The last time Justin Sun set foot in the U.S. he was Grenada’s WTO ambassador and was navigating the rocky waters of former President Biden’s crypto crackdown.

Times have changed. Now, he’s dining at an event hosted by President Donald Trump for the largest holders of his TRUMP memecoin and celebrating a regulatory breakthrough, as issuers eye a potential Tron ETF, signaling a striking reversal in crypto’s American fortunes.

Speaking exclusively with CoinDesk after the Presidential dinner, which was met by protestors, the Tron founder dismissed allegations that the token is a vehicle for bribery. He called skeptics short-sighted, arguing Trump’s embrace of crypto could spark a new era of digital asset innovation in America.

«All the haters need to really pay attention,» Sun told CoinDesk, describing Trump’s support for crypto as one of the President’s best decisions.»There are positive things happening in the industry.»

Sun’s relationship with Trump’s affiliated crypto ventures stretches back to just after last year’s election, when he bought up to $75 million worth of World Liberty Financial tokens across multiple tranches.

Shortly after Trump took office, his Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) paused a civil fraud case against Sun, alongside crypto exchange Binance; the SEC also withdrew from or dropped a dozen other cases, though it just filed a fresh civil fraud lawsuit against Unicoin earlier this week. And earlier on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Justice, which pursues criminal cases, had been investigating the Tron founder since 2021.

Read more: Where All the SEC Cases Are

He described the dinner as a clear sign the U.S. is regaining its status as the crypto’s global hub, marking a sharp reversal from the Biden administration’s war on the industry, which had previously prompted crypto firms to consider offshore moves.

«At the Trump dinner, some supporters told me they were thinking of leaving the U.S. because of the Biden administration, moving to places like Hong Kong or Singapore,» Sun said. «Even Consensus started holding events outside of the United States.»

«But now they’ve changed their minds. It brings everybody back into the U.S.,» he continued.

Criticism of Trump’s decision to launch a memecoin has come fast and furious from mainstream media, including attempts to link holders of the token to white nationalism.

Sun dismissed this criticism by emphasizing that critics have every right to express their views under the First Amendment.

‘Memecoins have merit’

While protesters met the memecoin faithful who attended the TRUMP dinner, skepticism about meme coins isn’t limited to outsiders.

At a fireside chat during Consensus 2025, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy described meme coins as essentially «gambling,» questioning their longevity.

«I get why people like it,» Portnoy said. «It’s a form of gambling, it’s a Ponzi scheme. I don’t mean that in a negative way.»

Sun disagrees. Rather than viewing meme coins as gambling or Ponzi schemes, he positions them as legitimate segments of digital asset markets.

Sun pointed to tokens like DOGE and SHIB as examples of success stories that have helped onboard users into crypto. He emphasized that Tron’s goal is to support «every single piece in crypto to grow and become mainstream.»

«I totally think memecoins have merit,» Sun told CoinDesk. «It’s just like doing business. Some succeed, some go to zero. That’s entrepreneurship.»

UPDATE (May 23, 06:15 UTC): Adds details on Sun’s previous investigations and additional background.

Attention is turning to major tokens as bitcoin (BTC) set fresh highs earlier this week, with some pointing out that institutional demand and a clear regulatory environment pave the way for strong moves among the top coins.

Bitcoin was hovering just under $111,000 during the Asian morning hours on Friday, seeing a slight pullback on profit-taking as is expected after upward moves. Cardano’s ADA, dogecoin (DOGE) and Solana’s SOL added as much as 4%, while ether (ETH), XRP, and BNB Chain’s BNB rose less than 1.5%.

The broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a liquid index tracking the largest tokens by market cap, rose 1.2% in the past 24 hours.

Bitget Research’s Chief Analyst Ryan Lee told CoinDesk in a Telegram message that a potential dip in bitcoin dominance could kick off a broader alt season, with high-profile names like XRP and Solana in prime position to benefit.

Lee pointed to XRP’s improving regulatory clarity and recent technical breakout patterns as reasons traders are eyeing a move toward $3–$8 in the medium term.

XRP recently formed a golden cross against BTC on the weekly chart — a historically bullish signal suggesting a long-term trend reversal may be underway. The ratio has been locked in a sideways channel since late 2020, but that may now be breaking after last month’s SEC decision not to pursue further appeals against Ripple.

SOL could climb toward $220–$300 on ETF speculation, while ADA shows potential for a breakout between $1 and $3, Lee added.

Singapore-based QCP Capital said in a Thursday broadcast that the latest BTC move confirmed a robust trend supported by improved structural fundamentals and relatively low volatility.

«This rally feels more structurally sound than the last with less frothy momentum-chasing and stronger fundamental underpinnings,” the firm said, adding that the brief dip following BTC’s initial record high break triggered put-side profit-taking, but buyers were “quick to reload on the upside.”

Still, broader macro risks remain in play. Renewed tariff concerns, rising U.S. yields, and a stronger dollar could all inject volatility into the system, especially for altcoins, QCP said. Traders are urged to stay selective, focusing on assets with strong fundamentals and clear regulatory narratives.

Meanwhile, FxPro’s Alex Kuptsikevich shared in an email that bitcoin’s sentiment index is hovering just below “extreme greed” as of Friday, a sign that the rally may still have room to run in the coming days.

Robinhood has added two Solana-based memecoins, Moo Deng MOODENG and cat in a dog’s world MEW, to its suite of cryptocurrencies available to trade for U.S. customers.

Moo Deng, which is based on a baby pygmy hippo, has risen to a $230 million market cap this month after the meme went viral online in 2024. The token skyrocketed over 836% in May and jumped another 21% over the past 24 hours.

Cat in a dog’s world, on the other hand, is a token based on cats, which launched in March 2024 as part of a Solana meme coin frenzy. The token stands at a $368 million market cap after its price rose 52% in May. It is up nearly 20% over the past 24 hours.

The latest inclusions add to Robinhood’s list of meme coins, and the regulatory landscape is becoming much more flexible after the nomination of several pro-crypto government leaders and President Donald Trump’s U.S. election win last year.

In November, Robinhood added the trading of Pepe coin PEPE, another popular meme coin. The trading app currently offers over 20 cryptocurrencies after previously ending support for several tokens in 2023 amid a crackdown on crypto by the former Securities and Exchange Commission Chair, Gary Gensler.