⚯ Michel de Cryptadamus ⚯
@cryptadamist@universeodon.com  ·  activity timestamp 3 days ago
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⚯ Michel de Cryptadamus ⚯
@cryptadamist@universeodon.com  ·  activity timestamp 3 days ago
View (PDF)
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp last week
After Coinbase was hit with a lawsuit from Oregon’s Attorney General, who argued that “states must fill [the] enforcement vacuum being left by federal regulators who are abandoning [crypto enforcement] cases under [the] Trump administration” [I82, 85], Coinbase has sent a letter to the Department of Justice asking them to pressure Congress to enact “broad” federal preemption provisions for cryptocurrency markets. They also argue the DOJ should lean on the SEC to issue rules excluding digital assets from securities laws. Besides the list of cases and cease-and-desist orders against Coinbase under state securities laws, they also protest state-level crypto licensing regimes (like New York’s BitLicense). They write, “In signing Illinois’s law just last month, Governor J.B. Pritzker made clear that the law aims squarely to undermine what he called the federal government’s efforts to ‘actively deregulat[e] the crypto industry.’” [I91] Heaven forbid any states should obstruct the deregulation that crypto spent so generously to secure!
After Coinbase was hit with a lawsuit from Oregon’s Attorney General, who argued that “states must fill [the] enforcement vacuum being left by federal regulators who are abandoning [crypto enforcement] cases under [the] Trump administration” [I82, 85], Coinbase has sent a letter to the Department of Justice asking them to pressure Congress to enact “broad” federal preemption provisions for cryptocurrency markets. They also argue the DOJ should lean on the SEC to issue rules excluding digital assets from securities laws. Besides the list of cases and cease-and-desist orders against Coinbase under state securities laws, they also protest state-level crypto licensing regimes (like New York’s BitLicense). They write, “In signing Illinois’s law just last month, Governor J.B. Pritzker made clear that the law aims squarely to undermine what he called the federal government’s efforts to ‘actively deregulat[e] the crypto industry.’” [I91] Heaven forbid any states should obstruct the deregulation that crypto spent so generously to secure!
After Coinbase was hit with a lawsuit from Oregon’s Attorney General, who argued that “states must fill [the] enforcement vacuum being left by federal regulators who are abandoning [crypto enforcement] cases under [the] Trump administration” [I82, 85], Coinbase has sent a letter to the Department of Justice asking them to pressure Congress to enact “broad” federal preemption provisions for cryptocurrency markets. They also argue the DOJ should lean on the SEC to issue rules excluding digital assets from securities laws. Besides the list of cases and cease-and-desist orders against Coinbase under state securities laws, they also protest state-level crypto licensing regimes (like New York’s BitLicense). They write, “In signing Illinois’s law just last month, Governor J.B. Pritzker made clear that the law aims squarely to undermine what he called the federal government’s efforts to ‘actively deregulat[e] the crypto industry.’” [I91] Heaven forbid any states should obstruct the deregulation that crypto spent so generously to secure!
𝓼𝓮𝓻𝓪𝓹𝓪𝓽𝓱【ツ】☮(📍🇸🇮)
@serapath@mastodon.gamedev.place  ·  activity timestamp last week
Ben Royce 🇺🇦
@benroyce@mastodon.social  ·  activity timestamp last week
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp last week
In elections and political influence A new pro-crypto super PAC has added itself to a rapidly growing list. While 2024 was dominated by Fairshake and its Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress partisan arms, several new crypto PACs have emerged ahead of the midterms, apparently looking to split from Fairshake’s nominally unpartisan approach [I91]. The newest is called the Fellowship PAC, and it says it has more than “$100 million committed” for pro-crypto candidates — nearly as much as Fairshake spent in the 2024 election cycle. Though it has been somewhat tight-lipped on strategy, an announcement document signaled frustration with Fairshake, asserting that “Unlike past political efforts, the Fellowship PAC’s mission is defined by transparency and trust, ensuring political action directly supports the broader ecosystem rather than narrow or individual interests.”11 The PAC has not yet filed any reports beyond a statement of organization, and so its donors are not yet known.12 The Kraken crypto exchange has also ramped up its political spending, announcing a $1 million contribution each to the new Digital Freedom Fund PAC and America First Digital dark money group. Both are pro-crypto groups, and are explicitly Trump- and Republican-aligned.13
In elections and political influence A new pro-crypto super PAC has added itself to a rapidly growing list. While 2024 was dominated by Fairshake and its Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress partisan arms, several new crypto PACs have emerged ahead of the midterms, apparently looking to split from Fairshake’s nominally unpartisan approach [I91]. The newest is called the Fellowship PAC, and it says it has more than “$100 million committed” for pro-crypto candidates — nearly as much as Fairshake spent in the 2024 election cycle. Though it has been somewhat tight-lipped on strategy, an announcement document signaled frustration with Fairshake, asserting that “Unlike past political efforts, the Fellowship PAC’s mission is defined by transparency and trust, ensuring political action directly supports the broader ecosystem rather than narrow or individual interests.”11 The PAC has not yet filed any reports beyond a statement of organization, and so its donors are not yet known.12 The Kraken crypto exchange has also ramped up its political spending, announcing a $1 million contribution each to the new Digital Freedom Fund PAC and America First Digital dark money group. Both are pro-crypto groups, and are explicitly Trump- and Republican-aligned.13
In elections and political influence A new pro-crypto super PAC has added itself to a rapidly growing list. While 2024 was dominated by Fairshake and its Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress partisan arms, several new crypto PACs have emerged ahead of the midterms, apparently looking to split from Fairshake’s nominally unpartisan approach [I91]. The newest is called the Fellowship PAC, and it says it has more than “$100 million committed” for pro-crypto candidates — nearly as much as Fairshake spent in the 2024 election cycle. Though it has been somewhat tight-lipped on strategy, an announcement document signaled frustration with Fairshake, asserting that “Unlike past political efforts, the Fellowship PAC’s mission is defined by transparency and trust, ensuring political action directly supports the broader ecosystem rather than narrow or individual interests.”11 The PAC has not yet filed any reports beyond a statement of organization, and so its donors are not yet known.12 The Kraken crypto exchange has also ramped up its political spending, announcing a $1 million contribution each to the new Digital Freedom Fund PAC and America First Digital dark money group. Both are pro-crypto groups, and are explicitly Trump- and Republican-aligned.13
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp last week
After Coinbase was hit with a lawsuit from Oregon’s Attorney General, who argued that “states must fill [the] enforcement vacuum being left by federal regulators who are abandoning [crypto enforcement] cases under [the] Trump administration” [I82, 85], Coinbase has sent a letter to the Department of Justice asking them to pressure Congress to enact “broad” federal preemption provisions for cryptocurrency markets. They also argue the DOJ should lean on the SEC to issue rules excluding digital assets from securities laws. Besides the list of cases and cease-and-desist orders against Coinbase under state securities laws, they also protest state-level crypto licensing regimes (like New York’s BitLicense). They write, “In signing Illinois’s law just last month, Governor J.B. Pritzker made clear that the law aims squarely to undermine what he called the federal government’s efforts to ‘actively deregulat[e] the crypto industry.’” [I91] Heaven forbid any states should obstruct the deregulation that crypto spent so generously to secure!
After Coinbase was hit with a lawsuit from Oregon’s Attorney General, who argued that “states must fill [the] enforcement vacuum being left by federal regulators who are abandoning [crypto enforcement] cases under [the] Trump administration” [I82, 85], Coinbase has sent a letter to the Department of Justice asking them to pressure Congress to enact “broad” federal preemption provisions for cryptocurrency markets. They also argue the DOJ should lean on the SEC to issue rules excluding digital assets from securities laws. Besides the list of cases and cease-and-desist orders against Coinbase under state securities laws, they also protest state-level crypto licensing regimes (like New York’s BitLicense). They write, “In signing Illinois’s law just last month, Governor J.B. Pritzker made clear that the law aims squarely to undermine what he called the federal government’s efforts to ‘actively deregulat[e] the crypto industry.’” [I91] Heaven forbid any states should obstruct the deregulation that crypto spent so generously to secure!
After Coinbase was hit with a lawsuit from Oregon’s Attorney General, who argued that “states must fill [the] enforcement vacuum being left by federal regulators who are abandoning [crypto enforcement] cases under [the] Trump administration” [I82, 85], Coinbase has sent a letter to the Department of Justice asking them to pressure Congress to enact “broad” federal preemption provisions for cryptocurrency markets. They also argue the DOJ should lean on the SEC to issue rules excluding digital assets from securities laws. Besides the list of cases and cease-and-desist orders against Coinbase under state securities laws, they also protest state-level crypto licensing regimes (like New York’s BitLicense). They write, “In signing Illinois’s law just last month, Governor J.B. Pritzker made clear that the law aims squarely to undermine what he called the federal government’s efforts to ‘actively deregulat[e] the crypto industry.’” [I91] Heaven forbid any states should obstruct the deregulation that crypto spent so generously to secure!
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp last week
A third letter came from Representative Sean Casten and Senator Jeff Merkley and was sent to the SEC, expressing “serious concerns” about business deals between crypto billionaire Justin Sun and the Trump family. They cited the SEC’s decision to drop its fraud lawsuit against Sun and his Tron company, combined with Tron’s recent decision to go public in the US “potentially with the assistance of members of the Trump family”, as raising “significant national security and investor protection concerns.” The lawmakers also argued that recent changes to the World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token design should have triggered SEC oversight, and warned that Sun’s substantial token holdings could pose risks to everyday investors if he were to sell.
A third letter came from Representative Sean Casten and Senator Jeff Merkley and was sent to the SEC, expressing “serious concerns” about business deals between crypto billionaire Justin Sun and the Trump family. They cited the SEC’s decision to drop its fraud lawsuit against Sun and his Tron company, combined with Tron’s recent decision to go public in the US “potentially with the assistance of members of the Trump family”, as raising “significant national security and investor protection concerns.” The lawmakers also argued that recent changes to the World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token design should have triggered SEC oversight, and warned that Sun’s substantial token holdings could pose risks to everyday investors if he were to sell.
A third letter came from Representative Sean Casten and Senator Jeff Merkley and was sent to the SEC, expressing “serious concerns” about business deals between crypto billionaire Justin Sun and the Trump family. They cited the SEC’s decision to drop its fraud lawsuit against Sun and his Tron company, combined with Tron’s recent decision to go public in the US “potentially with the assistance of members of the Trump family”, as raising “significant national security and investor protection concerns.” The lawmakers also argued that recent changes to the World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token design should have triggered SEC oversight, and warned that Sun’s substantial token holdings could pose risks to everyday investors if he were to sell.
