On April 5, 2025, under the night sky of Victoria Harbour, the "BUIDL 2025" Web3 Industry Summit is taking place. Amidst the clinking of glasses, a group photo quickly goes viral: Huobi founder Li Lin, Binance founder CZ, and TRON founder Justin Sun are at the center, raising their glasses in celebration, all smiles, surrounded by other big names in the crypto industry.

Another even more eye-catching photo circulated at the conference—Justin Sun and Li Lin embracing and drinking "cross-cup wine." Just two months ago, Justin Sun publicly criticized Li Lin for concealing financial loopholes at Huobi, with both men at odds and unwilling to back down. Has it really only been two months since they set aside their past grievances?

These two photos seem to encapsulate the "golden age" of the crypto industry—where undercurrents of grudges intertwine with a symbiotic landscape of interests. Their shared moment is not only a subtle reflection of personal relationships but also a testament to the crypto industry's evolution from chaos to compliance. Below, the editor will take readers through the love-hate relationships among industry leaders.

Li Lin and Justin Sun: A Debt Dispute That Can't Be Untangled

Li Lin and Justin Sun have had significant disputes over Huobi's acquisition, well-known within the industry. The origins of the matter trace back to October 8, 2022, when Huobi founder Li Lin sold Huobi shares to Hong Kong's Baiyu Capital, associated with Justin Sun. Three years after the deal, in February 2025, Justin Sun suddenly accused Li Lin of concealing due diligence materials, claiming there was a $30 million "financial hole" within Huobi that needed to be filled from Li Lin's own pocket.

Li Lin responded with a lengthy statement, stating that during the 2022 deal, there were discrepancies in how user assets were calculated, and sufficient reserves were set aside; the "financial hole" mentioned by Justin Sun was actually a result of margin trading during extreme market conditions, which had already been addressed through company revenue and should not be considered an undisclosed "financial loophole."

In fact, this was not their first confrontation; the animosity between Sun and Li began shortly after the sale of Huobi.

In May 2023, Justin Sun accused Li Lin's brother, Li Wei, of repeatedly acquiring zero-cost HT through improper means and selling it off, stating that to protect the interests of the HT community, he would seek to reclaim and destroy these tokens. Subsequently, Huobi founder Li Lin responded on social media, expressing a desire for evidence. If it was confirmed that Li Wei had obtained the zero-cost HT through illegal means, he was willing to personally compensate Huobi with ten times the amount of HT; if not, he hoped Huobi would return the users' legitimate assets.

Justin Sun did not provide conclusive evidence afterward, and the accusatory tweet was deleted. Although it sparked widespread questioning of Huobi's internal management, the matter ultimately fizzled out. However, the grievances between Li Lin and Justin Sun were not resolved, and in February 2025, due to the $30 million "financial hole," the two crypto tycoons once again engaged in a war of words online.

The photo of Justin Sun and Li Lin embracing and drinking "cross-cup wine" at the conference has led to speculation about their relationship. In the photo, the two are laughing and appearing intimate, like old friends who haven't seen each other in a long time, hardly resembling two months ago when they had a $30 million financial dispute. This could be a performance by crypto tycoons in a public setting, or perhaps a sign of reconciliation after privately burying the hatchet, leaving the nature of their "love-hate" relationship a mystery.

However, speaking of cross-cup wine, this is not the first time Li Lin has shared such a drink with other crypto tycoons. As early as 2018, Li Lin was seen drinking and eating skewers with OKEx (the predecessor of OKX) boss Xu Mingxing on the roadside, where they also shared cross-cup wine. At that time, when OKEx was unable to withdraw funds, Xu Mingxing was invited for a "tea" session, and it was Li Lin who publicly supported him in the community. Although there were elements of theatrics, it indeed expressed the camaraderie among entrepreneurs in a burgeoning, opportunity-filled, yet risky crypto era, with hopes of jointly strengthening the crypto space. Later, Xu Mingxing remarked to Li Lin: "Drinking cross-cup wine makes us true brothers; thanks to Huobi's Li Lin for always stepping up to ease my pain."

CZ and Justin Sun: Both Enemies and Friends, Love-Hate Relationship

Justin Sun and CZ are both seen as leaders in the crypto field, with Sun's TRON and Huobi HTX complementing and competing with CZ's Binance. Both have graced the cover of Forbes magazine, showcasing their global influence. As pioneers in the industry, their journey together is also a history of the development of the crypto industry.

