Concerns arise as Justin Sun’s team allegedly pressured CoinDesk’s parent company, Bullish, to remove an article featuring Sun eating the world’s most expensive banana.
Reports from December 18 reveal that the founder of Tron (TRX), Justin Sun, sought the removal of an article titled “I Watched Justin Sun Eat the World’s Most Expensive Banana. I Don’t Get It,” which details Sun’s consumption of Maurizio Cattelan’s $6.2 million banana artwork. This article also delves into Sun’s ongoing legal challenges with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Sources indicate that Sun’s team was dissatisfied with the article’s tone, prompting Bullish, which acquired CoinDesk for $75 million, to request its removal. This decision sparked significant pushback from CoinDesk’s editorial staff, who advocated for the piece to be restored with an accompanying editor’s note.
Despite efforts to locate the article on CoinDesk’s website, it appears to have been removed, although it remains available on other news platforms. The piece was last updated on December 2.
Notably, the original article also highlighted a history of legal threats from Sun’s legal representatives toward media outlets, particularly regarding claims of illicit activities linked to the Tron blockchain. Additionally, it’s pertinent to note that Tron is a principal sponsor of CoinDesk’s conference series, Consensus.
Following this controversy, it has been reported that Matt Murray, chair of CoinDesk’s editorial committee, resigned on December 16. Requests for comments from both Bullish CEO Tom Farley and CoinDesk’s editor-in-chief Kevin Reynolds have gone unanswered.
In November 2023, Bullish’s acquisition of CoinDesk raised questions about the editorial integrity of the media outlet, especially with Murray, the former Editor-in-Chief of The Wall Street Journal, now holding a significant role in CoinDesk’s editorial committee.