Letters have been absolutely flying out of Congress. Following reports5 that Binance is nearing a deal with the Justice Department that would allow them to escape the oversight of a compliance monitor years ahead of schedule, Senator Elizabeth Warren and others sent another letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi requesting information about “the Trump Administration’s interactions with, and relationship to, Binance and its employees”. They criticized Bondi for a belated and partial response to a May letter inquiring about Binance’s compliance with its plea agreements, pardon discussions between Binance and DOJ officials, and business deals between Binance and the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial, writing that the DOJ had “fail[ed] to meaningfully answer any of our questions” [I44, 83, 91].6 Warren and seven other members of Congress have also sent a letter to White House Special Advisor for AI and Crypto, David Sacks, inquiring as to whether he has exceeded his 130-day limit as a Special Government Employee. They note that there are “more flexible ethics requirements” for SGEs because of the limited work period, and that Sacks enjoys that flexibility as he simultaneously serves as a General Partner at his Craft Ventures fund.7
Letters have been absolutely flying out of Congress. Following reports5 that Binance is nearing a deal with the Justice Department that would allow them to escape the oversight of a compliance monitor years ahead of schedule, Senator Elizabeth Warren and others sent another letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi requesting information about “the Trump Administration’s interactions with, and relationship to, Binance and its employees”. They criticized Bondi for a belated and partial response to a May letter inquiring about Binance’s compliance with its plea agreements, pardon discussions between Binance and DOJ officials, and business deals between Binance and the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial, writing that the DOJ had “fail[ed] to meaningfully answer any of our questions” [I44, 83, 91].6 Warren and seven other members of Congress have also sent a letter to White House Special Advisor for AI and Crypto, David Sacks, inquiring as to whether he has exceeded his 130-day limit as a Special Government Employee. They note that there are “more flexible ethics requirements” for SGEs because of the limited work period, and that Sacks enjoys that flexibility as he simultaneously serves as a General Partner at his Craft Ventures fund.7
Letters have been absolutely flying out of Congress. Following reports5 that Binance is nearing a deal with the Justice Department that would allow them to escape the oversight of a compliance monitor years ahead of schedule, Senator Elizabeth Warren and others sent another letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi requesting information about “the Trump Administration’s interactions with, and relationship to, Binance and its employees”. They criticized Bondi for a belated and partial response to a May letter inquiring about Binance’s compliance with its plea agreements, pardon discussions between Binance and DOJ officials, and business deals between Binance and the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial, writing that the DOJ had “fail[ed] to meaningfully answer any of our questions” [I44, 83, 91].6 Warren and seven other members of Congress have also sent a letter to White House Special Advisor for AI and Crypto, David Sacks, inquiring as to whether he has exceeded his 130-day limit as a Special Government Employee. They note that there are “more flexible ethics requirements” for SGEs because of the limited work period, and that Sacks enjoys that flexibility as he simultaneously serves as a General Partner at his Craft Ventures fund.7
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp last week
In elections and political influence A new pro-crypto super PAC has added itself to a rapidly growing list. While 2024 was dominated by Fairshake and its Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress partisan arms, several new crypto PACs have emerged ahead of the midterms, apparently looking to split from Fairshake’s nominally unpartisan approach [I91]. The newest is called the Fellowship PAC, and it says it has more than “$100 million committed” for pro-crypto candidates — nearly as much as Fairshake spent in the 2024 election cycle. Though it has been somewhat tight-lipped on strategy, an announcement document signaled frustration with Fairshake, asserting that “Unlike past political efforts, the Fellowship PAC’s mission is defined by transparency and trust, ensuring political action directly supports the broader ecosystem rather than narrow or individual interests.”11 The PAC has not yet filed any reports beyond a statement of organization, and so its donors are not yet known.12 The Kraken crypto exchange has also ramped up its political spending, announcing a $1 million contribution each to the new Digital Freedom Fund PAC and America First Digital dark money group. Both are pro-crypto groups, and are explicitly Trump- and Republican-aligned.13
In elections and political influence A new pro-crypto super PAC has added itself to a rapidly growing list. While 2024 was dominated by Fairshake and its Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress partisan arms, several new crypto PACs have emerged ahead of the midterms, apparently looking to split from Fairshake’s nominally unpartisan approach [I91]. The newest is called the Fellowship PAC, and it says it has more than “$100 million committed” for pro-crypto candidates — nearly as much as Fairshake spent in the 2024 election cycle. Though it has been somewhat tight-lipped on strategy, an announcement document signaled frustration with Fairshake, asserting that “Unlike past political efforts, the Fellowship PAC’s mission is defined by transparency and trust, ensuring political action directly supports the broader ecosystem rather than narrow or individual interests.”11 The PAC has not yet filed any reports beyond a statement of organization, and so its donors are not yet known.12 The Kraken crypto exchange has also ramped up its political spending, announcing a $1 million contribution each to the new Digital Freedom Fund PAC and America First Digital dark money group. Both are pro-crypto groups, and are explicitly Trump- and Republican-aligned.13
In elections and political influence A new pro-crypto super PAC has added itself to a rapidly growing list. While 2024 was dominated by Fairshake and its Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress partisan arms, several new crypto PACs have emerged ahead of the midterms, apparently looking to split from Fairshake’s nominally unpartisan approach [I91]. The newest is called the Fellowship PAC, and it says it has more than “$100 million committed” for pro-crypto candidates — nearly as much as Fairshake spent in the 2024 election cycle. Though it has been somewhat tight-lipped on strategy, an announcement document signaled frustration with Fairshake, asserting that “Unlike past political efforts, the Fellowship PAC’s mission is defined by transparency and trust, ensuring political action directly supports the broader ecosystem rather than narrow or individual interests.”11 The PAC has not yet filed any reports beyond a statement of organization, and so its donors are not yet known.12 The Kraken crypto exchange has also ramped up its political spending, announcing a $1 million contribution each to the new Digital Freedom Fund PAC and America First Digital dark money group. Both are pro-crypto groups, and are explicitly Trump- and Republican-aligned.13
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp last week
Following the Times report, Senators Slotkin and Warren have demanded an ethics probe by various watchdogs into the President, his family, and various White House officials, citing concerns around the deals involving the United Arab Emirates, World Liberty Financial, and AI chips. The Senators wrote, “The pattern of these transactions is deeply troubling and reveals that Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Sacks were in positions to control government decisions to personally enrich themselves – even as they created significant national security concerns.”10
Following the Times report, Senators Slotkin and Warren have demanded an ethics probe by various watchdogs into the President, his family, and various White House officials, citing concerns around the deals involving the United Arab Emirates, World Liberty Financial, and AI chips. The Senators wrote, “The pattern of these transactions is deeply troubling and reveals that Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Sacks were in positions to control government decisions to personally enrich themselves – even as they created significant national security concerns.”10
Following the Times report, Senators Slotkin and Warren have demanded an ethics probe by various watchdogs into the President, his family, and various White House officials, citing concerns around the deals involving the United Arab Emirates, World Liberty Financial, and AI chips. The Senators wrote, “The pattern of these transactions is deeply troubling and reveals that Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Sacks were in positions to control government decisions to personally enrich themselves – even as they created significant national security concerns.”10
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp last week
A third letter came from Representative Sean Casten and Senator Jeff Merkley and was sent to the SEC, expressing “serious concerns” about business deals between crypto billionaire Justin Sun and the Trump family. They cited the SEC’s decision to drop its fraud lawsuit against Sun and his Tron company, combined with Tron’s recent decision to go public in the US “potentially with the assistance of members of the Trump family”, as raising “significant national security and investor protection concerns.” The lawmakers also argued that recent changes to the World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token design should have triggered SEC oversight, and warned that Sun’s substantial token holdings could pose risks to everyday investors if he were to sell.
A third letter came from Representative Sean Casten and Senator Jeff Merkley and was sent to the SEC, expressing “serious concerns” about business deals between crypto billionaire Justin Sun and the Trump family. They cited the SEC’s decision to drop its fraud lawsuit against Sun and his Tron company, combined with Tron’s recent decision to go public in the US “potentially with the assistance of members of the Trump family”, as raising “significant national security and investor protection concerns.” The lawmakers also argued that recent changes to the World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token design should have triggered SEC oversight, and warned that Sun’s substantial token holdings could pose risks to everyday investors if he were to sell.
A third letter came from Representative Sean Casten and Senator Jeff Merkley and was sent to the SEC, expressing “serious concerns” about business deals between crypto billionaire Justin Sun and the Trump family. They cited the SEC’s decision to drop its fraud lawsuit against Sun and his Tron company, combined with Tron’s recent decision to go public in the US “potentially with the assistance of members of the Trump family”, as raising “significant national security and investor protection concerns.” The lawmakers also argued that recent changes to the World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token design should have triggered SEC oversight, and warned that Sun’s substantial token holdings could pose risks to everyday investors if he were to sell.
Letters have been absolutely flying out of Congress. Following reports5 that Binance is nearing a deal with the Justice Department that would allow them to escape the oversight of a compliance monitor years ahead of schedule, Senator Elizabeth Warren and others sent another letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi requesting information about “the Trump Administration’s interactions with, and relationship to, Binance and its employees”. They criticized Bondi for a belated and partial response to a May letter inquiring about Binance’s compliance with its plea agreements, pardon discussions between Binance and DOJ officials, and business deals between Binance and the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial, writing that the DOJ had “fail[ed] to meaningfully answer any of our questions” [I44, 83, 91].6 Warren and seven other members of Congress have also sent a letter to White House Special Advisor for AI and Crypto, David Sacks, inquiring as to whether he has exceeded his 130-day limit as a Special Government Employee. They note that there are “more flexible ethics requirements” for SGEs because of the limited work period, and that Sacks enjoys that flexibility as he simultaneously serves as a General Partner at his Craft Ventures fund.7
Letters have been absolutely flying out of Congress. Following reports5 that Binance is nearing a deal with the Justice Department that would allow them to escape the oversight of a compliance monitor years ahead of schedule, Senator Elizabeth Warren and others sent another letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi requesting information about “the Trump Administration’s interactions with, and relationship to, Binance and its employees”. They criticized Bondi for a belated and partial response to a May letter inquiring about Binance’s compliance with its plea agreements, pardon discussions between Binance and DOJ officials, and business deals between Binance and the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial, writing that the DOJ had “fail[ed] to meaningfully answer any of our questions” [I44, 83, 91].6 Warren and seven other members of Congress have also sent a letter to White House Special Advisor for AI and Crypto, David Sacks, inquiring as to whether he has exceeded his 130-day limit as a Special Government Employee. They note that there are “more flexible ethics requirements” for SGEs because of the limited work period, and that Sacks enjoys that flexibility as he simultaneously serves as a General Partner at his Craft Ventures fund.7
Letters have been absolutely flying out of Congress. Following reports5 that Binance is nearing a deal with the Justice Department that would allow them to escape the oversight of a compliance monitor years ahead of schedule, Senator Elizabeth Warren and others sent another letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi requesting information about “the Trump Administration’s interactions with, and relationship to, Binance and its employees”. They criticized Bondi for a belated and partial response to a May letter inquiring about Binance’s compliance with its plea agreements, pardon discussions between Binance and DOJ officials, and business deals between Binance and the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial, writing that the DOJ had “fail[ed] to meaningfully answer any of our questions” [I44, 83, 91].6 Warren and seven other members of Congress have also sent a letter to White House Special Advisor for AI and Crypto, David Sacks, inquiring as to whether he has exceeded his 130-day limit as a Special Government Employee. They note that there are “more flexible ethics requirements” for SGEs because of the limited work period, and that Sacks enjoys that flexibility as he simultaneously serves as a General Partner at his Craft Ventures fund.7
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp last week
The second deal is an agreement to supply a substantial number of advanced computer chips to Emirati AI firms, including G42 — chips which had previously been restricted due to national security concerns. Just as the UAE’s massive USD1-denominated deal was highly lucrative for the Trumps, this chip deal will be highly lucrative for the UAE and the royal family. The links between the two deals are numerous. Trump and Steve Witkoff have been involved in both World Liberty and in the UAE chip deal. Steve Witkoff is close with Marty Edelman, who serves as general counsel for G42, one of the Emirati technology firms that will receive a substantial portion of the chips. AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks was also a key part of the chip negotiations, despite his own conflicts of interest surrounding the AI industry, in which he and his firm are heavily invested. The UAE has invested in Sacks’ Craft Ventures firm, from which Sacks has not divested. Craft Ventures also invests in BitGo, the crypto company that provides custody services for World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin. A top employee of G42 is simultaneously “chief strategic adviser” to World Liberty. The MGX firm, which made the $2 billion Binance investment, was established with help from G42, and the two firms share a chairman in Sheikh Tahnoon. Zach Witkoff, a co-founder of World Liberty, has described Sheikh Tahnoon as “a close family friend”. A White House official has described the Times story as “fake news”, a
The second deal is an agreement to supply a substantial number of advanced computer chips to Emirati AI firms, including G42 — chips which had previously been restricted due to national security concerns. Just as the UAE’s massive USD1-denominated deal was highly lucrative for the Trumps, this chip deal will be highly lucrative for the UAE and the royal family. The links between the two deals are numerous. Trump and Steve Witkoff have been involved in both World Liberty and in the UAE chip deal. Steve Witkoff is close with Marty Edelman, who serves as general counsel for G42, one of the Emirati technology firms that will receive a substantial portion of the chips. AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks was also a key part of the chip negotiations, despite his own conflicts of interest surrounding the AI industry, in which he and his firm are heavily invested. The UAE has invested in Sacks’ Craft Ventures firm, from which Sacks has not divested. Craft Ventures also invests in BitGo, the crypto company that provides custody services for World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin. A top employee of G42 is simultaneously “chief strategic adviser” to World Liberty. The MGX firm, which made the $2 billion Binance investment, was established with help from G42, and the two firms share a chairman in Sheikh Tahnoon. Zach Witkoff, a co-founder of World Liberty, has described Sheikh Tahnoon as “a close family friend”. A White House official has described the Times story as “fake news”, a
The second deal is an agreement to supply a substantial number of advanced computer chips to Emirati AI firms, including G42 — chips which had previously been restricted due to national security concerns. Just as the UAE’s massive USD1-denominated deal was highly lucrative for the Trumps, this chip deal will be highly lucrative for the UAE and the royal family. The links between the two deals are numerous. Trump and Steve Witkoff have been involved in both World Liberty and in the UAE chip deal. Steve Witkoff is close with Marty Edelman, who serves as general counsel for G42, one of the Emirati technology firms that will receive a substantial portion of the chips. AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks was also a key part of the chip negotiations, despite his own conflicts of interest surrounding the AI industry, in which he and his firm are heavily invested. The UAE has invested in Sacks’ Craft Ventures firm, from which Sacks has not divested. Craft Ventures also invests in BitGo, the crypto company that provides custody services for World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin. A top employee of G42 is simultaneously “chief strategic adviser” to World Liberty. The MGX firm, which made the $2 billion Binance investment, was established with help from G42, and the two firms share a chairman in Sheikh Tahnoon. Zach Witkoff, a co-founder of World Liberty, has described Sheikh Tahnoon as “a close family friend”. A White House official has described the Times story as “fake news”, a
Trump business interests The New York Times published a story on September 15 highlighting the “extraordinary” “confluence” of two business deals, in which Trump and various White House officials appeared to trade access to US computer chips to the United Arab Emirates for personal profits from World Liberty Financial. (The Times was careful to note that “there is no evidence that one deal was explicitly offered in return for the other.”) They’re referring to the $2 billion investment by the Emirati MGX into Binance, which was denominated in USD1, the stablecoin issued by the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial business [I83]. The New Yorker estimated that Trump and his family will personally profit around $168 million from this deal alone if the assets remain in USD1 through the remainder of Trump’s term.1 In addition to the Trump sons’ direct involvement, Zach Witkoff is CEO and a co-founder of World Liberty. He’s also the son of longtime Trump ally and now Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who himself was also involved in World Liberty early on. The company claimed in May that he was “in the process of fully divesting from WLFI”, though he continued to have an unspecified financial interest in the company at least as of August.
Trump business interests The New York Times published a story on September 15 highlighting the “extraordinary” “confluence” of two business deals, in which Trump and various White House officials appeared to trade access to US computer chips to the United Arab Emirates for personal profits from World Liberty Financial. (The Times was careful to note that “there is no evidence that one deal was explicitly offered in return for the other.”) They’re referring to the $2 billion investment by the Emirati MGX into Binance, which was denominated in USD1, the stablecoin issued by the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial business [I83]. The New Yorker estimated that Trump and his family will personally profit around $168 million from this deal alone if the assets remain in USD1 through the remainder of Trump’s term.1 In addition to the Trump sons’ direct involvement, Zach Witkoff is CEO and a co-founder of World Liberty. He’s also the son of longtime Trump ally and now Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who himself was also involved in World Liberty early on. The company claimed in May that he was “in the process of fully divesting from WLFI”, though he continued to have an unspecified financial interest in the company at least as of August.
