Democrats oppose Trump’s growing crypto empire

Democrats put pressure on President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency venture this week, showing that he and his family are working hard as votes are moving forward on major crypto bills.

Thursday’s vote on the Genius Act is a bill to establish established federal rules and will test how far Cliptroby’s impact has progressed until after a heavy backing of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.

Even with limited power, Democrats are shunning legislation for financial records, seeking Trump-connected coins and probes for supporters.

On Capitol Hill Tuesday morning, California Rep. Maxine Waters, a top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, effectively shut it down after a hearing on digital asset allocation that fellow Democrats intertwined.

That same morning, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) wrote in a letter announcing the first investigation into the Trump family’s growing crypto empire, calling the Trump Meme Coin Dinner Contest the “pay wage system.”

Blumenthal, a ranking member of the Senate’s permanent subcommittee on investigations, requested the Fight Fight Fight LLC for a record. – The company behind $Trump Meme Coin and the company behind World Liberty Financial, a family-owned crypto venture that recently announced plans to launch Stablecoin.

He sought documentation on ownership, revenue flow and all communications with the White House, citing what he called “an unprecedented conflict of interest and national security risks.”

Last month, the project ran a promotion offering dinners and a “VIP White House Tour” between top $$$ holders of Trump holders and the president.

“President Trump’s financial intertwining with the $Trump coin and holding a race to support $Trump’s value by attempts to use the White House represents an unprecedented salary scheme to provide access to the presidency to the highest bidder,” Blumental wrote.

According to the project’s website, approximately 80% of the $Trump Token supply is managed by Trump’s organization and affiliates.

One of the Blumental letters was addressed to Bilzanker, the entrepreneur behind the fight fight fight, which manages most of the $Trump Token supply.

With both the White House and the Congressional chambers controlled by Republicans, Democrats have little ability to promote legislative agendas or lead investigations into potential fraud. But they bet that coordinated efforts to summon what they consider corrupt in the previous niche corner of financial markets will resonate with the voter’s foundations that have already made the president’s economic policy sour.

In response to the Blumenthal investigation, the White House issued a brief statement from Deputy Chief Anna Kelly about CNBC’s “Crypto World.”

“President Trump’s assets lie in the trust his children manage. There is no conflict of interest,” she writes.

On Tuesday, Waters called out a Democrat-only session focusing on Trump’s memecoin and World Liberty Financial. Her decision to derail the major hearing has rejected Rep. R-Ark’s French Hill, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, rejected her request to include provisions in the Digital Asset Market Structure Bill, which aims to further benefit from digital assets while Trump is in office.

“I oppose this joint hearing because of the corruption of the US President and his ownership of the code and oversight of all agencies,” Waters said.

Kelly responds to Waters, saying that Trump was working to make America the “crypto capital of the world.”

Waters introduced a draft argument that would ban Congressional presidents and members of Congress from owning crypto assets or benefiting financially from them.

In the Senate, Democrats announced the “final Cryptocratic Act” led by Oregon official Jeff Merkley and New York’s Chuck Schumer.

“Anyone who wants to develop influence with the president now can personally enrich him by purchasing cryptocurrencies he owns or manages,” Meekly said. “This is a very corrupt scheme. It puts our national security at risk and erodes the public’s trust in the government.”

“Our democracy should not be sold,” said Schumer, a Senate minority leader.

The bill has already attracted support from Senate Democrats and has gained support from watchdog groups, including the actions of public citizens and democratic advocates.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote this week to the government’s Office of Ethics, requesting an urgent review of reported transactions between the world’s Liberty Financial, Crypto Exchange Binance, and the UAE Support Fund, called MGX. The senator warned that the deal represents a “stonishing conflict of interest,” violating federal bribery laws and could raise national security concerns.

Abu Dhabi-based MGX is using Trump stub coins to invest in $2 billion in binance, Reuters reported.

Warren also sent Oge a letter questioning the White House exemption granted to David Sachs, White House AI and Emperor Crypto.

Sachs, a venture capitalist who co-hosted a $1.5 million fundraiser this week for a super PAC lined up with Trump this week, reportedly split the time between advising the president on crypto policy and running the company with an aggressive investment in the digital asset space.

Under federal ethics laws, such financial entanglements would normally prohibit him from forming policies in the same sector.

However, the Trump administration issued an ethics exemption claiming that Sack’s holdings were “not substantive” enough to compromise his judgment. In her letter, Warren asked Oge for clarity on whether she reviewed the exemption and whether Sack still retained crypto-related financial interests that resulted in conflicts of interest.

Sacks said he sold over $200 million in digital asset-related investments, both personally and through his company’s craft venture, according to a White House memo in March.

The act of genius was moving towards a floor vote for senators until the weekend when nine Senate Democrats retreated, citing the weakening of anti-money laundering safeguards and the new fear that Trump’s inner circle could benefit financially from policy changes.

Arizona Democrat Reuben Gallego, Virginia’s Mark Warner, New Jersey’s Andy Kim and Delaware’s Lisa Blunt Rochester, among others, said in statements they remain open to negotiations but do not support the bill in its current form.

“We want to continue working with our colleagues,” they wrote, but “If the current version of the bill comes to the floor, we wouldn’t be able to vote for coagulation.”

The crypto industry is lobbying to move it forward.

“The Genius Act protects consumers and increases transparency – a major improvement on the current situation,” said Chris Dixon, managing partner at Andreessen Horowitz’s Crypto Practice.

Stripe, which recently acquired the Stablecoin Infrastructure Startup Bridge Network for $1.1 billion, is also supporting the bill. The company said it “supports the development of a clear and consistent regulatory framework for stubcoin and welcomes the growing bipartisan interest in the issue,” the company said as part of its press release on Tuesday.

Watch: Jack Mullers looks to rivalry strategy with the new Bitcoin company, backed by Tether and Softbank