Original Authors: Sleepy, Kaori, Peggy, BlockBeats

On June 16, 2025, it was reported that Justin Sun would bring Tron onto the Nasdaq stock exchange via a reverse takeover. According to publicly available information, this deal involves a $100 million capital injection, warrants, and convertible preferred shares within a sophisticated financial structure. Upon completion of the transaction, SRM will be renamed "Tron Inc." and will hold TRX tokens as part of its strategic corporate assets. Justin Sun himself will join the company in an advisory role.

The vehicle for this transaction is a U.S.-listed company called SRM Entertainment, and the deal structure and financing arrangements were orchestrated by Dominari Securities, a boutique investment bank headquartered in New York.

Justin Sun and Tron’s reverse acquisition of SRM Entertainment is not the first of its kind. Prior to this, the crypto world experienced a wave of "buy-to-list" capital frenzy. Numerous crypto capital groups have aggressively utilized reverse takeovers to acquire publicly-listed shell companies, turning them into tools for token hoarding and price manipulation. From Bitcoin to SOL, ETH, and XRP, it seems Justin couldn’t resist joining the game after watching the frenzy unfold in full throttle.

Two Key Pieces of the Puzzle: SRM and Dominari

Justin Sun’s maneuver was executed through the reverse takeover of a little-noticed Nasdaq-listed company, SRM Entertainment.

SRM was originally a long-standing enterprise in the business of creating theme park collectibles, primarily producing toys and souvenirs for clients like Universal Studios and Disney. It has no background in the crypto space, and its market cap barely crossed the $100 million mark due to speculation sparked by the announcement. However, SRM does possess a valuable asset: its Nasdaq listing status.

In the current environment, this type of "clean shell" is often more valuable than the company’s actual operations, and Justin Sun clearly recognized this.

The mastermind behind the transaction is Dominari Securities, a boutique investment bank headquartered in New York, whose parent company, Dominari Holdings, has been aggressively pivoting toward emerging asset classes in recent years.

Even more intriguing is the connection to the Trump family. Former Trump Organization executive Ron Lieberman joined Dominari Securities' board at the end of 2024. Trump’s two sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, also joined the advisory board in early 2025 and participated in fundraising efforts. The firm’s office is even located in Trump Tower, merely two floors away from the Trump Organization’s headquarters.

In this transaction, SRM provides shell resources, Dominari is responsible for structural design and financing facilitation, while Justin Sun, acting as a "private investor," injects $100 million into SRM in exchange for 100,000 shares of Series B convertible preferred stock and 220 million warrants at a conversion price of $0.50 per share. If fully converted in the future, he would hold up to 420 million shares, far exceeding SRM's current outstanding shares, effectively taking control of the company.

After the transaction, SRM will be renamed "Tron Inc.," with Justin Sun taking on the role of company advisor. The new company will also adopt MicroStrategy's strategy of incorporating TRX into its balance sheet as a core asset, holding it as a strategic reserve.

This deal exemplifies a typical "reverse merger + asset packaging" operation: on the one hand, bypassing the compliance hurdles of a traditional IPO, and on the other, integrating TRX into the U.S. stock market's asset narrative in a legitimate manner.

On the surface, this appears to be a capital restructuring, but in reality, it's a multi-pronged strategy orchestrated by Justin Sun. By leveraging the reverse merger to achieve regulatory legitimacy, using his advisor status to bypass disclosure requirements, and injecting TRX as an asset into a public company, Sun has effectively bridged tokens, companies, crypto assets, and Wall Street's valuation framework through this transaction.

The Capital Game of Reverse Mergers in Crypto: Justin Sun Enters the Arena

After MicroStrategy's rise to fame in the U.S. stock market, the "Bitcoin strategic reserve" model became the new trend in capital markets. Shortly thereafter, the market's interest in "hoarding crypto" quickly expanded beyond Bitcoin to other mainstream cryptocurrencies, leading to the rapid discovery of a "playbook": reverse acquiring a shell company, announcing the name change and a financing plan to buy crypto, driving stock prices up, and triggering a positive feedback loop of "stock and token flying high together."

Following Bitcoin, SOL, ETH, and XRP, now, Justin Sun has entered the game with his TRX.

