TRON founder Justin Sun has initiated a lawsuit against the media company Bloomberg, accusing it of intending to publish confidential information regarding his cryptocurrency assets.
This is reported by Finway
Sun Seeks to Maintain Financial Confidentiality
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Delaware on August 11. Justin Sun claims that Bloomberg breached its promise not to disclose details of his financial assets, which he provided for verification in the Billionaires Index. The entrepreneur fears that the publication of specific amounts and addresses of his crypto assets could lead to theft, hacking, extortion, or even physical violence.
The complaint states that cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible, and in the event of theft, “there is almost no chance of recovery.” Sun’s legal team emphasizes the risk of so-called wrench attacks – physical assaults aimed at coercing asset transfers. The lawyers add that disclosing exact amounts and wallet addresses would enable malicious actors to identify the entrepreneur’s assets using “address clustering techniques.”
“The files containing wallet addresses will not leave our office, and access will be limited to my team and the engineers managing the API,” allegedly stated Bloomberg journalist Tom Sloan in a secure chat.
Risks of Disclosing Crypto Assets and Precedents Worldwide
Sun explains that he initially hesitated to provide information for the ranking of the 500 richest people in the world due to significant cryptocurrency assets but agreed after receiving “clear assurances” that the data would remain “strictly confidential.” However, he claims that Bloomberg plans to disclose this information soon, which does not align with their usual practice regarding other billionaires, where only the total amount is provided or information from public sources is used.
The lawsuit mentions already documented incidents of attacks on cryptocurrency asset holders: this year, there have been 51 such cases worldwide, including a kidnapping in France involving the amputation of fingers from Ledger co-founder David Balland and an attack in Uganda where the founder of a crypto project was forced to transfer $500,000 at gunpoint.
Sun is seeking a temporary and permanent injunction against the publication of specific financial data, as well as compensation for legal fees and court costs. Additionally, the entrepreneur insists on having the case heard by a jury.
It is also worth noting that in early August, Justin Sun participated in Blue Origin’s NS-34 mission, paying $28 million for the flight.