This past March, Tron, BitTorrent, Rainberry, and founder Justin Sun were the target of enforcement action by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleging the offer and sale of unregistered “crypto-asset securities,” including Tronix (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT). Several “celebrity” promotions were entwined in the enforcement action as well.
In recent days, the SEC has settled with one of the promoters, Austin Mahone, a YouTuber and singer who apparently said that “when $TRX hits 50 cents and $BTT hits 1 cent, I’m getting a tattoo of @justinsuntron’s face.”
The SEC claims he was paid Bitcoin valued at $20,059 for the Tweet (now X). Mahone’s Tweet did not disclose the fact that he had been paid to promote TRX or BTT.
The final judgment for the infraction requires Mahone to pay $7,507 disgorgement plus $682 prejudgment interest and a civil penalty of $37,535.
The SEC noted it continues to litigate Sun, his companies, and another promoter Soulja Boy aka DeAndre Cortez Way