Justin Sun Wants to Make TRUMP a Global Crypto Brand With $100M Buy

Justin Sun’s $100 million TRUMP token buy signals a strategic alignment with the U.S. administration’s pro-crypto stance and marks the first of many planned collaborations with the Trump team, the Tron founder told CoinDesk in an interview.

This isn't the first investment the Tron founder has made in projects within the Trump-crypto universe.

Sun’s ties to Trump-affiliated crypto ventures date back to shortly after last year’s election, when he purchased approximately $75 million worth of WLFI$0.1328 tokens in multiple tranches.

Sun said the TRUMP token, originally issued on Solana, will soon be bridged to Tron using LayerZero, with plans to make it a flagship asset within the ecosystem.

"I think Tron has the potential to become the next-generation settlement layer — not only for stablecoins, but also for meme coins and other popular assets," Sun said.

Beyond technical integration, Sun described Tron's plans for the TRUMP token as a global expansion strategy targeting Asia and Africa, alongside campaigns to boost adoption and exchange listings.

That marks a stark contrast to the earlier days of politically themed tokens, such as the unofficial Donald Trump fan coin, MAGA, which struggled to get listed on exchanges because it was deemed “too political” at the time.

"We will make TRUMP token very popular in Asia and in the rest of the world," he said. “TRUMP is a very important memecoin, and a globally recognized IP.”

He framed the initiative as part of a broader effort to tie Tron’s growth to a friendlier regulatory climate under President Trump, and hinted at further collaborations spanning stablecoins and DeFi.

“With the Trump administration showing great support for cryptocurrency, I think we are entering a new chapter for the industry,” Sun said, comparing the White House's embrace of crypto to former President Bill Clinton's initiatives to push adoption of the internet in the 1990s – and make the U.S. the hub for its development.

"I think that’s something that will benefit the US for the next 20, 50, even 100 years," Sun continued.

This optimistic view isn't exactly universally held.

As CoinDesk previously reported, Democrat lawmakers are working on the Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Enforcement (MEME) Act, which would seek to prohibit presidents and their families from dabbling in memecoins or issuing other financial assets.

"It’s pay-to-play politics on steroids, and Trump is cashing in," is how a release from the office of U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, a sponsor of the MEME Act, described it.

'Worldwide movement of Trump values'

In an interview arranged by Tron over Telegram, longtime Trump associate Bill Zanker, one of the individuals behind the TRUMP memecoin, and who helped the President launch his NFT collection before the election, said the memecoin connects with people on a cultural and emotional level.

"Our mission has always been to bring everyday people, not just crypto natives, into the world of crypto," he told CoinDesk. "$TRUMP coin is more than a meme. It’s a worldwide movement of Trump's values. If you love what TRUMP stands for, then you want to join the movement and own the $TRUMP coin."

Tron Inc. is only the beginning

Aside from the TRUMP token buy, Sun discussed Tron Inc., a company undergoing a reverse merger with Nasdaq-listed SRM Entertainment as part of a plan to create a publicly traded vehicle aligned with the Tron ecosystem.

“More and more U.S. institutional investors will find the Tron strategy as a good way to invest into the crypto ecosystem,” he said. “I think it will become a beacon for people to get into crypto.”

And, he said, there are more to come.

Read more: Asia Morning Briefing: Tron's Public Listing Might Be Investors' 'Visa' Moment for Stablecoins

UPDATE (July 14, 04:00 UTC): Adds Bill Zanker comments.