Justin Sun intensifies fight over $456M TUSD reserve gap

Justin Sun has stepped further into the center of the $456 million TUSD reserve dispute with a public address in Hong Kong.

Justin Sun used a rare in-person media briefing in Hong Kong to give new details about the alleged diversion of millions of dollars backing the TrueUSD stablecoin, 

The Nov. 27 briefing, themed “Truth Unveiled, Justice Revealed,” marked a clearer, more assertive push from Sun as legal battles proceed in multiple jurisdictions.

Sun steps up claims over missing TUSD reserves

During the briefing, Sun described how custodial partners entrusted with managing TUSD reserves allegedly pushed funds into inappropriate, high-risk arrangements between 2021 and 2022.

He pointed to First Digital Trust and Aria Commodities as central players in what he framed as an exploitation of gaps in Hong Kong’s trust oversight. According to his account, the reserves were diverted into commodity financing and mining ventures that could not be liquidated when TUSD faced heavy redemptions earlier this year.

He said those actions created a liquidity squeeze that forced him to intervene with nearly $500 million to stabilize the stablecoin during a tense period in early 2025. Sun welcomed the recent worldwide asset freeze imposed by Dubai’s DIFC Court, calling it an important turning point that may help recover funds he believes should never have left their custodial structures.

His remarks also carried a message for policymakers. Sun called on Hong Kong authorities to step up oversight of trust service providers, arguing that the incident shows why coordinated international enforcement is needed.

How the dispute reached this point

The conflict stems from a $456 million shortfall uncovered in TUSD’s reserves at the start of the year. Techteryx, the company behind TUSD, accused its custodians of funneling funds through channels that violated the trust agreement. Their actions ultimately put the funds under the control of Aria Commodities, a firm tied to financier Matthew William Brittain.

These positions could not be easily unwound when market stress increased, posing an immediate risk to the stablecoin’s peg. While Techteryx pursued legal action in Hong Kong and Dubai to regain control of the missing assets, Sun intervened with an emergency capital infusion to ease the situation.

By mid-October, Dubai’s financial court determined there was credible concern that the funds could be moved or concealed, prompting an indefinite global freeze that was later reaffirmed.

TUSD’s peg remains stable since the bailout, but the regulatory pressures in Hong Kong and Dubai continue to build as the courts move toward determining where the diverted reserves legally belong.