan, dealing with a time difference and company affairs during the day, only able to write in the early morning when no one was looking for him. In nearly half an hour of communication, he mentioned "confusion" three times and "struggle" five times. Before publishing, he sent the article to Claude for feedback, which he did not accept.

"We're just like that; let's consider it reconciled."

Publishing the article was defined by Sun Yuchen as a process of seeking resolution. At the same time, he entrusted his lawyer to file a lawsuit demanding the return of the betrothal gift. This was not only the lawyer's suggestion but also what Sun Yuchen considered to be "the only remaining connection" between him and Jing Tian.

As a cryptocurrency entrepreneur, Sun Yuchen's release can also be seen as a risk. Before the external announcement, the team expressed concerns. Would a tech entrepreneur's social media presence topping entertainment trending topics shake the confidence of partners?

"I'm not a machine; I'm a person, and I'm not pure AI."

Sun Yuchen once entered Peking University with a first prize in a new concept essay competition, but he said over the phone that he "hasn't written much since." This high-profile entrepreneur wrote a story over two sleepless nights that even AI couldn't make a judgment on.

Below is the exclusive transcript of the conversation between Phoenix Technology and Sun Yuchen, published by the editor without changing the original meaning:

Phoenix Technology: You have always been very good at generating public topics, and in 2019, you even publicly apologized for "over-marketing and being overly sensational." This time, you proactively put your ex-girlfriend, betrothal gift, and personal feelings on social media, and the outside world will naturally suspect whether this is another instance of Sun Yuchen-style marketing. Did you consider such doubts and their potential negative impacts before publishing the article?

Sun Yuchen: I didn't really consider it. I wrote an article and posted it on my own Twitter; it's just my feelings and thoughts, it's that simple.

Phoenix Technology: This was originally a very private relationship between two people, but now, due to your public narration, the other party has been pulled back into the public eye. Since the matter has entered judicial proceedings, why choose to express it publicly instead of just handling it through legal means? Did you consider whether the other party would want these private experiences to become public topics?

Sun Yuchen: The litigation part has been handed over to my lawyer. Whether the case is public and to what extent is determined by the court according to the law. My public article is more about expressing some emotions and feelings I wanted to share.

Phoenix Technology: But currently, this content mainly comes from your unilateral statement, and the other party has not responded to the details one by one. You also noted in the article that there are fictional elements. In this case, do you still believe that this article is basically a true statement?

Sun Yuchen: Yes, I believe the vast majority is a true statement that reflects my intentions. I wrote that there are fictional elements because I can't guarantee everything is 100% accurate, but at least I can say how I think and what I said. This point is 100% confirmed. Including some of my struggles, I didn't gloss over the fact that this matter is right or wrong.

Phoenix Technology: You are primarily the founder of a technology and cryptocurrency company, not an entertainment star. By publicly disclosing your private feelings so prominently, even topping entertainment trending topics, did your team and partners worry that this might damage the company's or your professional image?

Sun Yuchen: You're right. Actually, before I posted, my team expressed such concerns to me. To be honest, I knew I had to inform them before I posted; I couldn't just do things without consulting anyone. But I thought, forget it, because I'm not a machine; I'm a person. I'm not pure AI; I have my own thoughts I want to express. Although I know I'm a tech entrepreneur and many people follow my social media for my company or what I do. As for whether partners have spoken to me about it, I just came down from another event, so I haven't had the chance to check. But my team did tell me that it might bring some changes, and some partners were worried about whether it would be affected. But my team tolerated me; I wrote it, so it’s done.

Phoenix Technology: You have left a public impression of being high-profile, assertive, and very good at managing your public image. Now, through this article, you present a confused, troubled, and emotionally distressed Sun Yuchen. Some may feel that this is also shaping a new persona for Sun Yuchen. What do you think?

Sun Yuchen: Some friends have sent me messages saying they feel like they have met a new me because I usually never write any essays. To be honest, I haven't written much. Although I got into Peking University through the new concept essay competition, I never wrote anything afterward. Maybe I just didn't have anything to write about, but this time I wrote down my thoughts.

Phoenix Technology: Was this article that garnered huge attention an impromptu emotional expression, or was it prepared over a long time? How long did you write it?

Sun Yuchen: It probably took over ten hours. Because I'm usually very busy during the day, with many people from the company looking for me for various matters, I write in the early morning when no one is looking for me. I haven't slept much lately; I wrote for about two nights. Basically, I didn't sleep much while writing.

Phoenix Technology: Did this just happen in the past few days?

Sun Yuchen: Yes, I just wrote it in the past few days.

Phoenix Technology: Are you still in communication with Jing Tian?

Sun Yuchen: No, not anymore.

Phoenix Technology: Since you are no longer in contact with the other party, why focus on suing for the return of the betrothal gift? Is this a suggestion from your lawyer based on legal issues, or do you also hope to conclude this relationship through litigation?

