A U.S. judge makes a definitive ruling: Tron founder's 60 billion TRX holdings cannot be hidden.

A significant ruling was recently made by Judge Colm Connolly of the U.S. District Court for Delaware, rejecting the temporary restraining order and injunction application by the founder of Tron against Bloomberg, which dealt a major blow to his legal strategy to prevent media reports on his personal crypto assets holdings. This ruling means that Bloomberg can legally disclose the massive crypto assets held by the Tron founder, including approximately 60 billion TRX, 17,000 Bitcoins, 224,000 Ethers, and 700 million USD, among other astonishing figures.

####Judge's Ruling: Tron Founder Failed to Prove Disclosure of Assets Would Result in Substantial Risks

According to documents submitted to the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware on Monday, Judge Colm Connolly clearly supported Bloomberg's position in the case regarding the Tron founder's lawsuit about "disclosing the specific amount of Crypto Assets he owns." The Tron founder initially filed the lawsuit on August 11, seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary and permanent injunctions "prohibiting Bloomberg from publishing any specific amount of Crypto Assets owned by the Tron founder," but all these requests were denied by the judge.

Judge Connolly pointed out in the ruling that the founder of Tron failed to provide sufficient evidence that Bloomberg had promised not to disclose this data. More importantly, the judge believed that the founder of Tron failed to prove that releasing information about his Crypto Assets holdings would make him a "greater target for hacking, phishing, social engineering, kidnapping, or personal injury."

####Self-contradiction: Publicly flaunting wealth on social media

The judge specifically pointed out the contradictory behavior of the founder of Tron in the ruling. Connolly stated, "The founder of Tron’s high level of detailed disclosure regarding his Bitcoin assets undermines his claim of being threatened now due to Bloomberg’s release of his Crypto Assets holdings estimate." The judge further emphasized, "The information about his Bitcoin Holdings disclosed by the founder of Tron is much more specific than that released by Bloomberg."

This observation directly points to the long-standing behavior of the Tron founder showcasing a luxurious lifestyle and flaunting Crypto Assets on social media, which stands in stark contrast to his claims that disclosing assets could pose security risks.

####Bloomberg Billionaires Index and Asset Transparency

This case originated from Bloomberg contacting the Tron founder team in February of this year to collect information about the wealth of this Tron founder for its Billionaires Index. Bloomberg's Billionaires Index is a globally renowned wealth tracking system for billionaires, aimed at providing transparent and accurate information on global billionaire assets.

The founder of Tron claims in a lawsuit that Bloomberg plans to release "unverified, confidential, and private" information about "specific financial holdings." After stating that he is "in discussions" with Bloomberg regarding this matter, the founder's lawyer refiled a motion on September 11, but ultimately failed to persuade the court.

It is currently unclear whether the founder of Tron intends to continue seeking other legal avenues to prevent the disclosure of his asset information. Cointelegraph has reached out to this Tron founder's spokesperson for a comment, but has not received a response by the time of publication.

####Regulatory Pressure and Political Controversies

This legal defeat is just one of the many challenges faced by the founder of Tron recently. In 2023, he was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), accusing his company of offering unregistered securities. However, with the changing political landscape in the U.S., the SEC requested to suspend the case after Trump was elected president and former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler left office.

This decision has sparked political controversy. Last week, two congressional members publicly questioned the SEC's decision to withdraw the case against the founder of Tron and demanded that the agency answer related questions. These lawmakers suggested that the founder of Tron’s "significant investment" in the cryptocurrency businesses controlled by Trump and his family (including World Liberty Financial and his meme coin) may have influenced the SEC’s decision.

####Challenges of Transparency in the Crypto Assets Industry

The case of the founder of Tron highlights the transparency challenges faced by the crypto assets industry. On one hand, blockchain technology itself offers unprecedented transaction transparency; on the other hand, many industry leaders attempt to maintain the privacy of their personal Holdings, a contradiction that has sparked discussions about industry standards and best practices.

####Market Impact and Investor Attention

Once the massive crypto assets held by the founder of Tron are fully disclosed, it may have an impact on the market for related tokens. In particular, the 60 billion TRX held means that the founder of Tron controls a significant proportion of the circulating supply, which could raise investors' concerns about potential market manipulation risks.

For cryptocurrency investors, understanding the asset distribution of major holders ("whales") is crucial for assessing market risk. Bloomberg's reports may provide greater transparency to the market, helping investors make more informed decisions.