Forbes’ latest cover marks a generational shift—from traditional tech moguls to crypto-native empire builders.
In March 2025, Forbes made a bold editorial choice: it put Justin Sun, founder of TRON and Global Advisor of HTX (formerly Huobi), on its digital asset daily cover. The headline? “Meet The Crypto Billionaire Who helped the Trumps Make $400 Million.”
This marks just the second time a Chinese entrepreneur has appeared on the Forbes U.S. cover—the first being Alibaba’s Jack Ma—and places Sun in rare company among crypto exchange moguls like CZ (Binance), SBF (FTX), and Brian Armstrong (Coinbase).
But Sun’s appearance is more than symbolic. It’s a signal that China’s new breed of entrepreneurs isn’t just playing catch-up in Web3—they’re defining the rules of the game.
What Makes a Forbes Cover in 2025?
Forbes spotlights those with two things: quantifiable dominance and narrative authority. Jack Ma had Alibaba’s GMV and a mission to make business easy. Justin Sun brings something different: a globally integrated crypto empire that fuses payments, politics, and protocol-level influence.
In the Web3 era, power isn’t just measured in users or revenue—it’s about who’s shaping the infrastructure of the new financial world.
Justin Sun’s Crypto Trifecta
1. TRON as the Invisible Payment Layer
TRON isn’t flashy, but it’s everywhere. Over half of all USDT now moves on TRON because it’s cheaper and faster. Weekly USDT transactions on TRON top 14 million, making it the silent engine behind global crypto payments.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has praised TRON for its efficiency—Sun’s network is now foundational to the stablecoin economy.
2. Crypto Goes Political
In 2024, Sun became an advisor—and the largest investor—to WLFI, a Trump family-backed crypto project. His $75M investment wasn’t just financial—it was strategic, positioning crypto as a fundraising tool in an election year.
Forbes called it a “textbook case of political capitalisation”—proof that crypto has entered the realpolitik arena.
3. HTX’s Global Comeback Under Justin Sun
Post-FTX, Following leadership changes at Huobi, Sun supported HTX’s rebranding and compliance revamp as its Global Advisor. The exchange now publishes 100%+ proof-of-reserves monthly and runs a sophisticated AML system with real-time risk modeling.
In Q1 2025, HTX listed 47 new tokens, including politically-themed ones like TRUMP and MELANIA—some soaring 400%+. HTX DAO’s governance token ($HTX) now has over 760,000 holders, and the platform ranks among the top three for EUR-stablecoin trading volume in Europe.
The Industry’s Secret War Behind the Headlines: What Kind of Business Leaders Does China Need?
Back in 2015, when Jack Ma graced the cover of Forbes, the prevailing narrative among Chinese internet companies was the “Copy to China” model, as they worked to adapt and prove the success of Western business strategies within the Chinese market. Today, Sun is building globally-native infrastructure—aiming to bring Chinese innovations to the global stage
His leadership style fuses:
- Technological Application: TRON’s compliance partnership with Huawei Cloud or HTX’s curated listing model aren’t ideological—they’re tactical.
- Scale mindset: From meme token grants to DAO governance, Sun speaks the language of Web3 communities at scale.
- Regulatory jiu-jitsu: While U.S. exchanges struggle with the SEC, Sun supports licenses acquisition from various regions to the Liberland micronation, keeping operations nimble.
When Justin Sun appeared on the cover of Forbes, he was just 35 years old—and his journey was only beginning. As a young leader in the crypto industry, he represents not only the vast development potential of the crypto space but also the mainstream society’s curiosity and expectations for it. Justin once said in a live broadcast, “We can prove to the outside world that the crypto industry can represent the image and interests of the Chinese people internationally.” He has proven that Chinese entrepreneurs can still hold the industry’s discourse power without relying on the domestic market.
From The Cover To A New Era—The Encoder Of New Rules
Perhaps the real meaning behind the Forbes cover is that it reveals a new narrative for the globalization of Chinese entrepreneurs: In the Jack Ma era, China exported business models. In the Justin Sun era, it’s exporting governance layers and cross-border liquidity rails via blockchain technology.
For Sun, the Forbes cover is a launchpad to build his crypto empire to be the next-generation infrastructure that can stand alongside the likes of Alibaba & Tencent “It’s a milestone,” he said during a livestream, “but just the beginning.”
From the West Lake shores of Hangzhou to the memecoin vaults of HTX, the face of Chinese entrepreneurship is changing—and it speaks fluent Solidity.
Disclaimer: This is a paid release. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily represent those of Bitcoinist. Bitcoinist does not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of information available in such content. Do your research and invest at your own risk.
