# The $20 Billion Net Worth Story of Sun Yuchen and His Coconut Chicken

Sun Yuchen's ex-girlfriend recalled that when a group of people ate coconut chicken, he would scoop up more than half the chicken into his own bowl the moment it was cooked, leaving himself with no regrets—later, people discovered he conducted business in exactly the same way.

In the winter of 2017, inside a siheyuan courtyard on Beijing's East Second Ring Road, at the "If I" KTV, Sun Yuchen and crypto celebrity Xu Zijing ("Martian") had an engaging conversation. Xu Zijing's HSR token was extremely hot at the time. Sun Yuchen spoke enthusiastically about his ideals and the future of cryptocurrencies, earning Xu's appreciation. On the spot, they exchanged tokens: Xu Zijing traded 140,000 HSR for 3.33 billion TRON tokens.

The gathering ended at 2 a.m. When Xu Zijing saw Sun Yuchen to the door, he still praised his diligence. But after turning the corner, Sun Yuchen dumped all his HSR at the alley entrance, profiting nearly 30 million yuan and causing HSR to crash. By the next day when Xu Zijing sobered up, there was nothing he could do. This incident was never made public, and Xu Zijing chose silence.

In May 2018, TRON's mainnet launched. Sun Yuchen claimed to be building a "decentralized entertainment ecosystem," but TRON's price fluctuated wildly, and many were left holding the bag, cursing him as a "harvester of retail investors." Subsequently, the "TRON Super Community Ponzi scheme" collapsed (involving over 1 billion yuan), and Sun Yuchen simply said "it has nothing to do with me" before fleeing to America.

In 2021, he spent $10.5 million buying a Tpunk NFT as his avatar, took Grenadian citizenship, and served as the country's WTO ambassador. In 2022, facing rumors of FBI investigation, he sued the media outlet that published the report. In 2023, sued by the U.S. SEC for market manipulation, he barely seemed to care.

In 2024, he invested $75 million in Trump family crypto projects, attended a presidential gala, won his lawsuit, and became "Acting Prime Minister" of Liberland. In August 2025, at age 35, he rode a rocket to space, becoming the youngest Chinese commercial astronaut. By then, TRON had over 310 million users, with TRC20-USDT circulation reaching $80 billion.

Some call him a "crypto speculator," while others admire his ability to catch the right wave. Just as when he scooped up the coconut chicken back then, he never misses any opportunity when things are "just cooked," and he doesn't care what others say.

From profiting 30 million yuan by dumping HSR at an alley entrance to going to space at age 35, Sun Yuchen single-handedly directed an absurd spectacle—simultaneously playing the actor and the mastermind behind the scenes.