Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 4 months ago
While Mamdani has not expressed an opinion on crypto, his upcoming opponents have. Incumbent mayor Eric Adams, elected as a Democrat but running for re-election as an Independent, recently appeared at the Bitcoin Conference to reinforce his title of “bitcoin mayor” and suggest that New York City issue bitcoin-backed municipal bonds (an idea that was quickly swatted down by NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, who was also a candidate in the Democratic primary, coming in third place after cross-endorsing Mamdani) [I85]. Mamdani’s closest opponent in the primary who will now also be running as an Independent candidate in the general election, former New York governor and alleged sex pest Andrew Cuomo, advised crypto exchange OKX after resigning as governor in 2021, when the company faced criminal charges that would ultimately land them more than $500 million in penalties.2425 And the Republican contender, perennial candidate Curtis Sliwa, tweeted during his 2021 campaign that he would “make NYC the most cryptocurrency-friendly city in the nation” by allowing property taxes to be paid in crypto, installing more crypto ATMs, and encouraging businesses to accept crypto.26 (That said, he also later criticized Adams for spending too much time with “crypto profiteers”, “crypto currency pirates”, and “crypto monsters”.2728) Tyler Winklevoss, one of the twin billionaires behind the Gemini crypto exchange who contributed millions of dollars to political campaigns in 2024, seems to be at least
While Mamdani has not expressed an opinion on crypto, his upcoming opponents have. Incumbent mayor Eric Adams, elected as a Democrat but running for re-election as an Independent, recently appeared at the Bitcoin Conference to reinforce his title of “bitcoin mayor” and suggest that New York City issue bitcoin-backed municipal bonds (an idea that was quickly swatted down by NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, who was also a candidate in the Democratic primary, coming in third place after cross-endorsing Mamdani) [I85]. Mamdani’s closest opponent in the primary who will now also be running as an Independent candidate in the general election, former New York governor and alleged sex pest Andrew Cuomo, advised crypto exchange OKX after resigning as governor in 2021, when the company faced criminal charges that would ultimately land them more than $500 million in penalties.2425 And the Republican contender, perennial candidate Curtis Sliwa, tweeted during his 2021 campaign that he would “make NYC the most cryptocurrency-friendly city in the nation” by allowing property taxes to be paid in crypto, installing more crypto ATMs, and encouraging businesses to accept crypto.26 (That said, he also later criticized Adams for spending too much time with “crypto profiteers”, “crypto currency pirates”, and “crypto monsters”.2728) Tyler Winklevoss, one of the twin billionaires behind the Gemini crypto exchange who contributed millions of dollars to political campaigns in 2024, seems to be at least
While Mamdani has not expressed an opinion on crypto, his upcoming opponents have. Incumbent mayor Eric Adams, elected as a Democrat but running for re-election as an Independent, recently appeared at the Bitcoin Conference to reinforce his title of “bitcoin mayor” and suggest that New York City issue bitcoin-backed municipal bonds (an idea that was quickly swatted down by NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, who was also a candidate in the Democratic primary, coming in third place after cross-endorsing Mamdani) [I85]. Mamdani’s closest opponent in the primary who will now also be running as an Independent candidate in the general election, former New York governor and alleged sex pest Andrew Cuomo, advised crypto exchange OKX after resigning as governor in 2021, when the company faced criminal charges that would ultimately land them more than $500 million in penalties.2425 And the Republican contender, perennial candidate Curtis Sliwa, tweeted during his 2021 campaign that he would “make NYC the most cryptocurrency-friendly city in the nation” by allowing property taxes to be paid in crypto, installing more crypto ATMs, and encouraging businesses to accept crypto.26 (That said, he also later criticized Adams for spending too much time with “crypto profiteers”, “crypto currency pirates”, and “crypto monsters”.2728) Tyler Winklevoss, one of the twin billionaires behind the Gemini crypto exchange who contributed millions of dollars to political campaigns in 2024, seems to be at least
Zohran Mamdani’s win in the New York mayoral primary is already making crypto billionaires sweat, and it’s making me wonder if the crypto lobby will pile some of their cash into the city’s general election later this year. Trump “Crypto & AI Czar” David Sacks reposted a clip of Mamdani expressing his opinion that “I don’t think we should have billionaires”, tweeting: “Wake up, Silicon Valley. This is the future of the Democrat Party. Communism has defeated liberalism. Even Bill Clinton has bent the knee. You basically have two choices now: Get on board with MAGA or prepare to be on Mamdani’s dinner menu.”23
Zohran Mamdani’s win in the New York mayoral primary is already making crypto billionaires sweat, and it’s making me wonder if the crypto lobby will pile some of their cash into the city’s general election later this year. Trump “Crypto & AI Czar” David Sacks reposted a clip of Mamdani expressing his opinion that “I don’t think we should have billionaires”, tweeting: “Wake up, Silicon Valley. This is the future of the Democrat Party. Communism has defeated liberalism. Even Bill Clinton has bent the knee. You basically have two choices now: Get on board with MAGA or prepare to be on Mamdani’s dinner menu.”23