Trump business interests The New York Times published a story on September 15 highlighting the “extraordinary” “confluence” of two business deals, in which Trump and various White House officials appeared to trade access to US computer chips to the United Arab Emirates for personal profits from World Liberty Financial. (The Times was careful to note that “there is no evidence that one deal was explicitly offered in return for the other.”) They’re referring to the $2 billion investment by the Emirati MGX into Binance, which was denominated in USD1, the stablecoin issued by the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial business [I83]. The New Yorker estimated that Trump and his family will personally profit around $168 million from this deal alone if the assets remain in USD1 through the remainder of Trump’s term.1 In addition to the Trump sons’ direct involvement, Zach Witkoff is CEO and a co-founder of World Liberty. He’s also the son of longtime Trump ally and now Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who himself was also involved in World Liberty early on. The company claimed in May that he was “in the process of fully divesting from WLFI”, though he continued to have an unspecified financial interest in the company at least as of August.
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp last week
Following the Times report, Senators Slotkin and Warren have demanded an ethics probe by various watchdogs into the President, his family, and various White House officials, citing concerns around the deals involving the United Arab Emirates, World Liberty Financial, and AI chips. The Senators wrote, “The pattern of these transactions is deeply troubling and reveals that Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Sacks were in positions to control government decisions to personally enrich themselves – even as they created significant national security concerns.”10
Following the Times report, Senators Slotkin and Warren have demanded an ethics probe by various watchdogs into the President, his family, and various White House officials, citing concerns around the deals involving the United Arab Emirates, World Liberty Financial, and AI chips. The Senators wrote, “The pattern of these transactions is deeply troubling and reveals that Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Sacks were in positions to control government decisions to personally enrich themselves – even as they created significant national security concerns.”10
Following the Times report, Senators Slotkin and Warren have demanded an ethics probe by various watchdogs into the President, his family, and various White House officials, citing concerns around the deals involving the United Arab Emirates, World Liberty Financial, and AI chips. The Senators wrote, “The pattern of these transactions is deeply troubling and reveals that Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Sacks were in positions to control government decisions to personally enrich themselves – even as they created significant national security concerns.”10
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp last week
The second deal is an agreement to supply a substantial number of advanced computer chips to Emirati AI firms, including G42 — chips which had previously been restricted due to national security concerns. Just as the UAE’s massive USD1-denominated deal was highly lucrative for the Trumps, this chip deal will be highly lucrative for the UAE and the royal family. The links between the two deals are numerous. Trump and Steve Witkoff have been involved in both World Liberty and in the UAE chip deal. Steve Witkoff is close with Marty Edelman, who serves as general counsel for G42, one of the Emirati technology firms that will receive a substantial portion of the chips. AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks was also a key part of the chip negotiations, despite his own conflicts of interest surrounding the AI industry, in which he and his firm are heavily invested. The UAE has invested in Sacks’ Craft Ventures firm, from which Sacks has not divested. Craft Ventures also invests in BitGo, the crypto company that provides custody services for World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin. A top employee of G42 is simultaneously “chief strategic adviser” to World Liberty. The MGX firm, which made the $2 billion Binance investment, was established with help from G42, and the two firms share a chairman in Sheikh Tahnoon. Zach Witkoff, a co-founder of World Liberty, has described Sheikh Tahnoon as “a close family friend”. A White House official has described the Times story as “fake news”, a
The second deal is an agreement to supply a substantial number of advanced computer chips to Emirati AI firms, including G42 — chips which had previously been restricted due to national security concerns. Just as the UAE’s massive USD1-denominated deal was highly lucrative for the Trumps, this chip deal will be highly lucrative for the UAE and the royal family. The links between the two deals are numerous. Trump and Steve Witkoff have been involved in both World Liberty and in the UAE chip deal. Steve Witkoff is close with Marty Edelman, who serves as general counsel for G42, one of the Emirati technology firms that will receive a substantial portion of the chips. AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks was also a key part of the chip negotiations, despite his own conflicts of interest surrounding the AI industry, in which he and his firm are heavily invested. The UAE has invested in Sacks’ Craft Ventures firm, from which Sacks has not divested. Craft Ventures also invests in BitGo, the crypto company that provides custody services for World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin. A top employee of G42 is simultaneously “chief strategic adviser” to World Liberty. The MGX firm, which made the $2 billion Binance investment, was established with help from G42, and the two firms share a chairman in Sheikh Tahnoon. Zach Witkoff, a co-founder of World Liberty, has described Sheikh Tahnoon as “a close family friend”. A White House official has described the Times story as “fake news”, a
The second deal is an agreement to supply a substantial number of advanced computer chips to Emirati AI firms, including G42 — chips which had previously been restricted due to national security concerns. Just as the UAE’s massive USD1-denominated deal was highly lucrative for the Trumps, this chip deal will be highly lucrative for the UAE and the royal family. The links between the two deals are numerous. Trump and Steve Witkoff have been involved in both World Liberty and in the UAE chip deal. Steve Witkoff is close with Marty Edelman, who serves as general counsel for G42, one of the Emirati technology firms that will receive a substantial portion of the chips. AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks was also a key part of the chip negotiations, despite his own conflicts of interest surrounding the AI industry, in which he and his firm are heavily invested. The UAE has invested in Sacks’ Craft Ventures firm, from which Sacks has not divested. Craft Ventures also invests in BitGo, the crypto company that provides custody services for World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin. A top employee of G42 is simultaneously “chief strategic adviser” to World Liberty. The MGX firm, which made the $2 billion Binance investment, was established with help from G42, and the two firms share a chairman in Sheikh Tahnoon. Zach Witkoff, a co-founder of World Liberty, has described Sheikh Tahnoon as “a close family friend”. A White House official has described the Times story as “fake news”, a
Trump business interests The New York Times published a story on September 15 highlighting the “extraordinary” “confluence” of two business deals, in which Trump and various White House officials appeared to trade access to US computer chips to the United Arab Emirates for personal profits from World Liberty Financial. (The Times was careful to note that “there is no evidence that one deal was explicitly offered in return for the other.”) They’re referring to the $2 billion investment by the Emirati MGX into Binance, which was denominated in USD1, the stablecoin issued by the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial business [I83]. The New Yorker estimated that Trump and his family will personally profit around $168 million from this deal alone if the assets remain in USD1 through the remainder of Trump’s term.1 In addition to the Trump sons’ direct involvement, Zach Witkoff is CEO and a co-founder of World Liberty. He’s also the son of longtime Trump ally and now Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who himself was also involved in World Liberty early on. The company claimed in May that he was “in the process of fully divesting from WLFI”, though he continued to have an unspecified financial interest in the company at least as of August.
Trump business interests The New York Times published a story on September 15 highlighting the “extraordinary” “confluence” of two business deals, in which Trump and various White House officials appeared to trade access to US computer chips to the United Arab Emirates for personal profits from World Liberty Financial. (The Times was careful to note that “there is no evidence that one deal was explicitly offered in return for the other.”) They’re referring to the $2 billion investment by the Emirati MGX into Binance, which was denominated in USD1, the stablecoin issued by the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial business [I83]. The New Yorker estimated that Trump and his family will personally profit around $168 million from this deal alone if the assets remain in USD1 through the remainder of Trump’s term.1 In addition to the Trump sons’ direct involvement, Zach Witkoff is CEO and a co-founder of World Liberty. He’s also the son of longtime Trump ally and now Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who himself was also involved in World Liberty early on. The company claimed in May that he was “in the process of fully divesting from WLFI”, though he continued to have an unspecified financial interest in the company at least as of August.
Trump business interests The New York Times published a story on September 15 highlighting the “extraordinary” “confluence” of two business deals, in which Trump and various White House officials appeared to trade access to US computer chips to the United Arab Emirates for personal profits from World Liberty Financial. (The Times was careful to note that “there is no evidence that one deal was explicitly offered in return for the other.”) They’re referring to the $2 billion investment by the Emirati MGX into Binance, which was denominated in USD1, the stablecoin issued by the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial business [I83]. The New Yorker estimated that Trump and his family will personally profit around $168 million from this deal alone if the assets remain in USD1 through the remainder of Trump’s term.1 In addition to the Trump sons’ direct involvement, Zach Witkoff is CEO and a co-founder of World Liberty. He’s also the son of longtime Trump ally and now Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who himself was also involved in World Liberty early on. The company claimed in May that he was “in the process of fully divesting from WLFI”, though he continued to have an unspecified financial interest in the company at least as of August.
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago
In elections and political influence Virginia Democrat James Walkinshaw has been elected to the House to fill the seat vacated by Representative Gerry Connolly, who died in office in May 2025. Walkinshaw received just over $1 million in support from the cryptocurrency industry [I87], and his comments about “embrac[ing] the next generation of technology” such as blockchains diverge from his predecessor’s staunch opposition to crypto. Protect Progress, the cryptocurrency-focused super PAC that backed him, was the largest outside spender in the race.27
In elections and political influence Virginia Democrat James Walkinshaw has been elected to the House to fill the seat vacated by Representative Gerry Connolly, who died in office in May 2025. Walkinshaw received just over $1 million in support from the cryptocurrency industry [I87], and his comments about “embrac[ing] the next generation of technology” such as blockchains diverge from his predecessor’s staunch opposition to crypto. Protect Progress, the cryptocurrency-focused super PAC that backed him, was the largest outside spender in the race.27
In elections and political influence Virginia Democrat James Walkinshaw has been elected to the House to fill the seat vacated by Representative Gerry Connolly, who died in office in May 2025. Walkinshaw received just over $1 million in support from the cryptocurrency industry [I87], and his comments about “embrac[ing] the next generation of technology” such as blockchains diverge from his predecessor’s staunch opposition to crypto. Protect Progress, the cryptocurrency-focused super PAC that backed him, was the largest outside spender in the race.27
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago
Ryan Salame, who started his lengthy prison sentence back in October of last year, is facing even more trouble. The FTX estate has filed a lawsuit against both Salame and his wife, Michelle Bond, alleging that they transferred money and cryptocurrency assets from his accounts to hers shortly after FTX’s collapse but prior to asset freezes. They also claim that they purchased and transferred ownership of a $4 million property to Bond, which plaintiffs also allege was an attempt to shield it from recovery by the FTX debtors.31
Ryan Salame, who started his lengthy prison sentence back in October of last year, is facing even more trouble. The FTX estate has filed a lawsuit against both Salame and his wife, Michelle Bond, alleging that they transferred money and cryptocurrency assets from his accounts to hers shortly after FTX’s collapse but prior to asset freezes. They also claim that they purchased and transferred ownership of a $4 million property to Bond, which plaintiffs also allege was an attempt to shield it from recovery by the FTX debtors.31
Ryan Salame, who started his lengthy prison sentence back in October of last year, is facing even more trouble. The FTX estate has filed a lawsuit against both Salame and his wife, Michelle Bond, alleging that they transferred money and cryptocurrency assets from his accounts to hers shortly after FTX’s collapse but prior to asset freezes. They also claim that they purchased and transferred ownership of a $4 million property to Bond, which plaintiffs also allege was an attempt to shield it from recovery by the FTX debtors.31
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago
Meanwhile, the SEC has also announced that text messages sent and received by former Chairman Gary Gensler between October 2022 and September 2023 were permanently deleted after a “poorly understood and automated policy that caused an enterprise wipe of Gensler’s government-issued mobile device” in August 2023.23 I imagine this must be rather infuriating news for the dozens of companies that have paid tens of millions of dollars apiece in fines to the SEC over recordkeeping failures.2425 Many in the crypto world have accused Gensler or his SEC of intentionally deleting the messages to hide something, including pro-crypto Representative Tom Emmer (R-MN), who called the deletions “just another example of the less-than-honest behavior that marked the Biden administration.”26
Meanwhile, the SEC has also announced that text messages sent and received by former Chairman Gary Gensler between October 2022 and September 2023 were permanently deleted after a “poorly understood and automated policy that caused an enterprise wipe of Gensler’s government-issued mobile device” in August 2023.23 I imagine this must be rather infuriating news for the dozens of companies that have paid tens of millions of dollars apiece in fines to the SEC over recordkeeping failures.2425 Many in the crypto world have accused Gensler or his SEC of intentionally deleting the messages to hide something, including pro-crypto Representative Tom Emmer (R-MN), who called the deletions “just another example of the less-than-honest behavior that marked the Biden administration.”26
Meanwhile, the SEC has also announced that text messages sent and received by former Chairman Gary Gensler between October 2022 and September 2023 were permanently deleted after a “poorly understood and automated policy that caused an enterprise wipe of Gensler’s government-issued mobile device” in August 2023.23 I imagine this must be rather infuriating news for the dozens of companies that have paid tens of millions of dollars apiece in fines to the SEC over recordkeeping failures.2425 Many in the crypto world have accused Gensler or his SEC of intentionally deleting the messages to hide something, including pro-crypto Representative Tom Emmer (R-MN), who called the deletions “just another example of the less-than-honest behavior that marked the Biden administration.”26
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago
In elections and political influence Virginia Democrat James Walkinshaw has been elected to the House to fill the seat vacated by Representative Gerry Connolly, who died in office in May 2025. Walkinshaw received just over $1 million in support from the cryptocurrency industry [I87], and his comments about “embrac[ing] the next generation of technology” such as blockchains diverge from his predecessor’s staunch opposition to crypto. Protect Progress, the cryptocurrency-focused super PAC that backed him, was the largest outside spender in the race.27
In elections and political influence Virginia Democrat James Walkinshaw has been elected to the House to fill the seat vacated by Representative Gerry Connolly, who died in office in May 2025. Walkinshaw received just over $1 million in support from the cryptocurrency industry [I87], and his comments about “embrac[ing] the next generation of technology” such as blockchains diverge from his predecessor’s staunch opposition to crypto. Protect Progress, the cryptocurrency-focused super PAC that backed him, was the largest outside spender in the race.27
In elections and political influence Virginia Democrat James Walkinshaw has been elected to the House to fill the seat vacated by Representative Gerry Connolly, who died in office in May 2025. Walkinshaw received just over $1 million in support from the cryptocurrency industry [I87], and his comments about “embrac[ing] the next generation of technology” such as blockchains diverge from his predecessor’s staunch opposition to crypto. Protect Progress, the cryptocurrency-focused super PAC that backed him, was the largest outside spender in the race.27
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago
It seems that the Winklevosses hoped that Brian Quintenz would be their man on the inside at the CFTC and have now dropped their endorsements after he failed to immediately and enthusiastically champion their grievances. Along with the messages, Quintenz wrote that he was concerned that President Trump “might have been misled”. He continued, “I believe these texts make it clear what they were after from me, and what I refused to promise. It’s my understanding that after this exchange they contacted the President and asked that my confirmation be paused for reasons other than what is reflected in these texts.”
