Justin Sun plays up TRX-WLFI relationship amid Trump crypto reserve snub

Donald Trump continues to flex his influence on the crypto markets as America’s “first crypto president,” with his announcements, single-handedly reversed what was starting to look like a bear market. 

It was a pleasant shock to the whole ecosystem when the president revealed in a post on Truth Social that his January executive order on digital assets will lead to the US creating a stockpile of currencies. His initial announcement only mentioned Ripple, Solana, and Cardano, names that had not previously been announced. Another hour passed before Trump added that BTC and ETH also made the cut, and that was all. 

Crypto natives waited several more hours before concluding that President Trump was done making announcements. However, people could not help but notice that Tron (TRX) did not make the cut even though Tron’s founder, Justin Sun, has invested $75 million in World Liberty Financial (WLF), a cryptocurrency venture backed by the Trump family and has repeatedly expressed support for his crypto strategies. 

TRX excluded from tokens to be added to the US strategic reserve 

One of the things that makes Donald Trump a great politician is the fact that he knows how to make people chase; he knows how to control his subjects and is very intuitive about how his moves affect their behavior. 

That skill, which made him a successful politician, is what he’s employing as he deals with crypto giants and the infrastructure they’ve built. Since it has become evident that Trump is very much interested in crypto, founders in the space have been scrambling to find his favor, and he has been soaking up all the attention.

They expected him to create a committee to oversee the country’s involvement in crypto and also expected a reserve, which he has now just announced. Before today, many crypto companies had started lobbying for Trump’s attention, all wanting various things from him. 

Tron was one of them, and it went above and beyond in its attempt to prove its relevance to Trump and his associates. For example, Sun, the founder of Tron, invested $75 million in World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture with ties to the Trump family.

He also became an advisor to the DeFi venture, which suggested his relationship with the Trump-backed crypto project was not just surface-level or one-sided.  

World Liberty Financial reportedly holds about $9 million worth of TRX tokens, proof that the WLF ecosystem plans to integrate Sun’s cryptocurrency. All of these facts led many to believe that when Trump started listing tokens to be included in the strategic crypto reserve, TRX would be one of them. It was not. However, it seems Sun is playing the long game and has not given up hope. 

Justin Sun stays the course despite TRX being left out of the upcoming strategic reserve

All the tokens Trump named in his post on Truth Social have surged in value since the announcement. BTC went from $85,107 to $95,000, ETH rose from $2,196 to a high of $2,550, SOL rose from $140 to a high of $180, ADA went from $0.65 and reached a high of $1.18, and XRP increased from $2.22 to a high of $3.

TRX would have also benefitted from the pump if it had been mentioned, but it was not. After Sun’s budding relationship with Trump and World Liberty Financial, many expected TRX to be part of the reserve. Still, Sun has continued to show his support for Trump. 

In one tweet Sun shared, he praised Trump’s unwavering support for the cryptocurrency industry and reaffirmed Tron’s vow to support Trump’s crypto strategy as his “most loyal supporter.” He also reposted a long thread from one user speculating about Trump adding TRX to the reserve soon.

Some of the reasons the user listed in their post touched on the financial relationship between Tron and WLF as well as the closeness between Sun and Trump. The user even went as far as claiming Sun is “very likely Trump’s right-hand man in the crypto industry.” 

The user expects Trump may add TRX to the reserve and claims that if it happened, TRX’s price could run up to even a dollar. 

How the industry is responding to Trump’s list

In the hours that followed Trump’s announcement regarding a national reserve, the total cryptocurrency market rose by about 10%, or more than $300 billion. 

“This move signals a shift toward active participation in the crypto economy by the U.S. government,” said Federico Brokate, head of US business at 21Shares, a digital assets investment management firm. “It has the potential to accelerate institutional adoption, provide greater regulatory clarity, and strengthen the U.S.’s leadership in digital asset innovation.”

While many agree with Brokate, there is also a growing number of people who think BTC is the only token that should be in the reserve. 

One of them is James Butterfill, head of research at asset manager CoinShares, who expressed surprise at seeing digital assets other than Bitcoin included in the reserve.

“Unlike bitcoin…these assets are more akin to tech investments,” Butterfill stated. “The announcement suggests a more patriotic stance toward the broader crypto technology space, with little regard for the fundamental qualities of these assets.”

Another person who echoed Butterfill’s sentiments was Gemini’s co-founder, Tyler Winklevoss, who believes XRP, SOL, and ADA are not “suitable” for a strategic crypto reserve.

“Only one digital asset in the world right now meets the bar and that digital asset is Bitcoin,” he reportedly said. 

He may have a point, but the probability of Trump going back on his word is low. While the republican president has said the reserve will be created as a result of his executive order, there are ongoing debates on whether an act of Congress will be necessary to set up the reserve. 

As for where the tokens that will go to the reserve will come from, Trump’s crypto team can either use cryptocurrencies seized in law enforcement actions or the US Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund, which can be used to purchase or sell foreign currencies.