From a Rebel Student at Peking University to a Blockchain Pioneer: Sun Yuchen and the Breakthrough Journey of TRON

As the clock ticks closer to the effective date of the Hong Kong Stablecoin Ordinance on August 1, 2025, a wave of digital financial transformation is sweeping in. In this wave, the name of TRON and its founder Justin Sun is becoming increasingly clear; this entrepreneur, who emerged from the campus of Peking University, is participating in the reconstruction of the global financial order with a pioneering spirit.

The hands of time turned back 14 years, when an article criticizing Peking University's "consultation system" titled "Peking University, Leave a Bit of Radical Seed for China" made history major Sun Yuchen the focus of campus attention, later appearing on the cover of Asia Weekly, becoming a symbol of 90s idealism. At that time, he was shuttling between the Chinese Department and the History Department, exploring multiple ideals as a writer, scholar, and politician, ultimately graduating with the top score in his history major. His innate "anti-conformity" gene was already showing—he was never satisfied with following the crowd's trajectory.

The turning point of fate began with a curiosity about Blockchain technology. During his studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Sun Yuchen accidentally encountered Bitcoin, and the concepts of "decentralization" and "trust mechanism" in Satoshi Nakamoto's whitepaper completely overturned his understanding of traditional finance. This intermediary-free system built on mathematics and cryptography made him see the possibility of reconstructing the global payment system. In 2017, he founded TRON, and thus embarked on the pioneering path of Blockchain.

Controversies and achievements have always accompanied him. The $4.56 million lunch with Buffett and the $6.2 million "expensive banana" art incident led him to be labeled as a "speculator" and a "marketing master." However, he firmly believes that "the essence of marketing is the product," and the development trajectory of TRON has confirmed this: by July 2025, its number of user accounts will exceed 310 million, with on-chain transaction volume reaching $5 trillion in 2024, and expected to rise to $7 trillion in 2025, surpassing traditional financial giants like Visa and becoming the core platform of the global stablecoin ecosystem. In Africa, the TRON version of USDT has become an important tool for low-cost remittances and consumption, bringing inclusive finance into reality.

Today, Sun Yuchen is no longer the campus opinion leader he once was. He has appeared on the cover of Asia Weekly twice, shifting from idealistic inquiries in the ivory tower to practical engagement in the Blockchain arena, becoming a Chinese entrepreneur featured on the Forbes global cover after Jack Ma and Zhao Changpeng. He is optimistic about Hong Kong's potential in the digital finance sector, believing that the implementation of the "Stablecoin Regulation" will provide a model for industry compliance; he admires the "barbaric vitality" of the Middle Eastern market, stating that "creating oases in the desert" is the ultimate pursuit of entrepreneurs — this is akin to the development path of TRON, not content with the comfort of the plains, but instead venturing into barren areas.

From Peking University's "radical seed" to being a "breaker" in Blockchain, Sun Yuchen's journey hides a generation of entrepreneurs' interpretation of the word "pioneer": it is not speculation that follows the tide, but a steadfastness that swims against the current; it is not subverting tradition, but constructing the future. As the integration of traditional finance and Blockchain becomes an irreversible trend, this explorer, who has always stood at the forefront of the wave, continues to write a new narrative belonging to the digital age. #特朗普施压鲍威尔#