Tron founder Justin Sun has offered his apologies in the wake of recent drama surrounding the postponement of the much-publicised Warren Buffett lunch.
In an online post, Sun stated: “I experienced unprecedented storms, doubts, and pain. I stayed up all night, and I deeply reflected on my past words and deeds and over-marketed myself.
“My words and deeds are immature, young, and prosperous, and my mouth is unobtrusive. It has gradually turned into a disorderly, stalled, failed over-marketing mouth, which has produced a lot of consequences that I completely did not expect, neglecting social and public responsibilities, and my personal intentions.”
Kidney stones, gambling, and pornography
Earlier this week, Justin Sun postponed his upcoming ‘crypto lunch’ with Warren Buffett – for which he paid nearly $4.5 million at a charity auction – initially because he had fallen ill with kidney stones.
However, rumours quickly began to surface from Chinese news outlets suggesting that the real reason behind the postponement was because Sun had caught the attention of Chinese financial regulators.
It was initially reported that Sun had been banned from leaving China, while other news outlets claimed he had just been placed on the border control watch list.
The 21st Century Business Herald alleged that Sun had been barred from leaving China and accused him of illegal fundraising through the Tron project.
The publication also alleged that the Tron network had been operating illegal gambling services accessible to Chinese residents before accusing Sun’s early start-up – Peiwo – of illegal involvement in the pornography business.
Shortly afterwards, Sun live-streamed a video and uploaded a photo of himself in San Francisco to Twitter in a bid to shoot down any assertions that he was trapped in China.
An apology
Sun has since come out and offered a humble apology on Weibo claiming his intentions for dining with Warren Buffett stem from his deep “admiration” of Buffett and his “enthusiasm” for charity.
While the original copy of the apology has since been deleted from Weibo, Sun admitted: “It was simple, but also with self-interest to promote the blockchain industry and my project.
“But my immature, naive, and impulsive conducts with my big mouth have turned it into an out-of-control and failed over-marketing hype and led to a significant series of unexpected consequences.”
The saga has seemingly left a lasting impression on Sun, who revealed: “During the whole process, I went from being excited, to worried, agonised, and then terrified and regretful.
“It led to negative influence on the public and also drew concerns from regulators who care about me.
“Again, I want to say: I am sorry.”
While he does indeed acknowledge that he has drawn negative attention from regulators, Sun has not specified which regulators are looking into him or why.
He also stated that he will be withdrawing himself from the public eye while he contemplates his “over-marketing”.
“Moving forward, due to my illness, I will take some rest and reduce my publicity on Weibo and media interviews. All efforts spent on publicity stunts need to go back to technology development.”
Missed the earlier reports on the Warren Buffett lunch postponement? Discover more about Sun appearing in San Francisco amid claims he was banned from leaving China.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.