As early as 2015, He Yi, Justin Sun, and Qudian CEO Luo Min appeared on the reality show "Only You." They wore outfits with goat horns and white hats, performing a song titled "Twisted Goat Song." At that time, He Yi and CZ had only known each other for a year, both working at OKcoin, serving as Vice President and CTO, respectively. The wheels of fate were quietly turning, and these young individuals, still immersed in the excitement of entering a new industry, could hardly have imagined that the future of the crypto industry would be transformed by them.

The early days of the crypto space were filled with infinite possibilities and imaginations, with Justin Sun and CZ in a phase of mutual cooperation and achievement.

In October 2018, Justin Sun and CZ met at the Geneva World Investment Forum. At that time, it was the 73rd anniversary of the United Nations, and Binance had established a blockchain charity foundation, launching a blockchain-based donation platform to support countries like Uganda affected by floods and landslides. The TRON Foundation also donated $3 million to support blockchain charity efforts.

2019 was the "honeymoon period" for Justin Sun and CZ. On January 28, the project BitTorrent (BTT), which Justin Sun had previously acquired, completed the issuance of 59.4 billion BTT on Binance's blockchain asset issuance platform, Binance Launchpad, in about 14 minutes, raising $7.1 million. BitTorrent became Binance's first IEO project, marking the beginning of early cooperation between CZ and Justin Sun. In April, after TRON launched TRC20-USDT, Binance quickly supported it by launching a "Recharge TRC20-USDT to enjoy 16% annualized returns" campaign, bringing significant liquidity to the TRON ecosystem; at the same time, Justin Sun frequently promoted Binance on Weibo and Twitter, vigorously publicizing this cooperative achievement. During that time, their collaboration was exemplary—Justin Sun leveraged Binance's platform influence to promote the TRON ecosystem, while Binance attracted more USDT users through TRON's new chain and high-interest subsidies, achieving a win-win situation.

In September 2019, Binance and Paxos Trust Company collaborated to launch the stablecoin Binance USD (BUSD), which quickly surpassed a market cap of $1 billion in less than two years. On September 5, 2022, shortly after BUSD's market cap reached $20 billion, Binance announced it would stop using the three competing stablecoins USDC, USDP, and TUSD, officially declaring war on stablecoin giant USDC.

The smooth issuance and great success of BUSD allowed CZ to gradually build his crypto empire using the platform's advantages. Just a month after Binance announced its redemption plan, on October 28, 2022, Huobi Global, which had just been taken over by Justin Sun 20 days earlier, announced that HUSD triggered Huobi Global's token management rule (Article 11) and would stop trading HUSD that day and delist it, with HUSD in user accounts directly converted to USDT. This news caused an uproar in the market, leading to HUSD losing its peg and its value rapidly declining to $0.30 by November 1, after which it never recovered, completely exiting the stablecoin competition.

Coincidentally, HUSD was also a stablecoin project launched by Huobi in collaboration with Paxos. In a blog post commemorating HUSD's first anniversary in July 2022, the Paxos team wrote: "Paxos now supports three of the top six stablecoins in the world, and we are proud of it. As the first regulated trust company and qualified digital asset custodian, Paxos has unique expertise in this market."

A month after the commemorative blog post was published, Paxos co-founder Rich Teo appeared alongside Binance CEO CZ at a high-end restaurant overseas, amidst some notable rumors in the crypto circle. Two months later, HUSD announced its termination, and Paxos became the "full-time steward" of BUSD. The community speculated that this dinner might have involved strategic discussions regarding the stablecoin market, which subsequently influenced Huobi's decision on HUSD; however, these speculations lacked direct evidence and were not officially confirmed.

Related Reading: The Rise and Fall of a $15 Billion Stablecoin Empire: The Ambitions and Regrets of BUSD

Two months after HUSD was delisted, on December 30, 2022, Binance announced that it had completed the integration of Binance-Peg BUSD on the TRON network, with deposits and withdrawals now open on the TRON network. Justin Sun also actively promoted the collaboration with Binance on Twitter. Regardless of whether there were previous disagreements between the two regarding stablecoin cooperation, it appeared that everything was flourishing and harmonious at that moment.

However, the competition between the two regarding stablecoins continued behind the scenes.