It seems that the Winklevosses hoped that Brian Quintenz would be their man on the inside at the CFTC and have now dropped their endorsements after he failed to immediately and enthusiastically champion their grievances. Along with the messages, Quintenz wrote that he was concerned that President Trump “might have been misled”. He continued, “I believe these texts make it clear what they were after from me, and what I refused to promise. It’s my understanding that after this exchange they contacted the President and asked that my confirmation be paused for reasons other than what is reflected in these texts.”
It seems that the Winklevosses hoped that Brian Quintenz would be their man on the inside at the CFTC and have now dropped their endorsements after he failed to immediately and enthusiastically champion their grievances. Along with the messages, Quintenz wrote that he was concerned that President Trump “might have been misled”. He continued, “I believe these texts make it clear what they were after from me, and what I refused to promise. It’s my understanding that after this exchange they contacted the President and asked that my confirmation be paused for reasons other than what is reflected in these texts.”
Quintenz: Ok. Let's chat when you are free. I think we are getting wires crossed. There are charged issues here and I want us to be on the same page. Tyler Winklevoss: Yes. Look forward to speaking. But I gotta say, I'm disappointed and surprised that you haven't seen, heard, or read about our complaint yet. We spoke about this issue when you reached out for our endorsement in December and it was all over the press when we filed it. Our complaint raises serious questions and concerns about the culture of the agency that you are about to chair and its overall fitness on the eve of it being contemplated as a major regulator for the crypto industry. Cultural reform, which includes rectifying what happened to us, should be the highest priority. I'd like to understand your thoughts on this and how you plan to align...
Quintenz: Ok. Let's chat when you are free. I think we are getting wires crossed. There are charged issues here and I want us to be on the same page. Tyler Winklevoss: Yes. Look forward to speaking. But I gotta say, I'm disappointed and surprised that you haven't seen, heard, or read about our complaint yet. We spoke about this issue when you reached out for our endorsement in December and it was all over the press when we filed it. Our complaint raises serious questions and concerns about the culture of the agency that you are about to chair and its overall fitness on the eve of it being contemplated as a major regulator for the crypto industry. Cultural reform, which includes rectifying what happened to us, should be the highest priority. I'd like to understand your thoughts on this and how you plan to align...
Quintenz: Ok. Let's chat when you are free. I think we are getting wires crossed. There are charged issues here and I want us to be on the same page. Tyler Winklevoss: Yes. Look forward to speaking. But I gotta say, I'm disappointed and surprised that you haven't seen, heard, or read about our complaint yet. We spoke about this issue when you reached out for our endorsement in December and it was all over the press when we filed it. Our complaint raises serious questions and concerns about the culture of the agency that you are about to chair and its overall fitness on the eve of it being contemplated as a major regulator for the crypto industry. Cultural reform, which includes rectifying what happened to us, should be the highest priority. I'd like to understand your thoughts on this and how you plan to align...
A new chair for the CFTC has still not been confirmed with the Senate in recess, and the conflict over nominee Brian Quintenz is continuing. Setting aside the issues of questionable emails he sent to the current CFTC Commissioners over their regulation of prediction markets — while he has a conflict of interest as a shareholder and board member at Kalshi — I’ve also outlined in past issues how the once supportive Winklevosses turned against him for seemingly strategy-related differences [I90]. Their opposition has diverged from much of the rest of the crypto industry, which recently sent a supportive letter urging his confirmation [I91]. The reason for this divergence may have just become clear, as Quintenz himself published July messages from a group chat with the Winklevoss twins, who pointed him to a furious public letter they sent to the CFTC Inspector General in June after reaching a settlement with the agency [I86].20 “Please take a look and let me know your thoughts after you’ve read our 13-page letter,” wrote Tyler. “7 years of lawfare trophy hunting. It’s outrageous what they did to us.” Quintenz doesn’t really push back in the conversation, though he seems to try to delay the conversation until his confirmation, writing that their complaints “should be unequivocally left to a fully confirmed chair” but that he “will address this fully and fairly if and when I am confirmed.” Later, Tyler states he is “disappointed and surprised that you haven’t seen, heard, or
A new chair for the CFTC has still not been confirmed with the Senate in recess, and the conflict over nominee Brian Quintenz is continuing. Setting aside the issues of questionable emails he sent to the current CFTC Commissioners over their regulation of prediction markets — while he has a conflict of interest as a shareholder and board member at Kalshi — I’ve also outlined in past issues how the once supportive Winklevosses turned against him for seemingly strategy-related differences [I90]. Their opposition has diverged from much of the rest of the crypto industry, which recently sent a supportive letter urging his confirmation [I91]. The reason for this divergence may have just become clear, as Quintenz himself published July messages from a group chat with the Winklevoss twins, who pointed him to a furious public letter they sent to the CFTC Inspector General in June after reaching a settlement with the agency [I86].20 “Please take a look and let me know your thoughts after you’ve read our 13-page letter,” wrote Tyler. “7 years of lawfare trophy hunting. It’s outrageous what they did to us.” Quintenz doesn’t really push back in the conversation, though he seems to try to delay the conversation until his confirmation, writing that their complaints “should be unequivocally left to a fully confirmed chair” but that he “will address this fully and fairly if and when I am confirmed.” Later, Tyler states he is “disappointed and surprised that you haven’t seen, heard, or
A new chair for the CFTC has still not been confirmed with the Senate in recess, and the conflict over nominee Brian Quintenz is continuing. Setting aside the issues of questionable emails he sent to the current CFTC Commissioners over their regulation of prediction markets — while he has a conflict of interest as a shareholder and board member at Kalshi — I’ve also outlined in past issues how the once supportive Winklevosses turned against him for seemingly strategy-related differences [I90]. Their opposition has diverged from much of the rest of the crypto industry, which recently sent a supportive letter urging his confirmation [I91]. The reason for this divergence may have just become clear, as Quintenz himself published July messages from a group chat with the Winklevoss twins, who pointed him to a furious public letter they sent to the CFTC Inspector General in June after reaching a settlement with the agency [I86].20 “Please take a look and let me know your thoughts after you’ve read our 13-page letter,” wrote Tyler. “7 years of lawfare trophy hunting. It’s outrageous what they did to us.” Quintenz doesn’t really push back in the conversation, though he seems to try to delay the conversation until his confirmation, writing that their complaints “should be unequivocally left to a fully confirmed chair” but that he “will address this fully and fairly if and when I am confirmed.” Later, Tyler states he is “disappointed and surprised that you haven’t seen, heard, or
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago
Meanwhile, the SEC has also announced that text messages sent and received by former Chairman Gary Gensler between October 2022 and September 2023 were permanently deleted after a “poorly understood and automated policy that caused an enterprise wipe of Gensler’s government-issued mobile device” in August 2023.23 I imagine this must be rather infuriating news for the dozens of companies that have paid tens of millions of dollars apiece in fines to the SEC over recordkeeping failures.2425 Many in the crypto world have accused Gensler or his SEC of intentionally deleting the messages to hide something, including pro-crypto Representative Tom Emmer (R-MN), who called the deletions “just another example of the less-than-honest behavior that marked the Biden administration.”26
Meanwhile, the SEC has also announced that text messages sent and received by former Chairman Gary Gensler between October 2022 and September 2023 were permanently deleted after a “poorly understood and automated policy that caused an enterprise wipe of Gensler’s government-issued mobile device” in August 2023.23 I imagine this must be rather infuriating news for the dozens of companies that have paid tens of millions of dollars apiece in fines to the SEC over recordkeeping failures.2425 Many in the crypto world have accused Gensler or his SEC of intentionally deleting the messages to hide something, including pro-crypto Representative Tom Emmer (R-MN), who called the deletions “just another example of the less-than-honest behavior that marked the Biden administration.”26
Meanwhile, the SEC has also announced that text messages sent and received by former Chairman Gary Gensler between October 2022 and September 2023 were permanently deleted after a “poorly understood and automated policy that caused an enterprise wipe of Gensler’s government-issued mobile device” in August 2023.23 I imagine this must be rather infuriating news for the dozens of companies that have paid tens of millions of dollars apiece in fines to the SEC over recordkeeping failures.2425 Many in the crypto world have accused Gensler or his SEC of intentionally deleting the messages to hide something, including pro-crypto Representative Tom Emmer (R-MN), who called the deletions “just another example of the less-than-honest behavior that marked the Biden administration.”26
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago
Thank goodness the CFTC is finally warming up to legitimate hedging activities! As an aside, one of my favorite pasttimes these days is opening up the currently CFTC-regulated Kalshi and trying to imagine who is “legitimately hedging” their business activities in markets like these ones. (Everyone needs a hobby, okay?) Screenshots of markets: Who will be a bridesmaid for the wedding of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift? Will Kai Cenat cut their hair on stream before Oct 1, 2025?
Thank goodness the CFTC is finally warming up to legitimate hedging activities! As an aside, one of my favorite pasttimes these days is opening up the currently CFTC-regulated Kalshi and trying to imagine who is “legitimately hedging” their business activities in markets like these ones. (Everyone needs a hobby, okay?) Screenshots of markets: Who will be a bridesmaid for the wedding of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift? Will Kai Cenat cut their hair on stream before Oct 1, 2025?
Thank goodness the CFTC is finally warming up to legitimate hedging activities! As an aside, one of my favorite pasttimes these days is opening up the currently CFTC-regulated Kalshi and trying to imagine who is “legitimately hedging” their business activities in markets like these ones. (Everyone needs a hobby, okay?) Screenshots of markets: Who will be a bridesmaid for the wedding of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift? Will Kai Cenat cut their hair on stream before Oct 1, 2025?
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago
It seems that the Winklevosses hoped that Brian Quintenz would be their man on the inside at the CFTC and have now dropped their endorsements after he failed to immediately and enthusiastically champion their grievances. Along with the messages, Quintenz wrote that he was concerned that President Trump “might have been misled”. He continued, “I believe these texts make it clear what they were after from me, and what I refused to promise. It’s my understanding that after this exchange they contacted the President and asked that my confirmation be paused for reasons other than what is reflected in these texts.”
It seems that the Winklevosses hoped that Brian Quintenz would be their man on the inside at the CFTC and have now dropped their endorsements after he failed to immediately and enthusiastically champion their grievances. Along with the messages, Quintenz wrote that he was concerned that President Trump “might have been misled”. He continued, “I believe these texts make it clear what they were after from me, and what I refused to promise. It’s my understanding that after this exchange they contacted the President and asked that my confirmation be paused for reasons other than what is reflected in these texts.”
It seems that the Winklevosses hoped that Brian Quintenz would be their man on the inside at the CFTC and have now dropped their endorsements after he failed to immediately and enthusiastically champion their grievances. Along with the messages, Quintenz wrote that he was concerned that President Trump “might have been misled”. He continued, “I believe these texts make it clear what they were after from me, and what I refused to promise. It’s my understanding that after this exchange they contacted the President and asked that my confirmation be paused for reasons other than what is reflected in these texts.”
Quintenz: Ok. Let's chat when you are free. I think we are getting wires crossed. There are charged issues here and I want us to be on the same page. Tyler Winklevoss: Yes. Look forward to speaking. But I gotta say, I'm disappointed and surprised that you haven't seen, heard, or read about our complaint yet. We spoke about this issue when you reached out for our endorsement in December and it was all over the press when we filed it. Our complaint raises serious questions and concerns about the culture of the agency that you are about to chair and its overall fitness on the eve of it being contemplated as a major regulator for the crypto industry. Cultural reform, which includes rectifying what happened to us, should be the highest priority. I'd like to understand your thoughts on this and how you plan to align...
Quintenz: Ok. Let's chat when you are free. I think we are getting wires crossed. There are charged issues here and I want us to be on the same page. Tyler Winklevoss: Yes. Look forward to speaking. But I gotta say, I'm disappointed and surprised that you haven't seen, heard, or read about our complaint yet. We spoke about this issue when you reached out for our endorsement in December and it was all over the press when we filed it. Our complaint raises serious questions and concerns about the culture of the agency that you are about to chair and its overall fitness on the eve of it being contemplated as a major regulator for the crypto industry. Cultural reform, which includes rectifying what happened to us, should be the highest priority. I'd like to understand your thoughts on this and how you plan to align...