Sun Yuchen: The first is the lawyer's suggestion, and the second is that it feels a bit ironic; this might be the only connection left between us. Besides this matter, there is no other connection. Just thinking about this matter is quite consuming for me.

Phoenix Technology: You repeatedly mention Claude in the article, even writing that its suggestions are a very important variable in this relationship. But ultimately, love is a human choice. Now many people attribute responsibility to Claude; to some extent, is this pushing a decision that should be made by a person onto AI?

Sun Yuchen: I actually trust Claude a lot in my daily life, so I ask it about many things, not just life and company matters. I provide enough information and ask, "What do you think? Can we do this or not?" I generally do listen to Claude; whatever it says, I follow. That's how it is. But this time, when I wrote this article, how should I put it? It was actually the first time I didn't know whether what Claude said was right or wrong. I was quite confused. I didn't know how to express this feeling; I felt it was all laid bare in the article I wrote.

Phoenix Technology: You have always emphasized that you trust AI very much and even delegate many important decisions to AI. In your past experiences, have you really never encountered a moment of such strong doubt and confusion about AI's judgment as this one?

Sun Yuchen: No, we have a large company, and many decisions are now made by Claude and AI. I can't say too much, but the daily decision amounts are in the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars, and AI handles them automatically, including audits and many reviews. But this is the only instance where Claude and I had a disagreement, so I was a bit confused.

Phoenix Technology: Since Claude has already deeply intervened in your life and work, is this lawsuit also a decision made by AI for you?

Sun Yuchen: How should I put it? I left the decision to my lawyer. This matter has consumed a lot of me, and I don't want to think too much about it. But why did I write this article? It's because I still have some feelings inside me that I wanted to express, so I shared those feelings in this article. Other than that, I want my lawyer to handle the rest because I feel that once I start thinking about these issues, it becomes very difficult and confusing, and I don't know what to do.

Phoenix Technology: Has this emotional conflict already affected your daily work? After all, you are still managing a large company.

Sun Yuchen: Yes! It will! Of course, it affects me. Emotional matters, the feelings of AI and mine can also conflict, and I wrote down this conflict without reservation. Because I don't know whether these things are right or wrong, I wrote them down. I think it's a very tormenting thing. Usually, for our company, including various audit reports, I just give them to Claude, and it handles them directly. There are no conflicts, and it doesn't take any time. But these matters might create conflicts and inconsistencies, so I wrote them down. To be honest, I don't know whether it's right or wrong.

Phoenix Technology: You have emphasized that this release is mainly to express your feelings. Have you thought about what kind of outcome would truly signify an end to this matter?

Sun Yuchen: I haven't thought too much about the outcome. Just like when I talked to Claude, I didn't know whether many things were right or wrong. I feel I don't have the ability to evaluate these matters. The outcome is also unknown in the future; that's the first point. The second point is that I feel I wrote down my struggles and uncertainties in that article.

Phoenix Technology: Back to AI itself. You just mentioned that the company has allowed AI to participate in decisions worth millions or tens of millions of dollars. What other AI tools do you frequently use?

Sun Yuchen: Yes, I certainly use many. I often use Claude Code for coding. Although I'm the boss and not on the front line, I frequently use Claude Code, including checking the company's code and various things. Our company also uses Codex quite a bit. Of course, domestically, we have created an AI comprehensive service platform called B.AI, where we integrated Zhipu, MoonShot, and Minimax into our software. So, I actually use various AI tools. To be honest, I ask about them, but the ones I use the most are still Claude and Codex. However, we also refer to other AI tools; that's roughly the situation.

Phoenix Technology: You previously wrote an article stating, "You must listen to AI, 100%." This statement is quite absolute. After this experience, will you still adhere to this AI-centric value?

Sun Yuchen: Of course, I wrote an article saying you must listen to AI, 100%. This attitude might be a bit absolute, but I wrote it when AI was very popular, saying you should listen to AI and not to what others say. Just listen to AI; whatever AI says is how you decide. But even though this article became somewhat popular, and everyone knows about AI, I still don't know whether AI's decisions are right or wrong. This feeling might even be the first time in my life that I've questioned AI's decisions.

Phoenix Technology: So the truly interesting part may not be what advice Claude gave, but rather that a person who once advocated "100% listening to AI" has decided not to listen to AI for the first time. After you sent the article to Claude, what was its reaction?

Sun Yuchen: When I sent the article to Claude, it was initially a bit unhappy, saying that my personal relationship issues actually had nothing to do with the decisions it made. The implication was that it wouldn't take the blame for me. I said, but I posted it, and you said that, which might have indeed influenced my thoughts.

Phoenix Technology: Now everyone is blaming Claude.

Sun Yuchen: To some extent, yes.

Phoenix Technology: Some are curious about what the result would be if you asked Doubao.

Sun Yuchen: I haven't asked Doubao, so I don't know the result. Doubao is still a mobile software that requires a phone. I use a computer for work, so I use Codex and other desktop software. Maybe asking Doubao would yield a different result, although I haven't asked Doubao.