Bitcoin Strategic Reserve: "Golden Finger" UTXO and Sora Ventures

In this capital frenzy inspired by MicroStrategy, UTXO Management and Sora Ventures have seized the opportunity, becoming key drivers behind this trend. They have gradually developed a replicable BTC treasury operation model: acquiring fringe public companies, restructuring management, introducing Bitcoin as a core asset, and transforming them into a new generation of "crypto-narrative meme stocks."

The earliest example can be traced back to Japan. Metaplanet (formerly known as Red Planet) was a budget hotel operator. In 2024, the company sold off most of its hotel assets, rebranded as Metaplanet, and pivoted to become a "Bitcoin reserve enterprise." Subsequently, the company raised capital through bond issuance to continually build its BTC holdings. This transformation caused its stock price to skyrocket from 50 JPY to over 2,000 JPY, making it "Japan's first publicly listed company to hold Bitcoin."

At the start of 2025, Sora Ventures and UTXO Management made another notable move by acquiring over 70% of the shares in Asia Pacific Holdings, a "penny stock" (stock price below 1 HKD), for approximately 126 million HKD. They restructured the company into Moon Inc., completely overhauling its board and management team, and established a company strategy centered around Bitcoin. Following the announcement of its first Bitcoin acquisition, the stock price surged over 30% within the same day, marking a staggering 1669% increase since the beginning of the year.

Related Reading: 《The $2.5 Billion Bitcoin Bet by Donald Trump: The Stock Market’s Flow to the "BTC Fentanyl"》

SOL Strategic Reserve: The Shadow Capital Behind the "Retailer’s Blockchain"

Solana’s native token has become the second cryptocurrency to attract significant institutional investments.

SOL Strategies Inc., formerly known as Cypherpunk Holdings Inc., was initially a Canadian company with broad investments in the blockchain space, including Bitcoin holdings. In September 2024, the company rebranded to SOL Strategies Inc. and shifted its focus entirely to the Solana ecosystem, aspiring to become both an investor and an infrastructure provider for Solana.

Soon after, the company launched a convertible bond financing mechanism worth up to $500 million, earmarked specifically for acquiring SOL tokens.

《Public Companies Enter $500 Million "Buy Buy Buy" Mode: SOL Becomes the Next BTC for MicroStrategy-style Investors》

Another example is DeFi Development Corporation, formerly Janover Inc., which initially operated as an AI-powered online platform focused on the commercial real estate industry, offering data, software subscriptions, and value-added services. After former Kraken Chief Strategy Officer Joseph Onorati took the helm, the company underwent a strategic transformation, adopting a policy centered on accumulating and compounding Solana (SOL) as its primary financial reserve strategy.

In April this year, the company announced an independent agreement with ATW Partners to establish a convertible note financing mechanism of up to $500 million for acquiring SOL tokens. Since rebranding, DFDV’s stock has skyrocketed 30x over the past two months, primarily driven by its focused shift towards Solana investments.

On June 3, real-time interactive online learning provider Classover Holdings, Inc. also announced that it has entered into a securities purchase agreement with Solana Growth Ventures LLC to issue up to $500 million in senior secured convertible notes, pushing forward its strategic plan to establish a treasury reserve based on Solana (SOL).

Why Are Companies Rushing to Accumulate SOL?

ETH Treasury Reserve: Joseph Lubin and His VC "E Guard"

Following closely is Ethereum and its "E Guard." In an interview with Bloomberg in early June, Consensys founder and CEO Joseph Lubin disclosed that he was inspired to develop the idea of an "ETH MicroStrategy" after dining with MicroStrategy's "evangelist" Michael Saylor.

By late May, SharpLink Gaming announced the close of a $425 million public company private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing, being reverse-acquired by seasoned Ethereum-heavy institutions including ConsenSys, Galaxy, and Pantera Capital. This move positioned SharpLink to start purchasing ETH as a reserve asset. Following this announcement, SharpLink’s stock price soared to as high as $124, a surge of over 40 times from its pre-announcement levels.

Spending $425 Million on an ETH Version MicroStrategy: Are the "E Guard" Abandoning Political Correctness?

Last weekend, SharpLink Gaming filed an S-3ASR registration statement with the U.S. SEC, authorizing the resale of up to 58,699,760 shares associated with their PIPE financing. This effectively allows over 100 PIPE investors to sell their holdings opportunistically. The market misinterpreted this move as "PIPE investors have begun to offload their holdings," leading to a wave of panic selling and causing its stock price to plummet nearly 70% in after-hours trading.

