TRON Founder Justin Sun Accuses First Digital Trust (FDT) of Insolvency

Justin Sun made the claim on Wednesday after reports suggested that he bailed out Techteryx's TrueUSD (TUSD) when $456 million of the stablecoin's reserve

TRON founder Justin Sun has accused First Digital Trust (FDT), the issuer of FDUSD stablecoin, of being completely insolvent and unable to fulfill redemption requests.

Sun made the claim on Wednesday after reports suggested that he bailed out Techteryx’s TrueUSD (TUSD) when $456 million of the stablecoin’s reserve was illiquid. For context, FDT manages TUSD’s reserves. As of November 2024, the company managed about $501 million of TrueUSD’s reserves.

Issues Surrounding TUSD Reserves

Following Techteryx’s acquisition of TUSD from TrueCoin in December 2020, it appointed FDT to manage the stablecoin’s reserves. According to recent court documents, Techteryx instructed FDT to invest the reserve in the Aria Commodity Finance Fund (Aria CFF). Instead of investing the reserves in Aria CFF as instructed, court filings claimed that $456 million was improperly diverted to Aria Commodities DMCC, a Dubai-based unauthorized entity.

According to the court filings, between mid-2022 and early 2023, Techteryx tried to redeem its investment from Aria CFF but received little or no funds back. This prompted Techteryx to assume full operational control of TUSD by July 2023, when TrueCoin terminated its involvement with the stablecoin.

As part of efforts to continue redemption processes and protect customers from possible fallout, Techteryx isolated 400 million TUSD tokens.

In its defense, FDT claimed it invested TUSD reserves in Aria CFF based on Techteryx’s instructions, adding that it was not responsible for evaluating the company’s investment strategy. Further, it claimed that the delay in redeeming funds was due to AML/KYC concerns regarding Techteryx’s beneficial ownership.

FDT Responds to Sun’s Claim

However, Sun stated that FDT is insolvent and unable to redeem the client’s funds. Based on this, the TRON founder advised users to immediately secure their assets from projects linked to FDT to shield themselves from potential losses.

He added that there are significant loopholes in Hong Kong’s licensing of trusts and urged the relevant authorities to act swiftly to prevent further financial losses.

In response, First Digital Trust has refuted Justin Sun’s claims, asserting that his accusations are completely false.

First Digital Trust Issues Statement in Response to Justin Sun’s Claims

First Digital Trust (FDT) has issued a statement in response to a post by Justin Sun on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). In his post, Sun accused FDT of being insolvent and unable to fulfill client fund redemptions in connection with the TrueUSD (TUSD) stablecoin.

"First Digital Trust (FDT) is effectively insolvent and unable to fulfill client fund redemptions. I strongly recommend that users take immediate action to secure their assets. There are significant loopholes in both the trust licensing process and the legal framework in HK. Relevant authorities should intervene to prevent further financial losses," Sun wrote.

However, FDT has vehemently denied these claims, calling them a "lie" and a "smear campaign" by Sun to attack competitors of his business. The dispute relates to TUSD, not to FDUSD, which FDT issues.

"We are aware of a recent post by Justin Sun on X (formerly Twitter), which contains several false and defamatory statements regarding First Digital Trust. It appears that Mr. Sun is attempting to divert attention from his own company’s affairs and smear the reputation of a competitor. We will be taking legal action to protect our company and our employees' reputations," the company stated.

According to FDT, every dollar backing FDUSD is safe, secure, and backed by U.S. Treasury Bills. The company also mentioned that it is fully cooperating with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and other relevant authorities.

"We are also aware that the post by Mr. Sun may cause confusion among community members. To clarify, First Digital Trust is a licensed trust company in Hong Kong, and FDUSD is a fully compliant stablecoin project. We are committed to operating within the legal and regulatory framework in Hong Kong and assisting the HKMA in maintaining the stability of the financial system."

In conclusion, First Digital Trust has refuted Justin Sun's claims and threatened to pursue legal action to protect its reputation and rights. It also urged community members to be aware of misinformation and scam projects.