Justin Sun offers $50M bounty for proof that First Digital Trust hid funds and crashed TUSD
Justin Sun doubled down on claims that First Digital Trust was lax with the fiat backing of the TUSD stablecoin. Sun offered a $50M bounty for evidence of foul play and hidden funds.
Justin Sun, the founder of TRON, doubled down on his claims that First Digital Trust was being dishonest about handling the reserves of the TUSD stablecoin. Sun, who deposited $450M in stablecoins to bail out TUSD, offered a bounty of $50M for evidence of financial foul play.
‘I hereby officially announce: A $50 million bounty program will be established (approximately equivalent to 10% of the liquidity support I provided or the stolen TUSD reserves), aimed at recovering the TUSD reserves illegally misappropriated by First Digital Trust (FDT) and other wrongdoers,’ announced Sun in a thread on X.
Sun stated he would pay for verified information through whistle-blowers tracking fiat transactions or on-chain investigations where possible.
First Digital Trust was one of the custodians for the TUSD stablecoin, which de-pegged at one point. Sun then extended a loan, taking $500M in risk, to save the crypto ecosystem from a bigger contagion.
Techterys, the company that took over TUSD from its first creator, Trust Token, was exposed to risky investments and was unable to liquidate or withdraw its funds. This created the need for Sun’s involvement, which covered the financial hole of around $456M. As a result, TUSD de-pegged down to $0.95 in February, requiring a bridge loan to regain its position.
At the same time, FDT was accused of diverting a similar sum to the entity Aria Commodities DMCC instead of the intended Aria Commodity Finance Fund. Sun claimed that FDT used pre-existing loopholes in Hong Kong law to misappropriate funds. Sun drew attention to the company’s reports, which reveal negative equity in its annual reports, further supporting his claims that the stablecoin issuer is insufficiently capitalized.
First Digital Trust (FDT), A company with negative equity means its total liabilities exceed aggregate assets — in other words, it is practically financially insolvent. That’s why, under international banking regulations, banks are subject to stringent capital adequacy… pic.twitter.com/F5P4V1lJ2E
— H.E. Justin Sun 🍌 (@justinsuntron) April 4, 2025
FDT still claims the risk for TUSD came from Techteryx and that the Trust remains solvent and capable of issuing and redeeming stablecoins as intended. The company attached an attestation report to prove its reserves for the stablecoin.
Sun added TUSD to the TRON network in 2022, sparking rumors of additional connections to Techteryx.
TUSD and FDUSD return to $1 range
Sun’s claims also spread to the backing of another stablecoin, FDUSD. The statements led to the temporary de-pegging of FDUSD to $0.87. However, First Digital Trust claimed this stablecoin was not linked to TUSD and was fully backed and transparent. Following the de-pegging event, FDUSD redeemed a total of 87M tokens with no issues. Despite this, Hong Kong prosecutors are still investigating all involved sides.
Currently, TUSD still exists with a circulating supply of over 495M. Despite this, the token’s trading volumes and usage are extremely low. Both TUSD and FDUSD were supported by Binance, becoming the key assets for its Launchpool campaigns. At one point, TUSD was discontinued from the launchpool, severely diminishing activity.
FDUSD also shows signs of being phased out. Binance now accepts other stablecoins for its launchpool campaigns, while the supply of FDUSD is down to 2.21B tokens from a peak of 4.3B 12 months ago. FDUSD is mostly minted and redeemed as Binance demands. The token’s mints and high turnover also coincided with some of the BTC rallies during the 2024 bull market. The tokens are not used in DeFi and are considered partially centralized.
For now, there is no direct evidence of lost funds or diverting the collateral of FDUSD. The token went through the stress test, with the markets still processing Sun’s claims. Previously, Sun himself has been accused of minting stablecoins with no transparent backing, as in the case of USDD. The TRON-based token also depegged by 18% back in 2020, and was subsequently phased out.
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Malta Regulator Fines OKX $1.2 Million for Violations of AML Requirements
- FIAU has fined OKX's European unit for non-compliance with AML regulations in 2023.
- The exchange has significantly improved regulation over the past 18 months, but violations are found to be systematic.
- Risks related to mixers, confidential coins and activities outside the EU are among the shortcomings.
Malta's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIAU) has fined Okcoin Europe - the European arm of exchange OKX - $1.2 million. The order was issued due to the platform's violations of anti-money laundering (AML) regulations in 2023.
Representatives of the regulator noted that despite significant progress over the past 18 months, past violations cannot be ignored.