Quintenz: Ok. Let's chat when you are free. I think we are getting wires crossed. There are charged issues here and I want us to be on the same page. Tyler Winklevoss: Yes. Look forward to speaking. But I gotta say, I'm disappointed and surprised that you haven't seen, heard, or read about our complaint yet. We spoke about this issue when you reached out for our endorsement in December and it was all over the press when we filed it. Our complaint raises serious questions and concerns about the culture of the agency that you are about to chair and its overall fitness on the eve of it being contemplated as a major regulator for the crypto industry. Cultural reform, which includes rectifying what happened to us, should be the highest priority. I'd like to understand your thoughts on this and how you plan to align...
A new chair for the CFTC has still not been confirmed with the Senate in recess, and the conflict over nominee Brian Quintenz is continuing. Setting aside the issues of questionable emails he sent to the current CFTC Commissioners over their regulation of prediction markets — while he has a conflict of interest as a shareholder and board member at Kalshi — I’ve also outlined in past issues how the once supportive Winklevosses turned against him for seemingly strategy-related differences [I90]. Their opposition has diverged from much of the rest of the crypto industry, which recently sent a supportive letter urging his confirmation [I91]. The reason for this divergence may have just become clear, as Quintenz himself published July messages from a group chat with the Winklevoss twins, who pointed him to a furious public letter they sent to the CFTC Inspector General in June after reaching a settlement with the agency [I86].20 “Please take a look and let me know your thoughts after you’ve read our 13-page letter,” wrote Tyler. “7 years of lawfare trophy hunting. It’s outrageous what they did to us.” Quintenz doesn’t really push back in the conversation, though he seems to try to delay the conversation until his confirmation, writing that their complaints “should be unequivocally left to a fully confirmed chair” but that he “will address this fully and fairly if and when I am confirmed.” Later, Tyler states he is “disappointed and surprised that you haven’t seen, heard, or
A new chair for the CFTC has still not been confirmed with the Senate in recess, and the conflict over nominee Brian Quintenz is continuing. Setting aside the issues of questionable emails he sent to the current CFTC Commissioners over their regulation of prediction markets — while he has a conflict of interest as a shareholder and board member at Kalshi — I’ve also outlined in past issues how the once supportive Winklevosses turned against him for seemingly strategy-related differences [I90]. Their opposition has diverged from much of the rest of the crypto industry, which recently sent a supportive letter urging his confirmation [I91]. The reason for this divergence may have just become clear, as Quintenz himself published July messages from a group chat with the Winklevoss twins, who pointed him to a furious public letter they sent to the CFTC Inspector General in June after reaching a settlement with the agency [I86].20 “Please take a look and let me know your thoughts after you’ve read our 13-page letter,” wrote Tyler. “7 years of lawfare trophy hunting. It’s outrageous what they did to us.” Quintenz doesn’t really push back in the conversation, though he seems to try to delay the conversation until his confirmation, writing that their complaints “should be unequivocally left to a fully confirmed chair” but that he “will address this fully and fairly if and when I am confirmed.” Later, Tyler states he is “disappointed and surprised that you haven’t seen, heard, or
A new chair for the CFTC has still not been confirmed with the Senate in recess, and the conflict over nominee Brian Quintenz is continuing. Setting aside the issues of questionable emails he sent to the current CFTC Commissioners over their regulation of prediction markets — while he has a conflict of interest as a shareholder and board member at Kalshi — I’ve also outlined in past issues how the once supportive Winklevosses turned against him for seemingly strategy-related differences [I90]. Their opposition has diverged from much of the rest of the crypto industry, which recently sent a supportive letter urging his confirmation [I91]. The reason for this divergence may have just become clear, as Quintenz himself published July messages from a group chat with the Winklevoss twins, who pointed him to a furious public letter they sent to the CFTC Inspector General in June after reaching a settlement with the agency [I86].20 “Please take a look and let me know your thoughts after you’ve read our 13-page letter,” wrote Tyler. “7 years of lawfare trophy hunting. It’s outrageous what they did to us.” Quintenz doesn’t really push back in the conversation, though he seems to try to delay the conversation until his confirmation, writing that their complaints “should be unequivocally left to a fully confirmed chair” but that he “will address this fully and fairly if and when I am confirmed.” Later, Tyler states he is “disappointed and surprised that you haven’t seen, heard, or
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago
In regulators The CFTC has issued a no-action letter with respect to QCX, the tiny derivatives exchange Polymarket acquired in July to get their hands on its Designated Contract Markets (DCM) license [I89].16 This essentially gives Polymarket the okay to begin offering their prediction markets in the US — though given how many Americans already trade on the platform despite its supposed prohibitions, more than a few people were surprised to learn they even needed such approval. Prediction markets were once a rare phenomenon in the US — or strictly limited academic exercises — thanks to CFTC oversight that prohibited platforms from offering the types of sports, elections, and current events contracts that are now popular. Now even the academic exercise (a non-profit platform called PredictIt) will be expanding its US operations with a recent okay from the CFTC.17 Heavy pressure from these platforms in and outside of court, a favorable court ruling [I66], and new CFTC leadership that thinks these platforms are “an important new frontier”18 has resulted in this explosion of places where people can bet (sorry, trade) on everything from who will win an election or sports game, to what words public officials will use in speeches, to which countries will airstrike one another. Now when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatens to punch Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte in the face,19 speculators can gamble on the likelihood that Bessent actually throws a punch (tr
In regulators The CFTC has issued a no-action letter with respect to QCX, the tiny derivatives exchange Polymarket acquired in July to get their hands on its Designated Contract Markets (DCM) license [I89].16 This essentially gives Polymarket the okay to begin offering their prediction markets in the US — though given how many Americans already trade on the platform despite its supposed prohibitions, more than a few people were surprised to learn they even needed such approval. Prediction markets were once a rare phenomenon in the US — or strictly limited academic exercises — thanks to CFTC oversight that prohibited platforms from offering the types of sports, elections, and current events contracts that are now popular. Now even the academic exercise (a non-profit platform called PredictIt) will be expanding its US operations with a recent okay from the CFTC.17 Heavy pressure from these platforms in and outside of court, a favorable court ruling [I66], and new CFTC leadership that thinks these platforms are “an important new frontier”18 has resulted in this explosion of places where people can bet (sorry, trade) on everything from who will win an election or sports game, to what words public officials will use in speeches, to which countries will airstrike one another. Now when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatens to punch Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte in the face,19 speculators can gamble on the likelihood that Bessent actually throws a punch (tr
In regulators The CFTC has issued a no-action letter with respect to QCX, the tiny derivatives exchange Polymarket acquired in July to get their hands on its Designated Contract Markets (DCM) license [I89].16 This essentially gives Polymarket the okay to begin offering their prediction markets in the US — though given how many Americans already trade on the platform despite its supposed prohibitions, more than a few people were surprised to learn they even needed such approval. Prediction markets were once a rare phenomenon in the US — or strictly limited academic exercises — thanks to CFTC oversight that prohibited platforms from offering the types of sports, elections, and current events contracts that are now popular. Now even the academic exercise (a non-profit platform called PredictIt) will be expanding its US operations with a recent okay from the CFTC.17 Heavy pressure from these platforms in and outside of court, a favorable court ruling [I66], and new CFTC leadership that thinks these platforms are “an important new frontier”18 has resulted in this explosion of places where people can bet (sorry, trade) on everything from who will win an election or sports game, to what words public officials will use in speeches, to which countries will airstrike one another. Now when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatens to punch Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte in the face,19 speculators can gamble on the likelihood that Bessent actually throws a punch (tr
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago
In regulators The CFTC has issued a no-action letter with respect to QCX, the tiny derivatives exchange Polymarket acquired in July to get their hands on its Designated Contract Markets (DCM) license [I89].16 This essentially gives Polymarket the okay to begin offering their prediction markets in the US — though given how many Americans already trade on the platform despite its supposed prohibitions, more than a few people were surprised to learn they even needed such approval. Prediction markets were once a rare phenomenon in the US — or strictly limited academic exercises — thanks to CFTC oversight that prohibited platforms from offering the types of sports, elections, and current events contracts that are now popular. Now even the academic exercise (a non-profit platform called PredictIt) will be expanding its US operations with a recent okay from the CFTC.17 Heavy pressure from these platforms in and outside of court, a favorable court ruling [I66], and new CFTC leadership that thinks these platforms are “an important new frontier”18 has resulted in this explosion of places where people can bet (sorry, trade) on everything from who will win an election or sports game, to what words public officials will use in speeches, to which countries will airstrike one another. Now when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatens to punch Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte in the face,19 speculators can gamble on the likelihood that Bessent actually throws a punch (tr
In regulators The CFTC has issued a no-action letter with respect to QCX, the tiny derivatives exchange Polymarket acquired in July to get their hands on its Designated Contract Markets (DCM) license [I89].16 This essentially gives Polymarket the okay to begin offering their prediction markets in the US — though given how many Americans already trade on the platform despite its supposed prohibitions, more than a few people were surprised to learn they even needed such approval. Prediction markets were once a rare phenomenon in the US — or strictly limited academic exercises — thanks to CFTC oversight that prohibited platforms from offering the types of sports, elections, and current events contracts that are now popular. Now even the academic exercise (a non-profit platform called PredictIt) will be expanding its US operations with a recent okay from the CFTC.17 Heavy pressure from these platforms in and outside of court, a favorable court ruling [I66], and new CFTC leadership that thinks these platforms are “an important new frontier”18 has resulted in this explosion of places where people can bet (sorry, trade) on everything from who will win an election or sports game, to what words public officials will use in speeches, to which countries will airstrike one another. Now when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatens to punch Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte in the face,19 speculators can gamble on the likelihood that Bessent actually throws a punch (tr
In regulators The CFTC has issued a no-action letter with respect to QCX, the tiny derivatives exchange Polymarket acquired in July to get their hands on its Designated Contract Markets (DCM) license [I89].16 This essentially gives Polymarket the okay to begin offering their prediction markets in the US — though given how many Americans already trade on the platform despite its supposed prohibitions, more than a few people were surprised to learn they even needed such approval. Prediction markets were once a rare phenomenon in the US — or strictly limited academic exercises — thanks to CFTC oversight that prohibited platforms from offering the types of sports, elections, and current events contracts that are now popular. Now even the academic exercise (a non-profit platform called PredictIt) will be expanding its US operations with a recent okay from the CFTC.17 Heavy pressure from these platforms in and outside of court, a favorable court ruling [I66], and new CFTC leadership that thinks these platforms are “an important new frontier”18 has resulted in this explosion of places where people can bet (sorry, trade) on everything from who will win an election or sports game, to what words public officials will use in speeches, to which countries will airstrike one another. Now when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatens to punch Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte in the face,19 speculators can gamble on the likelihood that Bessent actually throws a punch (tr
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago
Thank goodness the CFTC is finally warming up to legitimate hedging activities! As an aside, one of my favorite pasttimes these days is opening up the currently CFTC-regulated Kalshi and trying to imagine who is “legitimately hedging” their business activities in markets like these ones. (Everyone needs a hobby, okay?) Screenshots of markets: Who will be a bridesmaid for the wedding of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift? Will Kai Cenat cut their hair on stream before Oct 1, 2025?
Thank goodness the CFTC is finally warming up to legitimate hedging activities! As an aside, one of my favorite pasttimes these days is opening up the currently CFTC-regulated Kalshi and trying to imagine who is “legitimately hedging” their business activities in markets like these ones. (Everyone needs a hobby, okay?) Screenshots of markets: Who will be a bridesmaid for the wedding of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift? Will Kai Cenat cut their hair on stream before Oct 1, 2025?
Thank goodness the CFTC is finally warming up to legitimate hedging activities! As an aside, one of my favorite pasttimes these days is opening up the currently CFTC-regulated Kalshi and trying to imagine who is “legitimately hedging” their business activities in markets like these ones. (Everyone needs a hobby, okay?) Screenshots of markets: Who will be a bridesmaid for the wedding of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift? Will Kai Cenat cut their hair on stream before Oct 1, 2025?
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago
It’s certainly possible that some demands will be dropped during negotiations, but this strikes me as the strongest pushback we’ve seen thus far from the set of pro-crypto Democrats who’ve in the past provided the votes needed to pass the industry’s favored legislation. The letter was published by Ruben Gallego, one of the two Senate Democrats who received support from the crypto industry super PACs in 2024. Both Gallego and Elissa Slotkin received $10 million in industry backing; Slotkin did not sign on to the framework. (Other Senate Democrats, such as Kirstin Gillibrand, received contributions from individual crypto executives, but were not supported by the PACs. Gillibrand received the most direct support of any Senate Democrats, but at around $100,000 it was considerably less than the PACs contributed.)
It’s certainly possible that some demands will be dropped during negotiations, but this strikes me as the strongest pushback we’ve seen thus far from the set of pro-crypto Democrats who’ve in the past provided the votes needed to pass the industry’s favored legislation. The letter was published by Ruben Gallego, one of the two Senate Democrats who received support from the crypto industry super PACs in 2024. Both Gallego and Elissa Slotkin received $10 million in industry backing; Slotkin did not sign on to the framework. (Other Senate Democrats, such as Kirstin Gillibrand, received contributions from individual crypto executives, but were not supported by the PACs. Gillibrand received the most direct support of any Senate Democrats, but at around $100,000 it was considerably less than the PACs contributed.)
It’s certainly possible that some demands will be dropped during negotiations, but this strikes me as the strongest pushback we’ve seen thus far from the set of pro-crypto Democrats who’ve in the past provided the votes needed to pass the industry’s favored legislation. The letter was published by Ruben Gallego, one of the two Senate Democrats who received support from the crypto industry super PACs in 2024. Both Gallego and Elissa Slotkin received $10 million in industry backing; Slotkin did not sign on to the framework. (Other Senate Democrats, such as Kirstin Gillibrand, received contributions from individual crypto executives, but were not supported by the PACs. Gillibrand received the most direct support of any Senate Democrats, but at around $100,000 it was considerably less than the PACs contributed.)
