When you look back at every step he takes, almost all of it revolves around the two characters “traffic” (i.e., publicity/attention). In the early days, he wildly posted photos with Jack Ma to borrow the internet godfather’s influence and build name recognition. Later, he loudly promoted a deep collaboration with Baidu Cloud—only for Baidu Cloud to publicly clarify that the two were just ordinary users. For someone else, this might well be a PR disaster; but with Justin Sun, it somehow became another round of renewed exposure.

Later, he even turned marketing into an art form. He bought Warren Buffett’s lunch at an exorbitant price—then, from announcing the win, to postponements, to finally attending the banquet, each milestone generated huge buzz,硬是把一次吃饭做成了持续数月的流量连续剧. After that, whether it was topics related to Trump, various cryptocurrency events, or even the joke among netizens about him trying (and failing) to confirm the identity of Gu Ailing’s boyfriend—wherever there was heat, you could almost always see Justin Sun’s presence.

Recently, the whole internet has started discussing all kinds of rumors about him and Jing Tian again. No matter whether the stories are ultimately true or false, at least the topic has successfully made the trending list, and netizens are debating it passionately. Some say it’s a coincidence, while others believe it’s another piece of highly precise traffic-operation. For Sun Yuchen, traffic itself is a resource—so long as everyone is talking about it, he’s already won half the game.

Many companies spend tens of millions on advertisements, yet may not be able to generate attention like this. And it seems that Sun Yuchen can always, at the lowest cost, put himself at the center of public opinion. He appears in business districts, his name is in the crypto circle, political topics can be jumped on for attention, and entertainment topics can also be hit. Some people like him, some people hate him, but very few people truly ignore him.

So, the most impressive thing about Sun Yuchen isn’t necessarily that his investment instincts are as brilliant as people say, or that his technical skills are that strong. It’s his understanding of the rules of internet communication. He knows what can spark discussion, knows when to show up, and knows when to stay silent. While others do marketing by buying traffic, he, in many cases, has already turned himself into traffic itself.

Perhaps this is also the most surreal thing about the internet age. Opinions can be split in two directions, controversies can keep escalating—but as long as his name is still on the trending list, it means his influence is still there. As for whether outsiders praise him or criticize him, for someone who truly understands the logic of traffic, maybe it’s just a different form of the same kind of exposure.

The only thing is, traffic can also backfire. Doing business with good character still matters a lot!$AAPLB
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