Tron initiates reverse merger with SRM Entertainment - Political proximity fuels crypto IPO
Tron goes public on the US stock exchange via reverse merger—with the support of the Trump family and multi-million dollar token assets.
Entering the US market with a reverse merger: Justin Sun's crypto platform Tron is taken public through a merger with Nasdaq-listed SRM Entertainment. The volume amounts to up to 210 million USD in token assets. The deal was organized by Dominari Securities – an investment bank with close ties to Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.
The new company is to operate under the name "Tron Inc" and focus on holding and strategically deploying the in-house Tron token. According to people familiar with the matter, Eric Trump is set for an active role in the company. The transaction follows the example of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), which has turned itself into a kind of publicly traded crypto fund through massive Bitcoin purchases.
SRM Entertainment saw a jump in its stock price of up to 647 percent after news of the deal. Tron investor Justin Sun has long been the focus of the US financial regulator. In 2023, the SEC filed charges for the alleged sale of unregistered securities and market manipulation. However, in February of this year, the lawsuit was put on hold after the Trump administration signaled a regulatory relaxation in the crypto sector. Sun took the opportunity to deepen his political contacts with the Trump family.
He invested $75 million in World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture economically linked to Donald Trump, which is said to have already earned him $57 million. In a symbolic move, World Liberty stablecoins were issued on the Tron blockchain for the first time last week.
Sun, known for his PR stunts – like a $4.6 million lunch with Warren Buffett or eating a banana auctioned for $6.2 million – has long built an international network. The native Chinese now holds citizenship of St. Kitts and Nevis and was briefly a trade ambassador of Grenada at the WTO.
Dominari Securities, which accompanied the IPO, is located in Trump Tower, just two floors below the Trump Organization. The parent company Dominari Holdings saw a 580 percent rally in its stock price following the announcement of Trump family membership on the advisory board. Its mandates also include financing private companies of Elon Musk, including SpaceX and xAI.
