Trump | Crypto

Donald Trump is preparing to host up to 220 people at his golf club, with access tied to his memecoin purchases. California Representative Maxine Waters, ranking member of the US House Financial Services Committee, has announced plans to introduce legislation “to block [Donald] Trump’s memecoin and stop his crypto corruption.” In a May 22 notice, Waters said the Stop Trading, Retention, and Unfair Market Payoffs (TRUMP) in Crypto Act of 2025 bill would be aimed at blocking the US president, vice president, members of Congress and their families from engaging in “crypto crime.” The US lawmaker referred to Trump and his wife, Melania, issuing personal memecoins in January, his family launching a stablecoin, USD1, through the crypto platform World Liberty Financial, and the president attempting to establish a national Bitcoin (BTC) reserve as his sons back a BTC mining venture. “Donald Trump is preparing to dine with the top donors of his memecoin who’ve made him, and his family, richer,” said Waters, adding: Re...

Trump adviser David Sacks says the GENIUS Act will pass the Senate with bipartisan support, potentially unlocking trillions in demand for US Treasurys. David Sacks, US President Donald Trump’s top adviser on crypto and artificial intelligence, said the administration expects the stablecoin bill to clear the Senate with bipartisan backing. “We have every expectation now that it’s going to pass,” Sacks told CNBC on May 21, following a key procedural vote that saw 15 Democrats join Republicans to clear the filibuster threshold. The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is the most advanced federal effort yet to establish a legal framework for dollar-pegged digital assets. Read more

Democratic members of Congress and organizations have announced two rallies and two press events ahead of a May 22 memecoin event at the US president's golf club. Democratic leaning organizations and members of Congress have announced plans to protest what they describe as the sale of access to the office of the US president, in reference to Donald Trump’s memecoin dinner on May 22. The event’s attendees are said to have collectively spent over $100 million for the chance to meet with the US president. Since Trump’s memecoin project, Official Trump (TRUMP), announced that its top 220 tokenholders would have an opportunity to apply for an exclusive dinner with the president, many leaders in the crypto industry and US lawmakers have criticized the event, saying Trump was opening his office to potential bribery and corruption. The memecoin dinner prompted some Democratic lawmakers to withdraw support for crypto-related legislation in Congress, including the market structure and stablecoin bills. Read more

With his reported TRUMP memecoin purchases, Tron founder Justin Sun will have spent more than $90 million on crypto ventures tied to the US president and his family. After weeks of speculation among crypto enthusiasts and news outlets, Tron founder Justin Sun has claimed he owns the wallet that purchased the largest amount of Donald Trump’s memecoin, allowing him to qualify for a dinner and reception with the US president. In a May 19 X post, Sun said he had received an invitation to attend Trump’s dinner at his golf club outside Washington, DC, as part of a reward for the top 220 memecoin holders. The Tron founder claimed he controlled the top wallet on the TRUMP token leaderboard under the username “Sun,” which held roughly $19 million worth of the memecoin at a price of $13.20. According to Sun, he plans to network at the May 22 memecoin dinner, “talk crypto,” and “discuss the future” of the industry. It’s unclear why the Tron founder chose to announce his planned presence at the event now, when the leader...

Justin Sun has confirmed holding about $18 million in President Trump’s meme coin $TRUMP and has accepted an invitation to a May 22 gala at Trump National Golf Club for the biggest 220 investors. Observers have questioned whether overseas token whales could gain political access through the event. The post Justin Sun Revealed as $18M $TRUMP Whale Ahead of Trump’s Controversial Gala Dinner appeared first on Cryptonews.

The US Senate is expected to take up another vote on the GENIUS Act within days, but it's unclear whether the bill's supporters will address concerns from Democrats. Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal addressed some of the concerns raised by US lawmakers and industry leaders around President Donald Trump’s crypto ventures, and how they may affect related legislation. Speaking at the Consensus conference in Toronto on May 15, Grewal said there had been “hiccups” in Congress since the Senate Banking Committee voted to advance the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS Act, in March. Though Grewal said there were disputes over “substantial issues that need to be addressed” in the bill, he hinted that Trump’s involvement in the industry was a “complicating factor.”  “The discussion around the president's support for a certain memecoin or two and other efforts does add a certain level of challenge to the effort to get Democrats and Republicans aligned on the right way to r...

The $300 million raise is part of the GD Culture Group’s ambition of “embracing blockchain-driven industrial transformation.” GD Culture Group (GDC), a Nasdaq-listed holding company focused on livestreaming, e-commerce and artificial intelligence-powered digital human technology, plans to raise up to $300 million for a cryptocurrency treasury reserve. In a May 12 statement, GDC and its subsidiary, AI Catalysis, announced entering into a common stock purchase agreement with a British Virgin Islands limited liability company to sell up to $300 million of its common stock. The proceeds from the stock sale will be used to fund the firm’s crypto treasury, which will include purchases of Bitcoin (BTC) and the Official Trump (TRUMP) token. Read more

Progressive group Our Revolution is mobilizing lawmakers and grassroots members in a national organizing call to stop what it calls an alleged sweeping “crypto power grab” led by President Donald Trump and his congressional allies. According to the press release shared with CryptoSlate, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley will headline the virtual event on […] The post Senators Warren, Merkley to headline national call opposing Trump’s GENIUS Act appeared first on CryptoSlate.

A viral Trump crypto post backfired, leading to lobbyist Brian Ballard's abrupt exile from White House circles over undisclosed Ripple ties.