Democrats’ past objections to the Trump family’s crypto self-enrichment, raised during debates over bills like the Genius Act [I84], have yet to seriously threaten the legislation’s passage. However, these objections were raised most loudly by Democrats not likely to support the legislation anyway — not from the same Democratic Senators who provided the necessary votes to pass Genius. This framework was signed by eleven of the eighteen Democrats who voted for the Genius Act, plus Senator Blunt Rochester, who supported Genius during the cloture stage but switched to a no vote on the bill itself. Seven Democratic Senators who voted for Genius did not sign on to this framework: Fetterman (PA), Hassan (NH), Heinrich (NM), Ossoff (GA), Padilla (CA), Rosen (NV), and Slotkin (MI). Senator State Voted for Genius cloture Voted for Genius Signed framework letter Alsobrooks MD Y Y Y Blunt Rochester DE Y N Y Booker NJ Y Y Y Cortez Masto NV Y Y Y Fetterman PA Y Y N Gallego AZ Y Y Y Gillibrand NY Y Y Y Hassan NH Y Y N Heinrich NM Y Y N Hickenlooper CO N Y Y Kim NJ N Y Y Lujan NM Y Y Y Ossoff GA Y Y N Padilla CA Y Y N Rosen NV Y Y N Schiff CA Y Y Y Slotkin MI Y Y N Warner VA Y Y Y Warnock GA N Y Y
Democrats’ past objections to the Trump family’s crypto self-enrichment, raised during debates over bills like the Genius Act [I84], have yet to seriously threaten the legislation’s passage. However, these objections were raised most loudly by Democrats not likely to support the legislation anyway — not from the same Democratic Senators who provided the necessary votes to pass Genius. This framework was signed by eleven of the eighteen Democrats who voted for the Genius Act, plus Senator Blunt Rochester, who supported Genius during the cloture stage but switched to a no vote on the bill itself. Seven Democratic Senators who voted for Genius did not sign on to this framework: Fetterman (PA), Hassan (NH), Heinrich (NM), Ossoff (GA), Padilla (CA), Rosen (NV), and Slotkin (MI). Senator State Voted for Genius cloture Voted for Genius Signed framework letter Alsobrooks MD Y Y Y Blunt Rochester DE Y N Y Booker NJ Y Y Y Cortez Masto NV Y Y Y Fetterman PA Y Y N Gallego AZ Y Y Y Gillibrand NY Y Y Y Hassan NH Y Y N Heinrich NM Y Y N Hickenlooper CO N Y Y Kim NJ N Y Y Lujan NM Y Y Y Ossoff GA Y Y N Padilla CA Y Y N Rosen NV Y Y N Schiff CA Y Y Y Slotkin MI Y Y N Warner VA Y Y Y Warnock GA N Y Y
Democrats’ past objections to the Trump family’s crypto self-enrichment, raised during debates over bills like the Genius Act [I84], have yet to seriously threaten the legislation’s passage. However, these objections were raised most loudly by Democrats not likely to support the legislation anyway — not from the same Democratic Senators who provided the necessary votes to pass Genius. This framework was signed by eleven of the eighteen Democrats who voted for the Genius Act, plus Senator Blunt Rochester, who supported Genius during the cloture stage but switched to a no vote on the bill itself. Seven Democratic Senators who voted for Genius did not sign on to this framework: Fetterman (PA), Hassan (NH), Heinrich (NM), Ossoff (GA), Padilla (CA), Rosen (NV), and Slotkin (MI). Senator State Voted for Genius cloture Voted for Genius Signed framework letter Alsobrooks MD Y Y Y Blunt Rochester DE Y N Y Booker NJ Y Y Y Cortez Masto NV Y Y Y Fetterman PA Y Y N Gallego AZ Y Y Y Gillibrand NY Y Y Y Hassan NH Y Y N Heinrich NM Y Y N Hickenlooper CO N Y Y Kim NJ N Y Y Lujan NM Y Y Y Ossoff GA Y Y N Padilla CA Y Y N Rosen NV Y Y N Schiff CA Y Y Y Slotkin MI Y Y N Warner VA Y Y Y Warnock GA N Y Y
The pro-crypto wing of the Senate Democrats has indicated willingness to negotiate a market structure bill, but suggested they will not sign off on one without some conditions. This is both good and bad for the crypto industry: on the one hand, they may get a bill through before the midterm elections, which is priority number one for an industry nervous that the Republican trifecta may not survive past 2026, and wants to see a bill signed into law so that the industry’s “progress” cannot be so easily rolled back. On the other hand, the Democrats are asking for more significant changes than they demanded in negotiations over the Genius Act — some of which could be stumbling blocks if the Democrats stick to their guns. These include things like amendments to the draft regulation to ensure that the SEC and CFTC have the authority and funding to oversee crypto markets without leaving any assets in a regulatory vacuum, and strengthening consumer protections (including by preserving state regulatory and CFPB authorityb). They also want to see elected officials and their families prohibited from “issuing, endorsing, or profiting from digital assets while in office”, and require disclosures from officials who hold digital assets. They demand that “commissioners from both parties sit at the SEC and CFTC to create a quorum for digital asset rulemakings”, seemingly addressing the concern that Trump will leave the CFTC as a one-man agency [I91].15
The pro-crypto wing of the Senate Democrats has indicated willingness to negotiate a market structure bill, but suggested they will not sign off on one without some conditions. This is both good and bad for the crypto industry: on the one hand, they may get a bill through before the midterm elections, which is priority number one for an industry nervous that the Republican trifecta may not survive past 2026, and wants to see a bill signed into law so that the industry’s “progress” cannot be so easily rolled back. On the other hand, the Democrats are asking for more significant changes than they demanded in negotiations over the Genius Act — some of which could be stumbling blocks if the Democrats stick to their guns. These include things like amendments to the draft regulation to ensure that the SEC and CFTC have the authority and funding to oversee crypto markets without leaving any assets in a regulatory vacuum, and strengthening consumer protections (including by preserving state regulatory and CFPB authorityb). They also want to see elected officials and their families prohibited from “issuing, endorsing, or profiting from digital assets while in office”, and require disclosures from officials who hold digital assets. They demand that “commissioners from both parties sit at the SEC and CFTC to create a quorum for digital asset rulemakings”, seemingly addressing the concern that Trump will leave the CFTC as a one-man agency [I91].15
The pro-crypto wing of the Senate Democrats has indicated willingness to negotiate a market structure bill, but suggested they will not sign off on one without some conditions. This is both good and bad for the crypto industry: on the one hand, they may get a bill through before the midterm elections, which is priority number one for an industry nervous that the Republican trifecta may not survive past 2026, and wants to see a bill signed into law so that the industry’s “progress” cannot be so easily rolled back. On the other hand, the Democrats are asking for more significant changes than they demanded in negotiations over the Genius Act — some of which could be stumbling blocks if the Democrats stick to their guns. These include things like amendments to the draft regulation to ensure that the SEC and CFTC have the authority and funding to oversee crypto markets without leaving any assets in a regulatory vacuum, and strengthening consumer protections (including by preserving state regulatory and CFPB authorityb). They also want to see elected officials and their families prohibited from “issuing, endorsing, or profiting from digital assets while in office”, and require disclosures from officials who hold digital assets. They demand that “commissioners from both parties sit at the SEC and CFTC to create a quorum for digital asset rulemakings”, seemingly addressing the concern that Trump will leave the CFTC as a one-man agency [I91].15
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago
In regulators The CFTC has issued a no-action letter with respect to QCX, the tiny derivatives exchange Polymarket acquired in July to get their hands on its Designated Contract Markets (DCM) license [I89].16 This essentially gives Polymarket the okay to begin offering their prediction markets in the US — though given how many Americans already trade on the platform despite its supposed prohibitions, more than a few people were surprised to learn they even needed such approval. Prediction markets were once a rare phenomenon in the US — or strictly limited academic exercises — thanks to CFTC oversight that prohibited platforms from offering the types of sports, elections, and current events contracts that are now popular. Now even the academic exercise (a non-profit platform called PredictIt) will be expanding its US operations with a recent okay from the CFTC.17 Heavy pressure from these platforms in and outside of court, a favorable court ruling [I66], and new CFTC leadership that thinks these platforms are “an important new frontier”18 has resulted in this explosion of places where people can bet (sorry, trade) on everything from who will win an election or sports game, to what words public officials will use in speeches, to which countries will airstrike one another. Now when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatens to punch Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte in the face,19 speculators can gamble on the likelihood that Bessent actually throws a punch (tr
In regulators The CFTC has issued a no-action letter with respect to QCX, the tiny derivatives exchange Polymarket acquired in July to get their hands on its Designated Contract Markets (DCM) license [I89].16 This essentially gives Polymarket the okay to begin offering their prediction markets in the US — though given how many Americans already trade on the platform despite its supposed prohibitions, more than a few people were surprised to learn they even needed such approval. Prediction markets were once a rare phenomenon in the US — or strictly limited academic exercises — thanks to CFTC oversight that prohibited platforms from offering the types of sports, elections, and current events contracts that are now popular. Now even the academic exercise (a non-profit platform called PredictIt) will be expanding its US operations with a recent okay from the CFTC.17 Heavy pressure from these platforms in and outside of court, a favorable court ruling [I66], and new CFTC leadership that thinks these platforms are “an important new frontier”18 has resulted in this explosion of places where people can bet (sorry, trade) on everything from who will win an election or sports game, to what words public officials will use in speeches, to which countries will airstrike one another. Now when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatens to punch Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte in the face,19 speculators can gamble on the likelihood that Bessent actually throws a punch (tr
In regulators The CFTC has issued a no-action letter with respect to QCX, the tiny derivatives exchange Polymarket acquired in July to get their hands on its Designated Contract Markets (DCM) license [I89].16 This essentially gives Polymarket the okay to begin offering their prediction markets in the US — though given how many Americans already trade on the platform despite its supposed prohibitions, more than a few people were surprised to learn they even needed such approval. Prediction markets were once a rare phenomenon in the US — or strictly limited academic exercises — thanks to CFTC oversight that prohibited platforms from offering the types of sports, elections, and current events contracts that are now popular. Now even the academic exercise (a non-profit platform called PredictIt) will be expanding its US operations with a recent okay from the CFTC.17 Heavy pressure from these platforms in and outside of court, a favorable court ruling [I66], and new CFTC leadership that thinks these platforms are “an important new frontier”18 has resulted in this explosion of places where people can bet (sorry, trade) on everything from who will win an election or sports game, to what words public officials will use in speeches, to which countries will airstrike one another. Now when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatens to punch Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte in the face,19 speculators can gamble on the likelihood that Bessent actually throws a punch (tr
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago
In Congress Congress has returned from its summer recess, and we will now likely see Republicans pushing hard to pass a crypto market structure bill as quickly as possible. Though the House passed its Clarity Act bill in July [I89], the Senate has so far focused on drafting its own legislation. The Senate Banking Committee published a new draft bill shortly after returning, which, among other things, directs the SEC and CFTC to establish a Joint Advisory Committee on Digital Assets to “further the regulatory harmonization of digital asset policy” between the two agencies. The new bill also includes a new clause regarding tokenized stocks, apparently aimed at addressing concerns (including from me [I88]) that any securities issuer could enjoy a Get Out of SEC Regulation Free card merely by issuing their security on-chain. The new draft states: “any instrument that is a security under the securities laws shall not cease to be a security because that instrument is issued, recorded, represented, or transferred using distributed ledger technology”.13 Banking Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) issued a statement after the draft was released, saying that the newest proposal “reportedly reflects secret feedback from industry and other stakeholders that Republicans refuse to share with Committee Democrats, or the public.” She has slammed the proposals as “industry-written”, and demanded the Republicans release the industry feedback that shaped the bill.14
In Congress Congress has returned from its summer recess, and we will now likely see Republicans pushing hard to pass a crypto market structure bill as quickly as possible. Though the House passed its Clarity Act bill in July [I89], the Senate has so far focused on drafting its own legislation. The Senate Banking Committee published a new draft bill shortly after returning, which, among other things, directs the SEC and CFTC to establish a Joint Advisory Committee on Digital Assets to “further the regulatory harmonization of digital asset policy” between the two agencies. The new bill also includes a new clause regarding tokenized stocks, apparently aimed at addressing concerns (including from me [I88]) that any securities issuer could enjoy a Get Out of SEC Regulation Free card merely by issuing their security on-chain. The new draft states: “any instrument that is a security under the securities laws shall not cease to be a security because that instrument is issued, recorded, represented, or transferred using distributed ledger technology”.13 Banking Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) issued a statement after the draft was released, saying that the newest proposal “reportedly reflects secret feedback from industry and other stakeholders that Republicans refuse to share with Committee Democrats, or the public.” She has slammed the proposals as “industry-written”, and demanded the Republicans release the industry feedback that shaped the bill.14
In Congress Congress has returned from its summer recess, and we will now likely see Republicans pushing hard to pass a crypto market structure bill as quickly as possible. Though the House passed its Clarity Act bill in July [I89], the Senate has so far focused on drafting its own legislation. The Senate Banking Committee published a new draft bill shortly after returning, which, among other things, directs the SEC and CFTC to establish a Joint Advisory Committee on Digital Assets to “further the regulatory harmonization of digital asset policy” between the two agencies. The new bill also includes a new clause regarding tokenized stocks, apparently aimed at addressing concerns (including from me [I88]) that any securities issuer could enjoy a Get Out of SEC Regulation Free card merely by issuing their security on-chain. The new draft states: “any instrument that is a security under the securities laws shall not cease to be a security because that instrument is issued, recorded, represented, or transferred using distributed ledger technology”.13 Banking Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) issued a statement after the draft was released, saying that the newest proposal “reportedly reflects secret feedback from industry and other stakeholders that Republicans refuse to share with Committee Democrats, or the public.” She has slammed the proposals as “industry-written”, and demanded the Republicans release the industry feedback that shaped the bill.14
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago
It’s certainly possible that some demands will be dropped during negotiations, but this strikes me as the strongest pushback we’ve seen thus far from the set of pro-crypto Democrats who’ve in the past provided the votes needed to pass the industry’s favored legislation. The letter was published by Ruben Gallego, one of the two Senate Democrats who received support from the crypto industry super PACs in 2024. Both Gallego and Elissa Slotkin received $10 million in industry backing; Slotkin did not sign on to the framework. (Other Senate Democrats, such as Kirstin Gillibrand, received contributions from individual crypto executives, but were not supported by the PACs. Gillibrand received the most direct support of any Senate Democrats, but at around $100,000 it was considerably less than the PACs contributed.)
