After quashing a vote over a stablecoin bill in the Senate, a group of Democratic lawmakers reportedly asked Trump allies to consider his ties to the crypto industry. A group of Democratic senators has reportedly sent a letter to leadership at the US Department of Justice and the Treasury Department expressing concerns about US President Donald Trump’s ties to cryptocurrency exchange Binance and potential conflicts of interest in regulating the industry. According to a May 9 Bloomberg report, Democratic senators asked Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to report on the steps Binance had taken as part of its November 2023 plea agreement with US authorities, amid reports that Trump and his family had deepened connections with the exchange. That settlement saw Binance pay more than $4 billion as part of a deal with the Justice Department, Treasury, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and had then-CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao step down. Read more
After quashing a vote over a stablecoin bill in the Senate, a group of Democratic lawmakers reportedly asked Trump allies to consider his ties to the crypto industry. A group of Democratic senators has reportedly sent a letter to leadership at the US Department of Justice and the Treasury Department expressing concerns about US President Donald Trump’s ties to cryptocurrency exchange Binance and potential conflicts of interest in regulating the industry. According to a May 9 Bloomberg report, Democratic senators asked Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to report on the steps Binance had taken as part of its November 2023 plea agreement with US authorities, amid reports that Trump and his family had deepened connections with the exchange. That settlement saw Binance pay more than $4 billion as part of a deal with the Justice Department, Treasury, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and had then-CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao step down. Read more
The US Treasury has proposed cutting the Huione Group's access to the US banking system, accusing it of being involved in laundering crypto. The US Treasury Department is seeking to bar the Cambodia-based Huione Group from accessing the American banking system, accusing the company of helping North Korea’s state-sponsored Lazarus Group launder cryptocurrency. The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) proposed on May 1 to prohibit US financial institutions from opening or maintaining correspondent or payable-through accounts for or on behalf of the Huione Group. Huione Group has established itself as the “marketplace of choice for malicious cyber actors” like the Lazarus Group, who have “stolen billions of dollars from everyday Americans,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a May 1 statement. Read more