The 100% Premium Game: Is SharpLink's ETH Bet Just Beginning?

XRP Strategic Reserve: Ripple Army No Longer Wants the "Cult Coin" Label

The last to enter the reserve narrative is the seasoned crypto asset XRP, which was once labeled as the "cult coin." Against the backdrop of the SEC lawsuit gradually nearing resolution and Ripple's compliance path becoming clearer, XRP is steadily breaking away from past public opinion stigma, redefining itself as a "low volatility, high liquidity" practical reserve asset.

At the end of May, Webus International launched a $300 million fundraising initiative, leveraging XRP to build a global payments network aimed at the Southeast Asian market. Webus is a Hong Kong-based tech company specializing in cross-border payment systems and trading infrastructure.

Subsequently, VivoPower International PLC announced the completion of a $121 million private placement, with the funds allocated to establish an enterprise-level treasury mechanism centered on XRP. VivoPower, a London-headquartered clean energy company listed on Nasdaq, primarily serves the Middle Eastern and Australian markets. On June 12, Trident unveiled plans for an XRP treasury financing initiative worth up to $500 million, appointing Chaince Securities LLC as its strategic advisor.

After Spending $100 Million on Lawsuits, XRP No Longer Wants the "Cult Coin" Label

Make America Great Again: Justin Sun Ties Closer to Donald Trump

On May 22, 2025, 220 cryptocurrency investors gathered at a golf club by the Potomac River for a lavish dinner with Donald Trump, while enjoying the "spectacular view of the Potomac River." The ticket for entry? Holding the Trump-officially-issued meme token, $TRUMP.

During the event, the top 25 investors enjoyed private VIP receptions with Trump, and the top four investors received limited-edition "Trump Tourbillon" watches. Among them was Justin Sun, who was the number one $TRUMP holder and received this exclusive gift.

The most viral video from the evening featured Justin Sun. As the "number one big spender," he took to the stage to thank Trump for his contributions to the crypto space. He said, "Just 100 days ago, they were hunting down people in crypto. An event of this scale in Washington would've been unthinkable. Now, we crypto folks are gathered in the U.S., doing what we do best—this is the greatest moment of my life."

In November 2024, just three weeks after Trump won his re-election as president, Justin Sun announced a $30 million investment in WLF, followed shortly by an additional $45 million injection. According to the agreement, 75% of the subsequent funding flowed directly into the Trump family's accounts. Soon after, Trump launched the meme token $TRUMP, with Justin Sun also participating in the purchase.

The deal quickly bore fruit: Sun was appointed as an advisor to WLF. In early 2025, following Trump's inauguration, the SEC gradually withdrew investigations into exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, and Robinhood, and "paused" its lawsuit against Justin Sun.

Justin Sun even appeared alongside Eric Trump, one of Trump's sons, on stage at the TOKEN2049 conference in Dubai. This collaboration laid the groundwork for a series of subsequent deep partnerships between the WLFI project and the TRON network.

Fintech consultant Zennon Kapron remarked that there are many similarities between Justin Sun and Trump. "In some ways, Sun and Trump are cut from the same cloth: they both enjoy storytelling, love creating spectacles, and thrive in the process of attracting attention. It’s not surprising their paths have begun to converge."

Justin Sun's efforts to "get close" to Trump began as far back as Trump's first term.

In 2019, after winning the opportunity to have lunch with Warren Buffett, Justin Sun publicly invited Trump, who at the time remained skeptical about cryptocurrency, to join the meeting. "Mr. President, you've been misled by fake news. #Bitcoin and #Blockchain are actually America’s greatest opportunities!" he posted on social media. "I promise, by the end of this meal, no one will understand crypto better than you!"

However, Trump did not take up the invitation. Six years later, Justin Sun found himself as one of Trump's "inner circle" guests.

From investing in WLFI, endorsing $TRUMP, attending presidential dinners, to now spearheading a "MicroStrategy-like" listing strategy, Justin Sun’s series of high-stakes bets have yielded almost theatrical returns. Yet in this crypto-capital-politics nexus, the unfolding saga between Sun and the Trump family is likely far from its final chapter.

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