What does the reverse merger between Tron and SRM reveal about Justin Sun’s technique, and the way does Trump’s oblique involvement affect its market notion?
Tron goes public via the backdoor
On Jun. 16, Tron (TRX), the blockchain community based by Justin Sun, accomplished a reverse merger with SRM Leisure, a small Nasdaq-listed agency recognized for licensing theme park merchandise.
Valued at as much as $210 million, the deal rapidly drew consideration on account of its political connections and unconventional construction. Somewhat than pursuing a conventional IPO, Tron grew to become public by buying SRM via a reverse itemizing. The brand new entity has been rebranded as Tron Inc.
As a part of the transaction, SRM acquired a $100 million fairness funding from an unnamed personal investor to accumulate TRX tokens. Further warrants linked to the settlement might elevate the ultimate worth, positioning the deal as one of many largest token-related mergers up to now in 2025.
Investor response was swift. SRM’s inventory jumped from $1.45 on Jun. 13 to $9.19 on Jun. 16, rising over 530%. Though it declined to $7.73 on Jun. 17, the inventory stays up roughly 850% over a five-day span.
TRX noticed a extra modest response. The token moved from a low of $0.2701 on Jun. 16 to a excessive of $0.2899 earlier than settling close to $0.2711 on the time of writing.
A key participant behind the deal was Dominari Securities, a New York-based funding financial institution working out of Trump Tower.
The agency facilitated the transaction and is owned by Dominari Holdings, whose advisory board consists of Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., each of whom have been appointed in February 2025.
Hypothesis elevated when a Monetary Occasions report on Jun. 16 steered that Eric Trump might quickly take a proper place at Tron Inc.
Later that day, he denied involvement in a publish on X, writing, “While Justin is a great friend and an icon in the crypto space, I have no public involvement in the merger plans.”
Sun has been appointed as an advisor to Tron Inc., which can maintain TRX tokens on its company stability sheet. The method mirrors Technique’s Bitcoin-focused technique, additional aligning Tron Inc. with asset-backed treasury fashions.
The construction of the deal has drawn comparisons to reverse mergers utilized by Chinese language corporations within the late 2000s to enter U.S. markets. That interval prompted regulatory reforms, together with the SEC’s 2011 guidelines aimed toward curbing shell-company exercise and tightening scrutiny on international listings.
The timing has additionally raised questions. In February 2025, the SEC paused a longstanding fraud investigation into Sun, citing a reallocation of enforcement priorities. 4 months later, the merger was publicly introduced. Nonetheless, there isn’t any direct proof of misconduct up to now.
Sun’s Trump-linked crypto play
The connection between Sun and Donald Trump didn’t kind out of the blue. It started creating throughout the second half of 2024 via a collection of strategic monetary choices that aligned Sun with the Trump household’s rising involvement in crypto.
In September 2024, World Liberty Monetary (WLFI), a decentralized finance venture linked to the Trump community, confronted problem reaching its early fundraising targets. Sun stepped in with a $30 million funding.
Inside 4 months, he adopted up with one other $45 million, bringing his complete stake in WLFI to $75 million and establishing himself as one in every of its most influential backers.
The alignment prolonged past DeFi. In January 2025, simply earlier than Trump returned to workplace, a brand new memecoin named Official Trump (TRUMP) was launched. Sun bought $20 million value of the token, making him the biggest holder amongst 220 wallets.
Blockchain information later confirmed that his pockets managed 18.6 million TRUMP tokens, with a market worth of roughly $57 million as of June 2025. Mixed along with his WLFI funding, Sun’s complete publicity to Trump-affiliated crypto initiatives exceeded $97 million.
The monetary backing translated into political entry. On Might 22, Sun attended a non-public dinner at Trump Nationwide Golf Membership in Virginia alongside 24 different high TRUMP token holders.
On the occasion, he acquired a Trump-branded watch reportedly value $100,000. The dinner was a part of a broader marketing campaign to extend visibility and distribution of the TRUMP token.
