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Justin Sun, the inventor of Tron, has sued Bloomberg in federal court, saying that the news organization broke its pledge to keep his personal cryptocurrency assets secret and is getting ready to reveal private information about them. Sun says the relocation might put him in a lot of danger, such as theft, hacking, kidnapping, and even threats to his life.
The complaint, which was filed on Monday, August 11, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for Delaware, seeks the court to stop Bloomberg from giving out any particular numbers about his crypto assets. The lawsuit says that Sun only submitted information about his assets to prove his net worth for Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, which is a well-known list that ranks the richest people in the world.
Sun says that Bloomberg promised him that these kinds of disclosures would stay “strictly confidential.” His complaint asks for both interim and permanent injunctions that would stop the outlet from releasing information about his wallet balances or transactions.
The Importance of Openness in Crypto Wealth
The main issue in the case is a conflict that is peculiar to the digital asset world: security against openness.
Open ledgers keep track of crypto assets, which is different from how typical bank accounts or stock portfolios do.
Attackers could use “address clustering” to follow transactions if full wallet information becomes public. The lawsuit makes it clear that bitcoin payments can’t be undone. This means that if Sun were forced, hacked, or tricked into sending money, there would be no way to get the money back.
Court documents also include Bloomberg’s own earlier reporting on “wrench attacks,” which are violent attacks in which thieves physically force victims to give them their crypto keys or start transfers. Sun’s lawyers say that if Bloomberg published the actual quantity and structure of his holdings, it would provide criminals a way to find him.
Bloomberg’s First Move
The fight started in February 2025, when Bloomberg apparently contacted Sun’s team to talk about putting him on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which keeps track of the wealth of the 500 richest people in the world. At first, Sun wasn’t sure. He was hesitant to share how much money he had in crypto, especially since the blockchain is decentralized and anonymous.
But the complaint says that Bloomberg’s reporters made clear promises: information would be private, communications would happen via secure channels, and files with wallet addresses would never leave Bloomberg’s newsroom. Only the reporting team and the engineers in charge of the index API would be able to access it. Sun agreed to work with them because of such promises.
Sun’s lawyers say that Bloomberg is now trying to go back on that pledge, which goes against its own editorial standards. In the past, Bloomberg has either provided total wealth numbers or used data that was already available to the public. It has hardly never shared very detailed details about a billionaire’s private assets.
Not Just a Privacy Issue
At first glance, the lawsuit looks like a fight between a crypto entrepreneur and a media organization, but it also shows the bigger problems that journalism is facing in the digital asset age. How much openness is good for the public, and when does it put someone’s safety at risk?
For Bloomberg, the defense may be based on the idea of freedom of the press and the public’s right to know how wealth is made, especially in an industry that is often attacked for being secretive. For Sun, the instance shows the paradox of crypto wealth: even though holdings may be verified on-chain, giving too much information makes the owner more exposed.
Legal experts say the case could create a precedent. If Sun gets an injunction, it could give other crypto billionaires the courage to fight back against media attention. If Bloomberg wins, the decision might confirm that journalists have the right to publish private financial information, even if it has to do with digital wallets.
Unique Security Risks of Crypto
The lawsuit goes into considerable detail about how bitcoin holdings are different from other types of assets. You can reset a stolen bank account password and freeze shares that are being held in custody. In contrast, blockchain transactions are final, and private keys show that you own something completely. That finality, along with the fact that crypto wallets are pseudonymous yet can be traced, makes what security experts call a “perfect storm” for those with a lot of money.
Sun’s lawyers say that once a wallet address is tied to a person, enemies can use blockchain forensics to keep an eye on that person’s activity forever. They say that making this information public would be like “giving criminals the keys to the vault.”
What’s Next?
Sun wants a jury trial and money to cover his legal fees and court costs. Bloomberg hasn’t said anything publicly about the case yet, and they haven’t confirmed their plans to include Sun in the Billionaires Index.
Not only will people in the crypto world be interested in the case, but so will media law specialists and privacy advocates. In a future where wealth is moving outside of institutions and across borders, it could change how news organizations handle private financial information.
The lawsuit is not just an effort by Sun to protect his money. It’s also a public warning about the dangers of being a crypto billionaire in a time when digital openness may be both a good and bad thing. As the court case goes on, it could change the thin line between the freedom of the press and the safety of individuals. This line looks extremely thin when looked at in blockchain code.
