Trump | Crypto

President Donald Trump’s use of the presidential seal at a $TRUMP memecoin investor dinner may violate federal law. President Donald Trump is facing scrutiny after speaking at a private event for top investors in his $TRUMP memecoin while standing behind a lectern emblazoned with the official presidential seal — a move that may violate federal law. The event took place Thursday at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia, where Trump addressed 220 investors in his cryptocurrency project. According to US law, the presidential seal cannot be used in any manner that could imply government approval or sponsorship. Violators can face fines or up to six months in prison. Read more

The Trump gala has prompted 35 House Democrats to urge the DOJ to examine whether a $TRUMP coin dinner for 220 investors at Trump National Golf Club has breached bribery law or the emoluments clause amid foreign-influence worries after Justin Sun emerged as the top investor. The post Trump’s $TRUMP Coin Gala Under Fire: Lawmakers Push For DOJ Inquiry Ethics of Exclusive Dinner appeared first on Cryptonews.

Democrats are insisting that the bill be amended to include protections against corruption by Trump and his inner circle members.

Crypto Regulation has shifted sharply this week. Judge Torres has rebuffed the SEC-Ripple bid to settle, citing strict standards. The Senate has moved the GENIUS Act toward a federal stablecoin framework, while Trump’s $150 m meme coin dinner has raised concerns over political funding transparency. The post This Week in Crypto Regulation: Judge Torres Blocks SEC-Ripple Deal, and Trump’s Meme Coin Dinner Sparks Outrage appeared first on Cryptonews.

The controversial Trump memecoin dinner saw a number of crypto entrepreneurs, as well as sports stars and even anonymous influencers. The top 220 holders of US President Donald Trump’s memecoin met yesterday at the president’s golf course in Virginia for an exclusive dinner and purported meet-and-greet. Attendees spent a grand total of $148 million for an “ultra-exclusive VIP reception with the president,” which crypto industry advocates and critics alike saw as a potential opportunity to discuss crypto policy with the president.  The crowd contained a number of foreign crypto executives and influencers who otherwise would not have access to the US president, raising questions around corruption and foreign influence.  Read more

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will reportedly back efforts to amend the stablecoin bill to add guardrails against Trump crypto ties. Though a majority of members of the US Senate voted to advance a bill to regulate payment stablecoins on May 20, high-ranking Democrats are planning to propose an amendment to the legislation to address President Donald Trump’s connections to the cryptocurrency industry. According to a May 22 Axios report, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley will file an amendment to the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, or GENIUS Act, to block a US president from profiting from stablecoins. The proposed amendment would come after 18 Democrats sided with Republicans in the Senate in voting to advance the bill on May 20 after it failed a procedural vote on May 8. “Passing the GENIUS Act without our anti-corruption amendment stamps a Congressional seal of approval on Trump selling access and influence to the ...

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.