Altogether, the token sale raised roughly $148 million, with a notable share originating from nameless and worldwide wallets. The funding path has drawn scrutiny for its lack of transparency, particularly within the context of political crypto fundraising.
Trump’s personal place on digital belongings has shifted over time. After describing Bitcoin as a “scam” in 2021, he has adopted a extra supportive tone throughout his second time period, a change that has helped reinforce the rising alliance between his community and crypto buyers like Sun.
Tron integrates USD1 on world stage
On Might 1, throughout the Token2049 occasion in Dubai, Justin Sun introduced that his blockchain community, Tron, would combine the stablecoin USD1 via a brand new partnership with World Liberty Monetary (WLFI).
Standing alongside Eric Trump and WLFI co-founder Zach Witkoff, Sun stated, “I’m really honored we can collaborate with USD1 on launching this stablecoin to further make this available to 7 billion people on Earth.”
USD1 is pegged to the U.S. greenback and backed by a mixture of short-term authorities treasuries, greenback deposits, and different cash-equivalent reserves.
Witkoff acknowledged that USD1 shall be natively built-in into the Tron blockchain, with preliminary minting anticipated within the a whole bunch of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} and ambitions to scale right into a multi-billion-dollar market cap.
HTX, the crypto trade carefully tied to Sun, grew to become the primary platform to listing USD1, extending its availability to a broader market.
The identical day, WLFI was additionally revealed to be concerned in a $2 billion funding deal between Abu Dhabi’s MGX sovereign wealth fund and Binance. Eric Trump confirmed that USD1 had been chosen because the official settlement token for the transaction.
The choice sparked criticism on account of Binance’s authorized file within the U.S. In 2023, the trade pleaded responsible to money-laundering violations and paid a $4 billion wonderful as a part of its settlement with U.S. regulators.
Ethics consultants and lawmakers reacted swiftly. Richard Briffault of Columbia Regulation College commented that Trump gave the impression to be “marketing access to himself as a way to profit from his ventures,” calling the scenario “doubly corrupt.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren described the deal as “corruption,” pointing particularly to the MGX partnership for example of how political stablecoins might be utilized by international pursuits to achieve affect.
She additionally voiced opposition to the GENIUS Act, a pending invoice centered on stablecoin oversight, warning that it might enable politically related households to take advantage of gaps in monetary regulation. Regardless of the criticism, the Senate handed the GENIUS Act on Jun. 17.
Crypto enforcement is now a political query
In February 2025, the U.S. SEC paused a civil fraud lawsuit filed in 2023 in opposition to Sun and the Tron Basis. The case accused Sun of conducting unregistered securities choices and manipulating token markets. The company cited settlement discussions as the idea for halting proceedings.
The choice got here shortly after Sun invested in World Liberty Monetary and bought a big place within the Trump-affiliated TRUMP memecoin.
The SEC’s transfer was not an remoted one. Over the next two months, the company paused or dropped at the very least a dozen further crypto-related enforcement actions.
In response, Senator Jeff Merkley launched the “End Crypto Corruption” invoice in Might 2025. The laws proposes restrictions on federal officers from collaborating in or taking advantage of crypto ventures whereas in workplace or after leaving public service.
The invoice at the moment has 22 Democratic co-sponsors however faces little probability of advancing in a Senate the place Republicans maintain the bulk.
In the meantime, the general public itemizing of Tron Inc. has drawn consideration to the position of crypto companies in conventional monetary markets. Reverse mergers, although permitted underneath U.S. regulation, are topic to added scrutiny, significantly when involving international sponsors or entities with previous compliance points.
Present SEC steerage mentions dangers related to such listings, particularly in circumstances the place investor protections or monetary disclosures could also be missing. Any future fees might impression Tron Inc.’s public standing and investor confidence.
As Tron Inc. enters the general public enviornment, it carries greater than a token mannequin. It carries a take a look at of whether or not establishments will guard the road between personal acquire and public accountability, or quietly step apart.