It’s certainly possible that some demands will be dropped during negotiations, but this strikes me as the strongest pushback we’ve seen thus far from the set of pro-crypto Democrats who’ve in the past provided the votes needed to pass the industry’s favored legislation. The letter was published by Ruben Gallego, one of the two Senate Democrats who received support from the crypto industry super PACs in 2024. Both Gallego and Elissa Slotkin received $10 million in industry backing; Slotkin did not sign on to the framework. (Other Senate Democrats, such as Kirstin Gillibrand, received contributions from individual crypto executives, but were not supported by the PACs. Gillibrand received the most direct support of any Senate Democrats, but at around $100,000 it was considerably less than the PACs contributed.)
It’s certainly possible that some demands will be dropped during negotiations, but this strikes me as the strongest pushback we’ve seen thus far from the set of pro-crypto Democrats who’ve in the past provided the votes needed to pass the industry’s favored legislation. The letter was published by Ruben Gallego, one of the two Senate Democrats who received support from the crypto industry super PACs in 2024. Both Gallego and Elissa Slotkin received $10 million in industry backing; Slotkin did not sign on to the framework. (Other Senate Democrats, such as Kirstin Gillibrand, received contributions from individual crypto executives, but were not supported by the PACs. Gillibrand received the most direct support of any Senate Democrats, but at around $100,000 it was considerably less than the PACs contributed.)
Democrats’ past objections to the Trump family’s crypto self-enrichment, raised during debates over bills like the Genius Act [I84], have yet to seriously threaten the legislation’s passage. However, these objections were raised most loudly by Democrats not likely to support the legislation anyway — not from the same Democratic Senators who provided the necessary votes to pass Genius. This framework was signed by eleven of the eighteen Democrats who voted for the Genius Act, plus Senator Blunt Rochester, who supported Genius during the cloture stage but switched to a no vote on the bill itself. Seven Democratic Senators who voted for Genius did not sign on to this framework: Fetterman (PA), Hassan (NH), Heinrich (NM), Ossoff (GA), Padilla (CA), Rosen (NV), and Slotkin (MI). Senator State Voted for Genius cloture Voted for Genius Signed framework letter Alsobrooks MD Y Y Y Blunt Rochester DE Y N Y Booker NJ Y Y Y Cortez Masto NV Y Y Y Fetterman PA Y Y N Gallego AZ Y Y Y Gillibrand NY Y Y Y Hassan NH Y Y N Heinrich NM Y Y N Hickenlooper CO N Y Y Kim NJ N Y Y Lujan NM Y Y Y Ossoff GA Y Y N Padilla CA Y Y N Rosen NV Y Y N Schiff CA Y Y Y Slotkin MI Y Y N Warner VA Y Y Y Warnock GA N Y Y
Democrats’ past objections to the Trump family’s crypto self-enrichment, raised during debates over bills like the Genius Act [I84], have yet to seriously threaten the legislation’s passage. However, these objections were raised most loudly by Democrats not likely to support the legislation anyway — not from the same Democratic Senators who provided the necessary votes to pass Genius. This framework was signed by eleven of the eighteen Democrats who voted for the Genius Act, plus Senator Blunt Rochester, who supported Genius during the cloture stage but switched to a no vote on the bill itself. Seven Democratic Senators who voted for Genius did not sign on to this framework: Fetterman (PA), Hassan (NH), Heinrich (NM), Ossoff (GA), Padilla (CA), Rosen (NV), and Slotkin (MI). Senator State Voted for Genius cloture Voted for Genius Signed framework letter Alsobrooks MD Y Y Y Blunt Rochester DE Y N Y Booker NJ Y Y Y Cortez Masto NV Y Y Y Fetterman PA Y Y N Gallego AZ Y Y Y Gillibrand NY Y Y Y Hassan NH Y Y N Heinrich NM Y Y N Hickenlooper CO N Y Y Kim NJ N Y Y Lujan NM Y Y Y Ossoff GA Y Y N Padilla CA Y Y N Rosen NV Y Y N Schiff CA Y Y Y Slotkin MI Y Y N Warner VA Y Y Y Warnock GA N Y Y
Democrats’ past objections to the Trump family’s crypto self-enrichment, raised during debates over bills like the Genius Act [I84], have yet to seriously threaten the legislation’s passage. However, these objections were raised most loudly by Democrats not likely to support the legislation anyway — not from the same Democratic Senators who provided the necessary votes to pass Genius. This framework was signed by eleven of the eighteen Democrats who voted for the Genius Act, plus Senator Blunt Rochester, who supported Genius during the cloture stage but switched to a no vote on the bill itself. Seven Democratic Senators who voted for Genius did not sign on to this framework: Fetterman (PA), Hassan (NH), Heinrich (NM), Ossoff (GA), Padilla (CA), Rosen (NV), and Slotkin (MI). Senator State Voted for Genius cloture Voted for Genius Signed framework letter Alsobrooks MD Y Y Y Blunt Rochester DE Y N Y Booker NJ Y Y Y Cortez Masto NV Y Y Y Fetterman PA Y Y N Gallego AZ Y Y Y Gillibrand NY Y Y Y Hassan NH Y Y N Heinrich NM Y Y N Hickenlooper CO N Y Y Kim NJ N Y Y Lujan NM Y Y Y Ossoff GA Y Y N Padilla CA Y Y N Rosen NV Y Y N Schiff CA Y Y Y Slotkin MI Y Y N Warner VA Y Y Y Warnock GA N Y Y
The pro-crypto wing of the Senate Democrats has indicated willingness to negotiate a market structure bill, but suggested they will not sign off on one without some conditions. This is both good and bad for the crypto industry: on the one hand, they may get a bill through before the midterm elections, which is priority number one for an industry nervous that the Republican trifecta may not survive past 2026, and wants to see a bill signed into law so that the industry’s “progress” cannot be so easily rolled back. On the other hand, the Democrats are asking for more significant changes than they demanded in negotiations over the Genius Act — some of which could be stumbling blocks if the Democrats stick to their guns. These include things like amendments to the draft regulation to ensure that the SEC and CFTC have the authority and funding to oversee crypto markets without leaving any assets in a regulatory vacuum, and strengthening consumer protections (including by preserving state regulatory and CFPB authorityb). They also want to see elected officials and their families prohibited from “issuing, endorsing, or profiting from digital assets while in office”, and require disclosures from officials who hold digital assets. They demand that “commissioners from both parties sit at the SEC and CFTC to create a quorum for digital asset rulemakings”, seemingly addressing the concern that Trump will leave the CFTC as a one-man agency [I91].15
The pro-crypto wing of the Senate Democrats has indicated willingness to negotiate a market structure bill, but suggested they will not sign off on one without some conditions. This is both good and bad for the crypto industry: on the one hand, they may get a bill through before the midterm elections, which is priority number one for an industry nervous that the Republican trifecta may not survive past 2026, and wants to see a bill signed into law so that the industry’s “progress” cannot be so easily rolled back. On the other hand, the Democrats are asking for more significant changes than they demanded in negotiations over the Genius Act — some of which could be stumbling blocks if the Democrats stick to their guns. These include things like amendments to the draft regulation to ensure that the SEC and CFTC have the authority and funding to oversee crypto markets without leaving any assets in a regulatory vacuum, and strengthening consumer protections (including by preserving state regulatory and CFPB authorityb). They also want to see elected officials and their families prohibited from “issuing, endorsing, or profiting from digital assets while in office”, and require disclosures from officials who hold digital assets. They demand that “commissioners from both parties sit at the SEC and CFTC to create a quorum for digital asset rulemakings”, seemingly addressing the concern that Trump will leave the CFTC as a one-man agency [I91].15
The pro-crypto wing of the Senate Democrats has indicated willingness to negotiate a market structure bill, but suggested they will not sign off on one without some conditions. This is both good and bad for the crypto industry: on the one hand, they may get a bill through before the midterm elections, which is priority number one for an industry nervous that the Republican trifecta may not survive past 2026, and wants to see a bill signed into law so that the industry’s “progress” cannot be so easily rolled back. On the other hand, the Democrats are asking for more significant changes than they demanded in negotiations over the Genius Act — some of which could be stumbling blocks if the Democrats stick to their guns. These include things like amendments to the draft regulation to ensure that the SEC and CFTC have the authority and funding to oversee crypto markets without leaving any assets in a regulatory vacuum, and strengthening consumer protections (including by preserving state regulatory and CFPB authorityb). They also want to see elected officials and their families prohibited from “issuing, endorsing, or profiting from digital assets while in office”, and require disclosures from officials who hold digital assets. They demand that “commissioners from both parties sit at the SEC and CFTC to create a quorum for digital asset rulemakings”, seemingly addressing the concern that Trump will leave the CFTC as a one-man agency [I91].15
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago
Alt5 Sigma When I wrote up the news in August that the Trumps and World Liberty Financial were creating a WLFI treasury company with the Nasdaq-listed ALT5 Sigma, I noted [I90]: [Alt5 Sigma will] add Eric Trump and World Liberty Financial executives Zach Witkoff and Zak Folkman to its board. All three have a financial interest in World Liberty Financial, presenting a blatant conflict of interest in their roles on the ALT5 board. Evidently, the Nasdaq at least partly agreed, because a new ALT5 Sigma SEC filing has amended their plans to say that “in order to comply with Nasdaq’s listing rules”, Eric Trump will merely be a board observer. Witkoff will still join the board (as chair, no less); Folkman will be an observer and, subject to stockholder approval, a director.11 ALT5 Sigma’s first action as a company will be to purchase $750 million in WLFI tokens to create its treasury. With 75% of WLFI token proceeds going directly to the Trumps, they’ll pocket a cool $500 million, essentially through a deal with themselves.12
Alt5 Sigma When I wrote up the news in August that the Trumps and World Liberty Financial were creating a WLFI treasury company with the Nasdaq-listed ALT5 Sigma, I noted [I90]: [Alt5 Sigma will] add Eric Trump and World Liberty Financial executives Zach Witkoff and Zak Folkman to its board. All three have a financial interest in World Liberty Financial, presenting a blatant conflict of interest in their roles on the ALT5 board. Evidently, the Nasdaq at least partly agreed, because a new ALT5 Sigma SEC filing has amended their plans to say that “in order to comply with Nasdaq’s listing rules”, Eric Trump will merely be a board observer. Witkoff will still join the board (as chair, no less); Folkman will be an observer and, subject to stockholder approval, a director.11 ALT5 Sigma’s first action as a company will be to purchase $750 million in WLFI tokens to create its treasury. With 75% of WLFI token proceeds going directly to the Trumps, they’ll pocket a cool $500 million, essentially through a deal with themselves.12
Alt5 Sigma When I wrote up the news in August that the Trumps and World Liberty Financial were creating a WLFI treasury company with the Nasdaq-listed ALT5 Sigma, I noted [I90]: [Alt5 Sigma will] add Eric Trump and World Liberty Financial executives Zach Witkoff and Zak Folkman to its board. All three have a financial interest in World Liberty Financial, presenting a blatant conflict of interest in their roles on the ALT5 board. Evidently, the Nasdaq at least partly agreed, because a new ALT5 Sigma SEC filing has amended their plans to say that “in order to comply with Nasdaq’s listing rules”, Eric Trump will merely be a board observer. Witkoff will still join the board (as chair, no less); Folkman will be an observer and, subject to stockholder approval, a director.11 ALT5 Sigma’s first action as a company will be to purchase $750 million in WLFI tokens to create its treasury. With 75% of WLFI token proceeds going directly to the Trumps, they’ll pocket a cool $500 million, essentially through a deal with themselves.12
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago
In Congress Congress has returned from its summer recess, and we will now likely see Republicans pushing hard to pass a crypto market structure bill as quickly as possible. Though the House passed its Clarity Act bill in July [I89], the Senate has so far focused on drafting its own legislation. The Senate Banking Committee published a new draft bill shortly after returning, which, among other things, directs the SEC and CFTC to establish a Joint Advisory Committee on Digital Assets to “further the regulatory harmonization of digital asset policy” between the two agencies. The new bill also includes a new clause regarding tokenized stocks, apparently aimed at addressing concerns (including from me [I88]) that any securities issuer could enjoy a Get Out of SEC Regulation Free card merely by issuing their security on-chain. The new draft states: “any instrument that is a security under the securities laws shall not cease to be a security because that instrument is issued, recorded, represented, or transferred using distributed ledger technology”.13 Banking Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) issued a statement after the draft was released, saying that the newest proposal “reportedly reflects secret feedback from industry and other stakeholders that Republicans refuse to share with Committee Democrats, or the public.” She has slammed the proposals as “industry-written”, and demanded the Republicans release the industry feedback that shaped the bill.14
In Congress Congress has returned from its summer recess, and we will now likely see Republicans pushing hard to pass a crypto market structure bill as quickly as possible. Though the House passed its Clarity Act bill in July [I89], the Senate has so far focused on drafting its own legislation. The Senate Banking Committee published a new draft bill shortly after returning, which, among other things, directs the SEC and CFTC to establish a Joint Advisory Committee on Digital Assets to “further the regulatory harmonization of digital asset policy” between the two agencies. The new bill also includes a new clause regarding tokenized stocks, apparently aimed at addressing concerns (including from me [I88]) that any securities issuer could enjoy a Get Out of SEC Regulation Free card merely by issuing their security on-chain. The new draft states: “any instrument that is a security under the securities laws shall not cease to be a security because that instrument is issued, recorded, represented, or transferred using distributed ledger technology”.13 Banking Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) issued a statement after the draft was released, saying that the newest proposal “reportedly reflects secret feedback from industry and other stakeholders that Republicans refuse to share with Committee Democrats, or the public.” She has slammed the proposals as “industry-written”, and demanded the Republicans release the industry feedback that shaped the bill.14