Discussions around the personal enrichment and potential conflict of interest arising from U.S. President Donald Trump’s crypto asset ventures gained steam over the past week. These concerns are slowing not only the progress of the stablecoin legislation but also broader crypto policy. The founder of fintech venture capital fund Launchpad Capital, Ryan Gilbert, told CNBC: “It’s […] The post Concerns over Trump’s conflict of interest are slowing the progress of broader crypto policy appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The vice president disclosed holding up to $500,001 in Bitcoin in August 2024, but seems to have taken a back seat to Donald Trump in pushing crypto policies at the White House. US Vice President JD Vance will speak at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, roughly a year after then-presidential candidate Donald Trump spoke at the same event. According to a May 9 notice from the event’s organizers, Vance will address conference attendees in person on May 28, making him the first sitting US vice president to speak at a digital asset conference. Trump provided a pre-recorded video of himself from the White House to the organizers of the Digital Asset Summit in March — his first appearance at a crypto event since taking office in January — and spoke in person at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville while campaigning. Read more

Crypto governance has experienced a busy week: the SEC has opened tokenization discussions with Wall Street names like BlackRock and Nasdaq, Senate Democrats have questioned Donald Trump’s links to a meme coin and DeFi venture, and a long-awaited stablecoin framework has collapsed in a split vote. The post Weekly Crypto Regulation News Roundup: Trump’s Crypto Links Spark Ethics Concerns, Stablecoin Framework in Limbo appeared first on Cryptonews.

Democratic senators have requested that the US Treasury and Justice Department investigate President Donald Trump’s crypto ties to Binance, Bloomberg News reported on May 9. According to the report, the lawmakers made the request in a letter sent to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Attorney General Pam Bondi.  Details about oversight actions The letter, which […] The post Democrat Senators urge Treasury, DOJ to probe Trump’s crypto ties to Binance appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Cryptocurrencies have rallied as Trump has unveiled a “maxed-out” U.S.–UK trade deal showing a softer tariff stance. Bitcoin has topped $100,000 and altcoins have followed, though analysts note low volume may bring short-term swings as markets await more details. The post Bitcoin Rockets Past $100K on Trump’s ‘Maxed-Out’ UK Deal – Volatility Ahead? appeared first on Cryptonews.

A March social media post announcing the president's plans for a strategic crypto reserve reportedly came from an employee of a lobbying firm tied to Ripple Labs. US President Donald Trump was reportedly manipulated by a lobbyist tied to Ripple Labs into announcing the XRP token would be part of his plans for a national cryptocurrency reserve. According to a May 8 Politico report, an employee of pro-Trump lobbyist Brian Ballard gave the president the text to a social media post she recommended he write announcing a US strategic crypto reserve that would include XRP, Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA). After he posted the message to his social media platform on March 2, Trump learned Ripple was one of Ballard’s clients, infuriating the president, who felt like he’d been used, Politico reported, citing two people familiar with the incident. “He is not welcome in anything anymore,” said Trump, referencing Ballard, according to the report. Read more

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao confirmed he applied for Donald Trump to pardon his money laundering conviction after denying earlier reports that he’d done so. Binance founder and convicted felon Changpeng Zhao says that he applied for a pardon from US President Donald Trump shortly after denying reports that he was seeking one. Zhao, also known as CZ, said on a Farokh Radio podcast episode aired May 6 that he “wouldn’t mind” a pardon and that his lawyers have already filed the paperwork on his behalf “I got lawyers applying,” Zhao said, adding that he submitted the request after Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal reported in March that he was seeking a pardon from Trump amid discussions of a business deal between the Trump family and Binance.US. Read more

More than half of the top 25 TRUMP tokenholders — those eligible to apply for a "VIP tour" with the president — reportedly used foreign exchanges that exclude US-based users. At least some of the top holders of Donald Trump’s memecoin who apply to attend a private dinner with the president could be based outside the United States. According to a May 7 Bloomberg report based on an analysis of the top TRUMP tokenholders, 19 of the top 25 wallets on the leaderboard used foreign exchanges that exclude US-based customers, suggesting either foreign nationals or Americans living abroad. In addition, more than half of the top 220 holders — the group eligible to apply for a dinner with the president — also used exchanges in other countries. As of May 7, the identities of the top tokenholders and those who might choose to apply for the May 22 Trump dinner and “special VIP tour” were unknown. However, the project stated that anyone who applied could not bring guests, had to pass a background check, and “can not be from ...

TRUMP and IMX are the biggest losers on a daily scale.

As crypto regulation softens under Trump, Deribit and other global firms are reassessing opportunities in the US market. Deribit, the world’s largest crypto options exchange, is weighing an entry into the US market, encouraged by what it sees as a friendlier regulatory climate under President Donald Trump’s administration, according to a recent Financial Times report. The Dubai-based exchange, which processed $1.3 trillion in notional volume last year, is “actively reassessing potential opportunities” in the United States, CEO Luuk Strijers told the FT. He cited the “recent shift toward a more favorable regulatory stance on crypto in the US” as a key motivator behind the decision. Read more

Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis reportedly said the reward for Donald Trump's memecoin holders "gives [her] pause" while cozying up to the president's Bitcoin reserve plan. Senator Cynthia Lummis and at least one other Republican in Congress are reportedly critical of US President Donald Trump for offering the top holders of his memecoin a dinner and White House tour. According to a May 2 CNBC report, Lummis said the idea that the US president was offering exclusive access to himself and the White House for people willing to pay for it “gives [her] pause.” She wasn’t the only member of the Republican Party to be critical of Trump’s memecoin perks, announced on April 23, roughly three months after the then-president-elect launched the TRUMP token.   “I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to charge people to come into the Capitol and take a tour,” said Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, according to NBC News. Read more