Rainberry to Pay $10M in SEC Settlement as U.S. Regulator Drops Personal Claims Against Justin Sun

Rainberry Inc., the cryptocurrency firm formerly known as Bittorrent, agreed to pay a $10 million civil penalty to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allegations over market manipulation and unregistered securities offerings in a case made public on March 5, according to court documents. As part of the agreement, the SEC moved to dismiss all personal claims "with prejudice" against Justin Sun, the founder of the Tron blockchain, as well as the Tron Foundation and the Bittorrent Foundation, concluding a legal dispute that began in March 2023. The original complaint had accused Sun and his companies of selling unregistered Tronix (TRX) and Bittorrent (BTT) crypto asset securities and directing employees to carry out more than 600,000 wash trades to inflate apparent trading activity and demand, while the settlement includes no admission or denial of the allegations by any defendant. In addition to the civil fine, Rainberry is now subject to a permanent injunction barring future violations of the antifraud and registration provisions of U.S. federal securities laws, with the final judgment still requiring approval from U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos.