TRX Momentarily Surges 4,000% on FTX After Justin Sun Emerges as Latest 'Would Be' FTX Savior

Tron network’s native TRX token momentarily surged some 4,000%, from 6 cents to $2.5, on embattled crypto exchange FTX even though they exchange hands for 6 cents on other prominent exchanges, such as Binance and OKX.

Tron-based assets such as BTT, SUN and JST rocketed higher as well, trading for several multiples on FTX in contrast to other bourses.

It’s not a result of repetitive fat finger trades, nor have FTX traders gone euphoric on TRX.

The high prices are a sign of hope – a hope that Tron-based assets will be redeemed on a 1:1 basis by Tron founder Justin Sun. Traders on FTX, at the time of writing, cannot withdraw any assets from FTX, and trading accounts are selling for pennies on the dollar.

But TRX could be a way out for some crypto hopefuls.

Earlier during the day, Sun offered a “way forward” for FTX – which receded into insolvency following the aftermath of a CoinDesk report – stating that the ongoing liquidity crunch was “harmful to the industry development and investors alike.”

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao was earlier the frontrunner to take over FTX, but that deal fell apart after scrutiny of FTX’s books.

This followed on another Sun tweet yesterday. “We will do everything we can to protect our users, including exchange all #TRX, #BTT, #JST, #SUN, #HT on the FTX platform at a 1:1 ratio,” he said.

Sun’s play is to attract, and honor, Tron-based assets like BTT and SUN, as well as Huobi’s native HT tokens, stemming from FTX. The move allows for large traders to liquidate some of their holdings while improving sentiment for the Tron ecosystem.

The sentiment was quick to improve. The trading of TRX, and related assets, was restarted on FTX in Asian hours on Thursday, moving prices to over $2.5. Prices corrected to 32 cents as of writing time – hours after Sun’s tweet – and still trade at a 400% premium compared to other exchanges.