- Rumors that Justin Sun had been arrested yesterday were the result of an influencer spreading an unverified story
- Crytpo Bitlord tweeted out the headline without first checking its veracity
- The TRX token fell 6%, right before Binance.US announced it is delisting it
Rumors that Tron founder Justin Sun had been arrested yesterday were the result of a crypto influencer tweeting out unverified news from a Telegram group, but the TRX coin is still recovering from the resultant dip. Rumors that Sun had been arrested in Hong Kong flew around the crypto space yesterday, resulting in TRX dropping from $0.066 to $0.063, but it was revealed later to be the work of notorious crypto degenerate Crypto Bitlord. However, the lack of recovery of the TRX token may have something to do with the fact that Binance.US announced just hours after the ruse was revealed day that it is delisting the token.
Unverified Story Spread by Influencer
Crypto Bitlord tweeted that Sun had been arrested in Hong Kong, citing a “source at location”, and that he was being held at Michinawanamun Station:
BREAKING 🚨
****JUSTIN SUN ARRESTED IN HONG KONG ****
-SOURCE AT LOCATION
AUTHORITIES HOLDING SUN AT MICHINAWANAMUN STATION 🚨🚨🚨
-MORE TO COME.
— Crypto Bitlord (@crypto_bitlord7) April 11, 2023
Having been charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently with wash trading, an unregistered sale of securities, and improper promotion, there was the potential for such an event to have taken place.
However, the lack of reputable sources and the tweeter’s penchant for recklessness suggested that the story might be less than wholly accurate. Indeed, Sun himself, and his close friend Changpeng Zhao, tweeted out denials of the rumors using the number 4, which Zhao has adopted to reference FUD attacks and the like.
Bitboy Crypto himself then revealed less than two hours later that he had simply retweeted something he had seen in a Telegram group, and complained that he was copping all the flak when others had retweeted the same message:
It’s FUD when you don’t like what it is or what’s being said.
People got mad at me for calling FTX rug early and then it came true 🤷♂️
As for the Justin saga I get the news on TG and then tweet to break it. Many smaller accounts did too but I get all the heat.
If it’s false he… https://t.co/CpcGNAThLy
— Crypto Bitlord (@crypto_bitlord7) April 11, 2023
The story quickly died a death, but the token remained 6% down on the day. Any hopes of an immediate recovery were dashed when Binance.US announced just hours later that it plans to delist the TRX token on April 18. Given the fact that the SEC has accused Sun of selling securities under the guise of TRX tokens, continuing to list them might be seen as something of a middle finger to the US, which is not something Binance wants to be doing right now.