Zohran Mamdani’s win in the New York mayoral primary is already making crypto billionaires sweat, and it’s making me wonder if the crypto lobby will pile some of their cash into the city’s general election later this year. Trump “Crypto & AI Czar” David Sacks reposted a clip of Mamdani expressing his opinion that “I don’t think we should have billionaires”, tweeting: “Wake up, Silicon Valley. This is the future of the Democrat Party. Communism has defeated liberalism. Even Bill Clinton has bent the knee. You basically have two choices now: Get on board with MAGA or prepare to be on Mamdani’s dinner menu.”23
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 4 months ago
Trump business interests Aqua 1 Foundation, a United Arab Emirates-based crypto fund, has spent $100 million to acquire WLFI tokens, the token issued by the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial Project, and cultivate a close relationship with the Trumps. They have just surpassed shady crypto billionaire Justin Sun and his $75 million investment to become the single largest holder of WLFI tokens.1 World Liberty also profited massively last month from a deal in which Emirati investment firm MGX used the company’s USD1 stablecoin to perform a $2 billion investment into Binance [I83]. In a press release, Aqua 1 claimed that they and World Liberty would work closely to “jointly identify and nurture high-potential blockchain projects”, and said that World Liberty “plans to support the launch of Aqua 1’s Aqua Fund — a UAE-domiciled investment fund ... dedicated to accelerating the Middle East’s digital economy transformation”.2 For all Trump likes to talk about “America First” crypto projects, his businesses are looking very UAE-first. World Liberty also just announced a partnership with London-based Re7 Capital, a decentralized hedge fund backed by the Hong Kong multi-family office VMS Group. The partnership aims to increase USD1 uptake on BNB Chain, the blockchain run by Binance.3 Connections between Binance and Trump have already been controversial, with Democratic Senators Warren, Durbin, and Blumenthal writing a May letter requesting information on Trump’s connections to
Trump business interests Aqua 1 Foundation, a United Arab Emirates-based crypto fund, has spent $100 million to acquire WLFI tokens, the token issued by the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial Project, and cultivate a close relationship with the Trumps. They have just surpassed shady crypto billionaire Justin Sun and his $75 million investment to become the single largest holder of WLFI tokens.1 World Liberty also profited massively last month from a deal in which Emirati investment firm MGX used the company’s USD1 stablecoin to perform a $2 billion investment into Binance [I83]. In a press release, Aqua 1 claimed that they and World Liberty would work closely to “jointly identify and nurture high-potential blockchain projects”, and said that World Liberty “plans to support the launch of Aqua 1’s Aqua Fund — a UAE-domiciled investment fund ... dedicated to accelerating the Middle East’s digital economy transformation”.2 For all Trump likes to talk about “America First” crypto projects, his businesses are looking very UAE-first. World Liberty also just announced a partnership with London-based Re7 Capital, a decentralized hedge fund backed by the Hong Kong multi-family office VMS Group. The partnership aims to increase USD1 uptake on BNB Chain, the blockchain run by Binance.3 Connections between Binance and Trump have already been controversial, with Democratic Senators Warren, Durbin, and Blumenthal writing a May letter requesting information on Trump’s connections to
Trump business interests Aqua 1 Foundation, a United Arab Emirates-based crypto fund, has spent $100 million to acquire WLFI tokens, the token issued by the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial Project, and cultivate a close relationship with the Trumps. They have just surpassed shady crypto billionaire Justin Sun and his $75 million investment to become the single largest holder of WLFI tokens.1 World Liberty also profited massively last month from a deal in which Emirati investment firm MGX used the company’s USD1 stablecoin to perform a $2 billion investment into Binance [I83]. In a press release, Aqua 1 claimed that they and World Liberty would work closely to “jointly identify and nurture high-potential blockchain projects”, and said that World Liberty “plans to support the launch of Aqua 1’s Aqua Fund — a UAE-domiciled investment fund ... dedicated to accelerating the Middle East’s digital economy transformation”.2 For all Trump likes to talk about “America First” crypto projects, his businesses are looking very UAE-first. World Liberty also just announced a partnership with London-based Re7 Capital, a decentralized hedge fund backed by the Hong Kong multi-family office VMS Group. The partnership aims to increase USD1 uptake on BNB Chain, the blockchain run by Binance.3 Connections between Binance and Trump have already been controversial, with Democratic Senators Warren, Durbin, and Blumenthal writing a May letter requesting information on Trump’s connections to
Stephen Elliott~Buckley
@Maxfieldripken@mastodon.social  ·  activity timestamp 4 months ago
a black and white photo of a man in a suit and tie holding a conductor 's baton .
