Tron CEO Justin Sun, who has found himself in hot water, published a letter apologizing for his misbehavior in overmarketing and being keen on publicity stunt via Weibo (Twitter equivalent in China) on the early morning of July 25.

The apology letter came after Caixin, a reputable financial news outlet based in Beijing, repeatedly reported that Sun has been under border control and might be subject to an upcoming investigation led by Chinese financial regulators.

Over the years, Caixin, founded by Hu Shuli who is often called “the most dangerous woman in China”, has proved to be a very reliable source on economic and financial news in the country. Soon Sun responded via Weibo that the Caixin report was “completely untrue” and asked the publication to show documents about his being “on the border-control list”.

According to people familiar with relevant laws and regulations, “border control” does not require the regulator to directly issue written notification to the parties, and only has the opportunity to verify when the person passes the customs.

Sun’s denial of Caixin’s charge invited a follow-up story from Caixin, which detailed that Sun was actually under border control since June 2018, and he was unable to present at crypto conferences out of the country between June 2018 and November 2018, when he managed to get out of China to the U.S. likely using one of the loopholes in the regulation like illness or family emergency. The report also mentioned that Sun had tried to find ways to converse with regulators to lift the ban but to no avail.

Over the past two days, the 28-year-old crypto entrepreneur first announced the cancellation of the long-awaited power lunch with Warren Buffett due to kidney stones via Weibo, then modified his previous statement in a livestreaming video on Twitter that the lunch was postponed, not cancelled. Then came reports suggesting that the rescheduling was due to legal issues rather than medical problems – he was on the border-control list for suspected involvement in illegal fundraising, money laundering and porn. In response to the allegation, Sun posted a photo and a livestreaming video to show he’s free in the U.S., and Caixin fought back by revealing more details about his whereabouts and that he was indeed under border control.

It seems the farce has so far come to a halt with Sun’s long and “heartfelt” apology. This active hype machine will supposedly keep silence and stay low-key for some time after apologizing to regulators and media for overmarketing Buffett lunch and antagonizing the public.

Translation of the apology letter from Justin Sun Yuchen

Dear friends,

This period of the past days has been the darkest moment of my life as I experienced unprecedented obstacles, doubts and pains. I’ve been awake all night, reflecting on my past words and deeds. I am deeply sorry and guilty for my overmarketing and being keen on speculation. Here I am, expressing my most sincere apologies to the public, media, leaders and regulators who care about me!

The Buffett lunch event is due to my admiration for Mr. Buffett and my love for charity. My original intention is good, simply with some selfish motives to promote blockchain and myself, hoping to fulfill my responsibility to my project. However, because of my immaturity, youthful aggressiveness and outspokenness, the event gradually evolved into an unsuccessful over-marketing that led to a lot of consequences which I had not anticipated. The result was completely out of my control and driven far away from my intention. I have neglected the social and public obligations and brought a negative impact on the public. I want to apologize again to the regulators who have been caring about me.

I started subscribing Caixin since I was in my college days. I repeatedly read each page of the journals and pay great respect to Ms. Hu Shuli (founder of Caixin). Caixin Magazine’s insistence on promoting social obligation and public welfare made me see my limits and insignificance. I am willing to communicate unreservedly with Caixin on our business, development with full transparency, hoping to receive some guidance from the reputable media experts.

Mr. Wang Xiaochuan (CEO of Sougou, China’s second-largest search engine. Previously Wang publicly expressed his despise on Sun and the two have been posted weibos against each other) is a senior expert from the internet sector, I am highly respectful to his achievements and value his opinions. In the past, due to my playful and aggressive personality, I hoped to speculate some topics for marketing. In fact, I was deeply regretful about those vulgar hype and marketing strategies. Here I once again express my most sincere apology to Mr. Wang Xiaochuan, hoping to get his understanding.

To those who care about me, elders, leaders and regulators, I am extremely sorry about my previous marketing behaviors and words. I am deeply fearful about the negative impact I have imposed on this emerging market. I am young and inexperienced, and blockchain is an emerging and immature industry. It is the elders and regulators that make me understand the importance of social obligations and social impact! The healthy development of an industry cannot be separated from the care, guidance and supervision of the regulatory agencies, I will keep an open heart and actively introduce our business and industry development to regulators. I will make all my effort to keep timely and long-term communication with regulators to meet all the requirements, and return to undertake blockchain research and development.

I started loving business when I was young and started up business early. Very fortunately, I caught up with the rapid development of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era and the development dividend of the globalized blockchain industry. With the care and help from seniors in the industry, I am very lucky to make some achievements in the development of the blockchain industry in the world. I am deeply proud to be able to spread out the value of Chinese blockchain around the world. It can be said that without the care and guidance of regulators, there would be no healthy environment for the blockchain industry today.

In the future, I will rest for a while due to my illness and reduce media interviews and social media posts. I will focus more on the research and development of blockchain technology. I will focus more on the good of the country, the good of the industry and the good of the public. I will make correction to meet all regulatory requirements and run the business by the law and instill more positive energy into the blockchain industry. To set a better social example for the youth!

At last, I’d like to apologize sincerely again to the media, the elder, leaders, regulators and the public. Sorry!

Sun Yuchen