In May 2023, Justin Sun transferred 405 million TUSD to Binance, suspected to be for participating in Binance LaunchPool's SUI token mining activities. This sparked debate within the crypto community, with accusations that CZ was helping a whale, using Binance's mining pool incentives to allow Justin Sun to acquire new SUI tokens through his substantial funds, leading to allegations of "insider trading." As public opinion intensified, Justin Sun responded that the transfer was initially intended for TUSD market-making to "flatten the price difference" and enhance liquidity, not to participate in the activity, and that he had contacted the exchange for a refund of some funds that mistakenly participated in the activity. Subsequently, CZ publicly stated that if Justin Sun used the TUSD for mining, action would be taken against him, emphasizing that LaunchPool was for retail users, not "whales." Thus, a $405 million farce came to a close with disclaimers from both parties.

It is worth noting that TUSD is the "successor token" to BUSD. On February 13, 2023, the SEC issued a "Wells Notice" to Paxos, indicating that the BUSD issued and listed by Paxos was an unregistered security and that they planned to sue Paxos for violating investor protection laws. Under strong regulatory intervention, Binance continuously delisted BUSD trading pairs, and BUSD, which once had a market cap of $22 billion, gradually exited the historical stage. Following this, Binance turned its attention to another stablecoin—TUSD. Binance implemented a series of measures to increase TUSD trading pairs, launched a TUSD Pool on Launchpool, and waived fees for the BTC/TUSD trading pair, significantly supporting TUSD, which led to the BTC/TUSD trading pair surpassing BTC/USDT in trading volume in March 2023, becoming Binance's largest trading pair. After the suspension of BUSD, Binance's support for TUSD, USDC, and other stablecoins also put new pressure on Justin Sun's TRC-USDT.

Related Reading: TUSD, It's Time to Reassess This New Binance Rising Star

On April 3, 2025, Justin Sun suddenly accused First Digital Trust (FDT) of being insolvent and unable to fulfill customer fund redemptions. FDT is the issuer of the stablecoin FDUSD and the asset management institution for TUSD. That afternoon, during a live broadcast, Justin Sun stated that as early as 2023, Techteryx had launched an investigation into FDT and discovered that a large amount of client funds had been misappropriated. At that time, Justin Sun provided assistance to Techteryx with his personal funds to ensure that TUSD had sufficient liquidity, while TrueCoin was suspected of colluding with FDT to illegally transfer $456 million in TUSD reserves to a company in Dubai. First Digital subsequently responded to the allegations, stating that the dispute only involved TUSD and was completely unrelated to FDUSD, asserting that First Digital had sufficient solvency.

Undoubtedly, this action and the subsequent behavior of Binance, which allegedly "only notified large clients in small groups, cutting off retail investors," plunged CZ and He Yi into another public relations crisis, sparking dissatisfaction in the market towards centralized exchanges. Justin Sun's role in this turmoil appeared much more righteous, exposing insider trading and protecting the rights of all investors. Perhaps Justin Sun's original intention was merely to retrieve his $500 million deposit, and this matter had no direct connection to Binance, but when FDUSD briefly decoupled, Binance found itself embroiled in a public relations battle.

Although the two have business competition, Justin Sun has repeatedly voiced support for CZ in public events within the crypto space. After the SEC lawsuit against Binance erupted in June 2023, Justin Sun publicly expressed his support for CZ on social media, stating, "As a friend of CZ, I am willing to steadfastly support him, believing that justice will prevail." In November 2023, when CZ announced his resignation as CEO of Binance, Justin Sun highly praised CZ's contributions on social media, mentioning their nearly ten-year acquaintance and affirming his leadership and industry influence, stating that he "has pushed the industry to unprecedented heights," and emphasized that he would continue to strengthen cooperation with Binance in the future.

When the photo of Li Lin and Justin Sun drinking "cross-cup wine" went viral on social media, and when CZ and Justin Sun were seen laughing and chatting at the summit, onlookers found it difficult to discern whether this was mere theatrics or a genuine reconciliation. However, perhaps the answer is not important—within the crypto industry, consensus on interests is far more cohesive than personal grudges. From the early chaotic days to the current wave of compliance, the history of these tycoons' games is precisely a footnote to the industry's evolution. Their grievances and collaborations are essentially exploring a path that aligns with regulatory frameworks while not losing the original spirit of blockchain.

As Justin Sun stated in an interview with Forbes, "True innovators must adhere to long-termism." When the smiles in the group photo are frozen in time, the night in Hong Kong remains dazzling, and the script of the crypto industry continues to be written—the next act may involve more intense competition or renewed collaboration in times of crisis. The only certainty is that the charm of this industry lies within these "both enemies and friends" stories.

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