Justin Sun, the founder of the Tron blockchain, is participating in a research project at the prestigious Central Party School, the higher education institution that trains cadres of the Communist Party of China.
- Sun is "transferring from business to school," he said on his WeChat and Weibo accounts, a statement some took to imply he's thinking of winding down his business activities.
- He will become a deputy leader in a research project on blockchain-based social governance, according to a Tuesday joint press release with the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.
- The 30-year-old said he hopes to be the next Jianzhang Liang, referring to a Chinese internet entrepreneur and CEO of travel platform Trip.com who retired from his executive position in 2016 aged 47.
- In a subsequent tweet, Sun said he is not planning to retire.
- The project was approved by the Central Party Committee to consider the advantages of blockchain in social governance and look for innovative applications, the statement said.
- Chinese reporter Colin Wu tweeted that Sun will not actually retire, but aims to show he has a good relationship to China's ruling party.
- The announcement met with support from some Weibo users, who saw it as motivated by nationalist sentiment: "Brother Sun can't stand the plight of the American Empire and will come back to build socialism with us," wrote a user identified only as "The banner of Marx."
- The research project team includes members from the Peopleâs Bank of China, Central Cyberspace Administration â China's internet watchdog â as well as scholars from CAICT, the China Information Association, Tsinghua University, and Peking University.
UPDATE (JULY 27, 11:08 UTC): Adds comment from Sun.
