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★ Government Action

SEC pauses Justin Sun securities fraud lawsuit

Trump Crypto Conflicts

Filed February 2025

★ The Brief

What happened

Early in 2025, the SEC agreed to pause its securities-fraud lawsuit against crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, a Biden-era case alleging he manipulated the market for his token and paid celebrities to promote it without disclosing they were compensated.

Who enabled it

Who benefits

Deal or steal?

Sun's firm had become an anchor investor in Trump's family crypto venture World Liberty Financial with a $30 million stake; the SEC paused his fraud case as the administration eased crypto enforcement. Sun later became the top holder of Trump's memecoin.

Earlier in 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Justin Sun agreed to pause a lawsuit originally filed during the Biden administration. The suit alleged that Sun fraudulently manipulated the secondary market for a crypto token created by his company and paid celebrities including Lindsay Lohan and Jake Paul to promote it without disclosing their compensation. The pause was described as an opportunity to 'explore a potential resolution' and was part of a broader shift by the Trump administration to ease cryptocurrency enforcement. Sun's firm has separately invested tens of millions of dollars in World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture backed by Donald Trump and his two eldest sons.

Actors

Who pushed it · 1

Who initiated, paid, or pushed the action.

  • Securities and Exchange Commission
    Securities and Exchange Commission

    Agreed to pause an active securities fraud lawsuit against Justin Sun to explore a potential resolution, as part of a broader administration directive to ease crypto enforcement.

Beneficiaries

Who gained · 1

Who stood to gain.

Sources

Further reading