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Justin Sun will step down from his role as CEO of the Tron Foundation, the organization behind the blockchain network by the same name that he founded in 2017.
But Sun isn’t retiring to a fishing village to enjoy a quiet life off of his crypto riches. Instead, he’s preparing to fly to Geneva, Switzerland.
Sun will join the government of Grenada as its new full-time ambassador to the World Trade Organization, according to a press release from Tron shared with Decrypt.
“It is a true honor to serve as the WTO ambassador for Grenada,” said Sun in a statement shared with Decrypt. “I look forward to the opportunity to represent Grenada and work with WTO leadership to reinvigorate global trade in various ways, particularly the development of a robust digital economy internationally.”
“Sun’s expertise in the blockchain industry will likely breeze some much-needed fresh air into the regional economy, as Grenada and CARICOM [the Caribbean Community] are among the hardest hit by a Covid-led tourism industry shutdown,” the press release read.
It isn’t clear how Sun landed a government job on a small Caribbean island. Grenada’s Permanent Mission in Geneva did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.
A spokesperson for Tron confirmed to Decrypt that it isn’t a “paid role,” and added that “one of [Sun’s] goals is to represent and make blockchain mainstream by bringing it to the global political arena via [the] WTO.”
Sun loves promoting crypto to influential names, and he pays generously for the opportunity if necessary.
In February 2020, he paid $4.5 million for the honor of having a meal with billionaire investor Warren Buffett (following a long delay after Sun said he had kidney stones). At the dinner, he gifted Bitcoin to Buffett who had previously called the cryptocurrency “rat poison squared.” Sun later apologized to Buffett for being “a big-mouthed over-marketer.”
The diplomats of Geneva may be in for passionate lectures about crypto.