OKX became one of the first exchanges to receive a MiCA license in the EU through its Maltese office in January 2025. However, during its inspection, the FIAU identified weaknesses in its risk assessment (BRA) system that prevented the exchange from ”adequately assessing money laundering threats” and taking appropriate action.
Among the risks identified were the use of cryptocurrency mixers, anonymous coins, stablecoins and transactions on decentralized exchanges. Additionally, violations related to customer service outside the EU were noted, despite the stated regional strategy.
The regulator pointed out that OKX had to take into account potential threats from foreign users and funding sources. At the time of publication of the material, the exchange did not comment on the issue of recognizing violations, but assured that it continues to strengthen its compliance system.
OKX has suspended its DEX aggregator due to the Bybit hack
Cryptocurrency exchange OKX suspended its decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator after consulting with regulators.
The company said in a statement that the team recently discovered ”coordinated efforts by the Lazarus Group to abuse scarce services.” OKX has also noticed an increase in attacks aimed at disrupting the exchange, the statement said.
”This move will allow [the aggregator shutdown] us to implement additional updates to prevent further abuse. We know that transparency is key, which is why we are also working closely with blockchain researchers,” OKX noted.
In addition, the company added that it has already deployed a hacker address detection solution:
- A system to detect hacker addresses in the Web3 aggregator DEX;
- a system for tracking the latest addresses of attackers and blocking them in the CEX system in real time.
The Block noted that the exchange's decision was a response to a report by Bloomberg that noted OKX was in the EU's crosshairs because of its role in the Bybit hack. The report stated that OKX's service was used to launder some of the funds stolen in the Bybit hack.
OKX caught in EU crosshairs over its role in Bybit hack
Crypto exchange OKX has come under the crosshairs of European regulators because its service was used to launder some of the funds stolen in the hack of the Bybit platform. This is reported by Bloomberg.
According to the publication, the issue of possible sanctions against OKX was raised during a meeting organized by the Standing Committee on Digital Finance of the European Securities and Markets Authority, which was held on March 6, 2025.
The occasion was the OKX Web3 service, a decentralized multichain wallet with token swap capability. The hackers behind the Bybit exchange hack allegedly used it to launder about $100 million of the funds stolen in the attack.
This was announced by Bybit CEO Ben Zhou on March 4. Of this amount, about $65 million cannot be traced, added the head of the company.
According to Bloomberg, the topic of discussion was whether MiCA regulations apply to OKX Web3. If so, what sanctions could be imposed on the exchange for its alleged role in the incident.
On January 27, 2025, OKX announced that it had received a full license to operate in the EU. Services will be provided through the exchange's Malta unit.
Citing sources present at the meeting, Bloomberg said that representatives of two countries - Austria and Croatia - advocated extending MiCA regulations to some decentralized platforms, including OKX's service.
OKX commented on the situation. The company called the Bloomberg article misleading, noting that there is no investigation against the exchange;
The official statement said OKX reacted as quickly as possible to the Bybit hack. The exchange has frozen funds flowing into the main platform and has also developed a new feature to detect and block accounts of hackers using its decentralized platform.
”Unfortunately, Bybit's statements spread misinformation to journalists. We want to clarify to our community that: OKX is not under investigation, this is simply a case of Bybit's lack of security know-how, our Web3 wallet services are no different from what other industry players offer,” the company stated.
Thailand's SEC files suit against OKX for unlicensed activities
Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange OKX and its operator Aux Cayes FinTech Co Ltd. The platform is accused of providing services without a license, which violates the 2018 Digital Assets Emergency Ordinance.
The SEC said OKX began operating in Thailand in October 2021, charging a 0.1 percent commission on transactions despite lacking authorization. Authorities also identified nine people promoting the exchange on social media platforms including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Telegram and YouTube. They face charges of promoting unlicensed activity.
According to the Commission, the actions violate Section 26 of the Emergency Decree, which carries fines and criminal penalties. If the court finds OKX and its partners guilty, they face two to five years in prison, as well as fines of up to 500,000 baht (about $14,700) and a daily fine of 10,000 baht ($295) for delinquency.
Thailand's SEC has reminded investors of the risks of working with unlicensed platforms. Users of such exchanges are not protected by law and may face fraud or money laundering. Licensed companies such as Binance and Upbit are listed on the regulator's official website.
Thai authorities continue their fight against unlicensed crypto exchanges. They announced the blocking of such platforms in 2024, handing over their list to the Ministry of Digital Economy. Similar measures were taken against Bybit in 2023.
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