In Congress Congress has returned from its summer recess, and we will now likely see Republicans pushing hard to pass a crypto market structure bill as quickly as possible. Though the House passed its Clarity Act bill in July [I89], the Senate has so far focused on drafting its own legislation. The Senate Banking Committee published a new draft bill shortly after returning, which, among other things, directs the SEC and CFTC to establish a Joint Advisory Committee on Digital Assets to “further the regulatory harmonization of digital asset policy” between the two agencies. The new bill also includes a new clause regarding tokenized stocks, apparently aimed at addressing concerns (including from me [I88]) that any securities issuer could enjoy a Get Out of SEC Regulation Free card merely by issuing their security on-chain. The new draft states: “any instrument that is a security under the securities laws shall not cease to be a security because that instrument is issued, recorded, represented, or transferred using distributed ledger technology”.13 Banking Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) issued a statement after the draft was released, saying that the newest proposal “reportedly reflects secret feedback from industry and other stakeholders that Republicans refuse to share with Committee Democrats, or the public.” She has slammed the proposals as “industry-written”, and demanded the Republicans release the industry feedback that shaped the bill.14
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago
While World Liberty Financial hasn’t directly addressed Sun’s case, they published a Twitter thread defending their freeze policy, insisting they “only intervene to protect users, never to silence normal activity”. According to the team, they blocklisted 272 wallets — mostly belonging to confirmed phishing victims or at the owners’ own request after their addresses were compromised. The team cited “high-risk exposure” for blocking five additional wallets, and “suspected misappropriation of other holders’ funds” for one more.9 Among these was Bruno Skvorc, a Polygon developer relations employee, who received a terse email: “Thank you for reaching out. Unfortunately due to the high risk blockchain exposure associated with your wallet address, we will not be able to unlock your tokens.” Using Chainalysis tools, Skvorc traced his wallet’s alleged red flags: transactions with the Tornado Cash mixer, and indirect connections to sanctioned exchanges Garantex and Netex24. Skvorc wrote, “TLDR is, they stole my money, and because it’s the POTUS family, I can’t do anything about it. This is the new age mafia. There is no one to complain to, no one to argue with, no one to sue. It just... is. ... THIS is the scam of all scams.”10 Tweet by Bruno Skvorc: I just got a reply from @worldlibertyfi . TLDR is, they stole my money, and because it's the @POTUS family, I can't do anything about it. This is the new age mafia. There is no one to complain to, no one to argue with, no one to
While World Liberty Financial hasn’t directly addressed Sun’s case, they published a Twitter thread defending their freeze policy, insisting they “only intervene to protect users, never to silence normal activity”. According to the team, they blocklisted 272 wallets — mostly belonging to confirmed phishing victims or at the owners’ own request after their addresses were compromised. The team cited “high-risk exposure” for blocking five additional wallets, and “suspected misappropriation of other holders’ funds” for one more.9 Among these was Bruno Skvorc, a Polygon developer relations employee, who received a terse email: “Thank you for reaching out. Unfortunately due to the high risk blockchain exposure associated with your wallet address, we will not be able to unlock your tokens.” Using Chainalysis tools, Skvorc traced his wallet’s alleged red flags: transactions with the Tornado Cash mixer, and indirect connections to sanctioned exchanges Garantex and Netex24. Skvorc wrote, “TLDR is, they stole my money, and because it’s the POTUS family, I can’t do anything about it. This is the new age mafia. There is no one to complain to, no one to argue with, no one to sue. It just... is. ... THIS is the scam of all scams.”10 Tweet by Bruno Skvorc: I just got a reply from @worldlibertyfi . TLDR is, they stole my money, and because it's the @POTUS family, I can't do anything about it. This is the new age mafia. There is no one to complain to, no one to argue with, no one to
While World Liberty Financial hasn’t directly addressed Sun’s case, they published a Twitter thread defending their freeze policy, insisting they “only intervene to protect users, never to silence normal activity”. According to the team, they blocklisted 272 wallets — mostly belonging to confirmed phishing victims or at the owners’ own request after their addresses were compromised. The team cited “high-risk exposure” for blocking five additional wallets, and “suspected misappropriation of other holders’ funds” for one more.9 Among these was Bruno Skvorc, a Polygon developer relations employee, who received a terse email: “Thank you for reaching out. Unfortunately due to the high risk blockchain exposure associated with your wallet address, we will not be able to unlock your tokens.” Using Chainalysis tools, Skvorc traced his wallet’s alleged red flags: transactions with the Tornado Cash mixer, and indirect connections to sanctioned exchanges Garantex and Netex24. Skvorc wrote, “TLDR is, they stole my money, and because it’s the POTUS family, I can’t do anything about it. This is the new age mafia. There is no one to complain to, no one to argue with, no one to sue. It just... is. ... THIS is the scam of all scams.”10 Tweet by Bruno Skvorc: I just got a reply from @worldlibertyfi . TLDR is, they stole my money, and because it's the @POTUS family, I can't do anything about it. This is the new age mafia. There is no one to complain to, no one to argue with, no one to
Such functions don’t normally exist in more decentralized cryptocurrencies like bitcoin or ether, but are more common in tokens issued by centralized entities who routinely freeze tokens in sanctioned wallets or that are deemed to be associated with thefts or other illicit activity. Sun defended his actions on September 4, tweeting that he had only “carried out a few general exchange deposit tests” and that “no buying or selling was involved”. He insisted these transfers “could not possibly have any impact on the market” — apparently responding to speculation that he had been selling tokens and thus contributing to WLFI’s price decline, though it remains unclear whether this accusation came from the World Liberty team themselves or from public speculation.6 This move by World Liberty Financial stands in stark contrast to the Trump sons’ frequent complaints about being “debanked” by traditional financial institutions who they say arbitrarily denied them loans and services — the very issue they claimed inspired them to create this project. Sun has publicly appealed to the project team, saying his tokens were “unreasonably frozen” and that he “deserve[s] the same rights” as other early buyers. He wrote, “I call on the team to respect these principles, unlock my tokens, and let’s move forward together toward the success of World Liberty Financials [sic].”7 Perhaps in an attempt to mollify the World Liberty Financial team, Sun tweeted the following day that he planned to purchase
Such functions don’t normally exist in more decentralized cryptocurrencies like bitcoin or ether, but are more common in tokens issued by centralized entities who routinely freeze tokens in sanctioned wallets or that are deemed to be associated with thefts or other illicit activity. Sun defended his actions on September 4, tweeting that he had only “carried out a few general exchange deposit tests” and that “no buying or selling was involved”. He insisted these transfers “could not possibly have any impact on the market” — apparently responding to speculation that he had been selling tokens and thus contributing to WLFI’s price decline, though it remains unclear whether this accusation came from the World Liberty team themselves or from public speculation.6 This move by World Liberty Financial stands in stark contrast to the Trump sons’ frequent complaints about being “debanked” by traditional financial institutions who they say arbitrarily denied them loans and services — the very issue they claimed inspired them to create this project. Sun has publicly appealed to the project team, saying his tokens were “unreasonably frozen” and that he “deserve[s] the same rights” as other early buyers. He wrote, “I call on the team to respect these principles, unlock my tokens, and let’s move forward together toward the success of World Liberty Financials [sic].”7 Perhaps in an attempt to mollify the World Liberty Financial team, Sun tweeted the following day that he planned to purchase
Such functions don’t normally exist in more decentralized cryptocurrencies like bitcoin or ether, but are more common in tokens issued by centralized entities who routinely freeze tokens in sanctioned wallets or that are deemed to be associated with thefts or other illicit activity. Sun defended his actions on September 4, tweeting that he had only “carried out a few general exchange deposit tests” and that “no buying or selling was involved”. He insisted these transfers “could not possibly have any impact on the market” — apparently responding to speculation that he had been selling tokens and thus contributing to WLFI’s price decline, though it remains unclear whether this accusation came from the World Liberty team themselves or from public speculation.6 This move by World Liberty Financial stands in stark contrast to the Trump sons’ frequent complaints about being “debanked” by traditional financial institutions who they say arbitrarily denied them loans and services — the very issue they claimed inspired them to create this project. Sun has publicly appealed to the project team, saying his tokens were “unreasonably frozen” and that he “deserve[s] the same rights” as other early buyers. He wrote, “I call on the team to respect these principles, unlock my tokens, and let’s move forward together toward the success of World Liberty Financials [sic].”7 Perhaps in an attempt to mollify the World Liberty Financial team, Sun tweeted the following day that he planned to purchase
In a surprising turn of events, World Liberty Financial also blocked Justin Sun, their largest known investor, from accessing his tokens. While Sun holds approximately 3 billion WLFI tokens in total, with 595 million unlockeda when secondary trading began, the team froze his wallet after he transferred around 55 million tokens (priced at roughly $9 million at the time). They did this using a function in the WLFI smart contract that allows them to blocklist specific wallet addresses. Screenshot: A query for isBlacklisted on the wallet 0x5AB26169051d0D96217949ADb91E86e51a5FDA74, showing a response of true
In a surprising turn of events, World Liberty Financial also blocked Justin Sun, their largest known investor, from accessing his tokens. While Sun holds approximately 3 billion WLFI tokens in total, with 595 million unlockeda when secondary trading began, the team froze his wallet after he transferred around 55 million tokens (priced at roughly $9 million at the time). They did this using a function in the WLFI smart contract that allows them to blocklist specific wallet addresses. Screenshot: A query for isBlacklisted on the wallet 0x5AB26169051d0D96217949ADb91E86e51a5FDA74, showing a response of true
In a surprising turn of events, World Liberty Financial also blocked Justin Sun, their largest known investor, from accessing his tokens. While Sun holds approximately 3 billion WLFI tokens in total, with 595 million unlockeda when secondary trading began, the team froze his wallet after he transferred around 55 million tokens (priced at roughly $9 million at the time). They did this using a function in the WLFI smart contract that allows them to blocklist specific wallet addresses. Screenshot: A query for isBlacklisted on the wallet 0x5AB26169051d0D96217949ADb91E86e51a5FDA74, showing a response of true
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago
Alt5 Sigma When I wrote up the news in August that the Trumps and World Liberty Financial were creating a WLFI treasury company with the Nasdaq-listed ALT5 Sigma, I noted [I90]: [Alt5 Sigma will] add Eric Trump and World Liberty Financial executives Zach Witkoff and Zak Folkman to its board. All three have a financial interest in World Liberty Financial, presenting a blatant conflict of interest in their roles on the ALT5 board. Evidently, the Nasdaq at least partly agreed, because a new ALT5 Sigma SEC filing has amended their plans to say that “in order to comply with Nasdaq’s listing rules”, Eric Trump will merely be a board observer. Witkoff will still join the board (as chair, no less); Folkman will be an observer and, subject to stockholder approval, a director.11 ALT5 Sigma’s first action as a company will be to purchase $750 million in WLFI tokens to create its treasury. With 75% of WLFI token proceeds going directly to the Trumps, they’ll pocket a cool $500 million, essentially through a deal with themselves.12
Alt5 Sigma When I wrote up the news in August that the Trumps and World Liberty Financial were creating a WLFI treasury company with the Nasdaq-listed ALT5 Sigma, I noted [I90]: [Alt5 Sigma will] add Eric Trump and World Liberty Financial executives Zach Witkoff and Zak Folkman to its board. All three have a financial interest in World Liberty Financial, presenting a blatant conflict of interest in their roles on the ALT5 board. Evidently, the Nasdaq at least partly agreed, because a new ALT5 Sigma SEC filing has amended their plans to say that “in order to comply with Nasdaq’s listing rules”, Eric Trump will merely be a board observer. Witkoff will still join the board (as chair, no less); Folkman will be an observer and, subject to stockholder approval, a director.11 ALT5 Sigma’s first action as a company will be to purchase $750 million in WLFI tokens to create its treasury. With 75% of WLFI token proceeds going directly to the Trumps, they’ll pocket a cool $500 million, essentially through a deal with themselves.12
Alt5 Sigma When I wrote up the news in August that the Trumps and World Liberty Financial were creating a WLFI treasury company with the Nasdaq-listed ALT5 Sigma, I noted [I90]: [Alt5 Sigma will] add Eric Trump and World Liberty Financial executives Zach Witkoff and Zak Folkman to its board. All three have a financial interest in World Liberty Financial, presenting a blatant conflict of interest in their roles on the ALT5 board. Evidently, the Nasdaq at least partly agreed, because a new ALT5 Sigma SEC filing has amended their plans to say that “in order to comply with Nasdaq’s listing rules”, Eric Trump will merely be a board observer. Witkoff will still join the board (as chair, no less); Folkman will be an observer and, subject to stockholder approval, a director.11 ALT5 Sigma’s first action as a company will be to purchase $750 million in WLFI tokens to create its treasury. With 75% of WLFI token proceeds going directly to the Trumps, they’ll pocket a cool $500 million, essentially through a deal with themselves.12
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