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 4 months ago
390 WLF Holdco LLC Underlying Assets: Holds the only membership interest in World Liberty Financial, Inc (a Delaware nonstock corporation). Assigned certain economic rights to non-token sale revenues under service agreements between World Liberty Financial, Inc and its founders. (value of the economic rights is not ascertainable) See line 391. Location: Miami, FL No DT Marks Defi LLC: 75% & Third Parties: 25%
390 WLF Holdco LLC Underlying Assets: Holds the only membership interest in World Liberty Financial, Inc (a Delaware nonstock corporation). Assigned certain economic rights to non-token sale revenues under service agreements between World Liberty Financial, Inc and its founders. (value of the economic rights is not ascertainable) See line 391. Location: Miami, FL No DT Marks Defi LLC: 75% & Third Parties: 25%
390 WLF Holdco LLC Underlying Assets: Holds the only membership interest in World Liberty Financial, Inc (a Delaware nonstock corporation). Assigned certain economic rights to non-token sale revenues under service agreements between World Liberty Financial, Inc and its founders. (value of the economic rights is not ascertainable) See line 391. Location: Miami, FL No DT Marks Defi LLC: 75% & Third Parties: 25%
There have been rumblings that Trump has sold some of his stake in World Liberty as Democrats in Congress have tried to hold up crypto legislation over his substantial conflicts of interest. Most of this stems from an update to the fine print on World Liberty’s website which now says that the Trump family-owned DT Marks Defi LLC owns a 40% stake in World Liberty, down from the 60% it displayed previously.5 However, information on the World Liberty Financial site has regularly been wrong, and neither number matches the 75% ownership Trump declared in his most recent financial disclosures that were only just published on June 13, 2025.6
There have been rumblings that Trump has sold some of his stake in World Liberty as Democrats in Congress have tried to hold up crypto legislation over his substantial conflicts of interest. Most of this stems from an update to the fine print on World Liberty’s website which now says that the Trump family-owned DT Marks Defi LLC owns a 40% stake in World Liberty, down from the 60% it displayed previously.5 However, information on the World Liberty Financial site has regularly been wrong, and neither number matches the 75% ownership Trump declared in his most recent financial disclosures that were only just published on June 13, 2025.6
There have been rumblings that Trump has sold some of his stake in World Liberty as Democrats in Congress have tried to hold up crypto legislation over his substantial conflicts of interest. Most of this stems from an update to the fine print on World Liberty’s website which now says that the Trump family-owned DT Marks Defi LLC owns a 40% stake in World Liberty, down from the 60% it displayed previously.5 However, information on the World Liberty Financial site has regularly been wrong, and neither number matches the 75% ownership Trump declared in his most recent financial disclosures that were only just published on June 13, 2025.6
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 4 months ago
Well it’s a very funny thing, crypto, so. I became a fan of crypto, and to me it’s an industry— I view it as an industry. And I’m president. And if we didn’t have it, China would, or somebody else would, but most likely China, China would love to. And we’ve dominated that industry. It’s a big industry, by the way. In fact, when the stock market went down recently, crypto and bitcoin and all of that went down much less than anybody else as a group. Uh, and we’ve created a very powerful industry, and that’s much more important than anything that we invest in. We— we invest in it, but really that was an industry that wasn’t doing particularly well. I got involved with it a couple of years ago and, uh, before this whole— before the second term. I— I got involved before I decided to run. I only decided to run because I saw what was happening and Biden was incompetent and the administration was crooked and incompetent, and I was in bitcoin then. Not— not knowing if I was going to do it a third time. So uh, it’s become amazing. I mean it’s— the jobs that it produces, and I notice more and more you pay in bitcoin, I mean people are say— it takes a lot of, uh, pressure off the dollar and it’s a great thing for our country, so I— I don’t care, I don’t care about investing. You know, I have my— my— I have kids, and they invest in different things, they do believe in it, but I’m president. And what I did do there is build an industry that’s very important. And you know, if we didn’t have
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Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 4 months ago
