Justin Sun says he’s ready to spend $5 billion on acquisitions as crypto firms struggle

Justin Sun, the creator of the Tron blockchain ecosystem, said he’s ready to join FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried and Binance’s Changpeng Zhao in offering support to ailing crypto firms — and could spend up to $5 billion on acquisitions. 

“Lots of” companies have reached out to Sun and Tron for help, Sun told The Block when contacted after a tweet earlier today that he was “ready to serve.” 

As crypto markets sag, FTX has helped companies such as Voyager Digital and BlockFi with credit facilities — winning Bankman-Fried comparisons with John Pierpont Morgan’s efforts to prop up financial firms in the early 20th century. Similarly, Binance CEO Zhao recently said dozens of crypto firms are seeking the exchange operator’s help due to its “largest cash reserve in the industry.” 

Now, it appears, Sun wants to get involved too. 

When asked how many companies have reached out to him or Tron compared to Binance’s claimed 50 to 100 figure, Sun said the number is similar for Tron as well.

“We are actively reviewing it and see what we can do here,” Sun said. “We are ready to spend [$]5 b[illion] on helping the industry builder[s] to continue [to] build.”

Investment bank

Sun said Tron is engaging an investment bank to advise on potential deals, although he declined to name it, citing non-disclosure agreements.

When asked whether the $5 billion figure would be his personal money or Tron’s, Sun said a mix of both. Sun added that both he and Tron are targeting healthy businesses as well as distressed firms and would go through a due diligence process before making any deal. Tron’s DAO is sitting on reserves of $2.3 billion, according to its website.

“Our interest is platforms with a large user base,” Sun said. “Both CeFi [centralized finance] and DeFi [decentralized finance] platforms.”

As for the current market downturn, Sun said he thinks the worst is behind us.

“I think currently the de-leverage process is passed the worst time. So we just need to clean it up and move forward. I don’t think [the] market will be super bullish, of course,” he said.

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