TRON Founder Justin Sun Pressures CoinDesk to Remove Controversial Article

Key Points:

• CoinDesk removed an article critical of TRON founder Justin Sun after complaints from his team and alleged pressure from its parent company.
• CoinDesk journalists protested the removal, urging the article’s reinstatement and emphasizing the need for unbiased reporting.

According to Fortune, the leading cryptocurrency publication CoinDesk has come under fire for allegedly pulling an article that was critical of TRON founder Justin Sun after intervention by its parent company Bullish.

Read more: CoinDesk’s Transformation: Staff Cuts And Strategic Sale Amid Crypto Industry Shifts

CoinDesk Embroiled in Controversy Over Pulling Article on TRON Founder Justin Sun

The article in question, which had appeared toward the end of November, said how TRON founder Justin Sun bought artist Maurizio Cattelan’s banana sculpture for $6.2 million and then ate the work.

Titled “I Watched Justin Sun Eat the World’s Most Expensive Banana. I Don’t Get It,” the article provided background on Sun’s controversial career, including ongoing fraud charges by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which Sun and his blockchain, Tron, are fighting in court.

The article also detailed Tron’s alleged use in illegal financial dealings, as well as Sun’s legal team threatening media outlets over-reporting such claims.

Things took a turn when, sources said, Sun’s representatives took umbrage over the tone of the article. Bullish, which purchased CoinDesk last year, instructed the editorial staff to take down the piece, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that Tron is a major sponsor of CoinDesk’s Consensus conference series. The article was scrubbed from CoinDesk’s site, but it remains available via Yahoo News under a syndication agreement.

Justin Sun’s Influence in the Crypto Industry Grows Amid Legal Battles

  
CoinDesk journalists have expressed concern over the publication’s editorial independence, with one such discussion taking place in a meeting between staff and Bullish CEO Tom Farley, as well as CoinDesk CEO Sara Stratoberdha. Staff called for the article to be restored with an editor’s note.

The incident puts into the spotlight the broader challenges of maintaining journalistic integrity in the crypto media space. CoinDesk itself, after winning plaudits for its expose of the FTX scandal, is now faced with potential conflicts of interest issues under new ownership.

Meanwhile, TRON founder Justin Sun is continuing to extend his reach, buying $30 million in tokens from President-elect Donald Trump’s World Liberty Financial and joining the project as an advisor.