The latest tron news at the moment is that Justin Sun, CEO of Tron, the cryptocurrency, has been banned from Weibo, The Chinese version of Twitter, which is just as big in the People’s Republic. The ban follows a routine that has been happening for a while now on the app that has seen accounts relating to cryptocurrency being banned. Although, there are still quite a few prominent individuals like the CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, whose Weibo’s account, together with that of his company, is still active.
As much as China is starting to be more tolerant of the reality of crypto-technology, it seems they are more drawn to the concept of blockchain, which is a network that facilitates cryptocurrency transactions, rather than the cryptocurrency itself, as explained by Dovey Wan, a Chinese crypto reporter. A proof of this is the fact that the country is in the final stage of developing its cryptocurrency, which should be in use by the first quarter of the next year. This means that China would only show support for crypto-technology as long as they use a part of it.
The banning of Sun’s account, which seems like a disappearance, since a search for his handle brings no result and follows in the light of recent similar bans on accounts of other cryptocurrency enthusiasts. Also, the Binance account that is still active was opened in November after the former one was banned. But it is hard to say exactly what manner the ban is taking since some accounts are still up and running. Besides, Weibo has not released a statement as to why it was banned, which leaves it at the earlier speculations. Also, it is no secret that the app has affiliations to the Communist People’s Party. The problem, however, may be Sun’s fault, as he has continued to remain boisterous on the app even after failing to deliver on the Warren Buffer lunch, an event he heavily hyped.
The Future of Tron
Irrespective of how Sun may be perceived, he never fails to do what he deems as important and has managed to secure some deals silently, thereby increasing Tron’s relevance and popularity. Chief among them, was when he announced last month that Samsung would be collaborating to add Tron to its Keystore, giving users of the S10 devices the ability to use Tron apps directly on their smartphones.
For Sun, that was no small feat, as he was quick to predict the effect it would have, where other smartphone brands would start adding blockchain technology to their phones so that they would not feel left out of what he sees as a trend. Also, Tron would be getting more exposure as it gets listed on Poloniex after Sun was a part of the acquisition of the exchange platform.
Speaking of exposure, Tron is indeed going to greater heights. Around August of this year, Sun had said that getting Tron listed in the US was one of his main priorities, so it could attract more investors there. Well, it seems that things are finally falling into place, as Binance US is set to list the currency. This would open the currency to more investors in the country.
However, even though the listing is yet to take place, it has been faced with resistance already in the person of Jared Tate, founder of DigiByte, another cryptocurrency. He has accused Tron of being a “scam coin”, describing it as a front for the Chinese Government and adding that its presence in America could be a threat. But it seems that Tate has a personal grievance against Binance and Tron separately.
His issue with Tron may have been existing for a while, but only got reignited after Sun purchased Poloniex. After the purchase of the platform, one of the first things Sun did was to announce that they would be delisting DigiByte from the platform because it, “is not qualified per our listing standard.” Exactly what was the standard, Sun did not specify. Tate would not have taken the delisting in good faith and that may have prompted his recent outburst. Also, his allegation that Tron is a front for the Chinese Government may stem from Sun’s obedience to his country, which does not seem out of place.
Back in China, Tron has ties with Binance, which even extends to the owners, who have always had something in common. Although neither of them has replied to Tate’s outburst, it is unlikely that Binance would halt plans to desist Tron.