By NAN Staff Writer
News Americas, GENEVA, Switzerland, Thurs. Dec. 23, 2021: A Chinese tech entrepreneur and founder of a cryptocurrency platform is now a Caribbean diplomat.
Justin Sun, founder of the Tron cryptocurrency platform has been appointed Grenada’s representative to the World Trade Organization in Geneva, according to Bloomberg News, which cited Oliver Joseph, minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and Caricom Affairs.
On December 21, Sun arrived at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, where he has been confirmed to his post. According to the Grenada government, the appointment of H.E. Justin Sun, a veteran in the digital field, as Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the WTO, is conducive to the digitization of its trade, investment, and governance.
Sun, 31, who said he’s been a resident on the 135-square-mile island since 2019, is phasing out his participation in crypto-related projects. That includes Tron, the blockchain that’s a top network for controversial stablecoin Tether and supports hundreds of gambling and gaming apps.
“Our crypto industry has got into the stage, we really need sovereign states and regulators and international organizations to recognize the potential and the benefits of the blockchain technology,” Sun said in an interview with Bloomberg News. “That’s why I think I will focus lots of my energy, to try and push blockchain technology and cryptocurrency – the importance of all of this in developing countries and developed states as well. I will also try to promote new technology development in Grenada.”
“The Caribbean has a huge potential to become a very good place for entrepreneurship, and also be the next Singapore,” Sun added according to Bloomberg. “The reason is, Caribbean states are very close to the United States, which I think is very important. But also it is important you are not in the United States. If you are in the United States, you are going to fall into a lot of very strict regulation, and also taxation. In the U.S., the regulatory environment is not good to cryptocurrency.”
Tron has a market valuation of about $8.8 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.com. Sun said he owns about 4% of Tron’S TRX tokens. BitTorrent’s BTT token is valued at about $2.7 billion.