Now, bitcoin and other cryptoassets are increasingly threatening to themselves introduce new instability. Some other companies have also gone beyond just considering crypto holdings as reserve assets when determining mortgage suitability, as is indicated by this memo, with Coinbase recommending people use their crypto borrowing program to borrow money to pay their mortgages,11 and other crypto companies such as Milo offering high-interest mortgages with crypto collateral. Milo has also expressed interest in securitizing their crypto loans in the future, because when have securities backed by high-risk mortgages ever gone wrong in the past?12
Now, bitcoin and other cryptoassets are increasingly threatening to themselves introduce new instability. Some other companies have also gone beyond just considering crypto holdings as reserve assets when determining mortgage suitability, as is indicated by this memo, with Coinbase recommending people use their crypto borrowing program to borrow money to pay their mortgages,11 and other crypto companies such as Milo offering high-interest mortgages with crypto collateral. Milo has also expressed interest in securitizing their crypto loans in the future, because when have securities backed by high-risk mortgages ever gone wrong in the past?12
Now, bitcoin and other cryptoassets are increasingly threatening to themselves introduce new instability. Some other companies have also gone beyond just considering crypto holdings as reserve assets when determining mortgage suitability, as is indicated by this memo, with Coinbase recommending people use their crypto borrowing program to borrow money to pay their mortgages,11 and other crypto companies such as Milo offering high-interest mortgages with crypto collateral. Milo has also expressed interest in securitizing their crypto loans in the future, because when have securities backed by high-risk mortgages ever gone wrong in the past?12
Though any move in this direction is still in its early stages, the tweet is another attempt by the Trump administration to integrate crypto into one of the most central parts of the American economy, and one where instability has particular potential to inflict massive consequences on everyday people. Many interpret Satoshi Nakamoto’s invention of bitcoin as a direct response to the 2008 financial crisis, and his inscription of the headline “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on the brink of second bailout for banks” into the bitcoin blockchain’s genesis block as a signal of his anger at government intervention and the failures of big banks.
Though any move in this direction is still in its early stages, the tweet is another attempt by the Trump administration to integrate crypto into one of the most central parts of the American economy, and one where instability has particular potential to inflict massive consequences on everyday people. Many interpret Satoshi Nakamoto’s invention of bitcoin as a direct response to the 2008 financial crisis, and his inscription of the headline “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on the brink of second bailout for banks” into the bitcoin blockchain’s genesis block as a signal of his anger at government intervention and the failures of big banks.
Though any move in this direction is still in its early stages, the tweet is another attempt by the Trump administration to integrate crypto into one of the most central parts of the American economy, and one where instability has particular potential to inflict massive consequences on everyday people. Many interpret Satoshi Nakamoto’s invention of bitcoin as a direct response to the 2008 financial crisis, and his inscription of the headline “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on the brink of second bailout for banks” into the bitcoin blockchain’s genesis block as a signal of his anger at government intervention and the failures of big banks.
Tweet by Bill Pulte: After significant studying, and in keeping with President Trump’s vision to make the United States the crypto capital of the world, today I ordered the Great Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare their businesses to count cryptocurrency as an asset for a mortgage. SO ORDERED
Tweet by Bill Pulte: After significant studying, and in keeping with President Trump’s vision to make the United States the crypto capital of the world, today I ordered the Great Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare their businesses to count cryptocurrency as an asset for a mortgage. SO ORDERED
Tweet by Bill Pulte: After significant studying, and in keeping with President Trump’s vision to make the United States the crypto capital of the world, today I ordered the Great Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare their businesses to count cryptocurrency as an asset for a mortgage. SO ORDERED
On June 25, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pultea published a memo directing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to “prepare a proposal for consideration of cryptocurrency as an asset for reserves in their respective single-family mortgage loan risk assessments.” The memo, Pulte said, came after he did some “significant studying”, and was aimed at satisfying Trump’s “vision to make the United States the crypto capital of the world.”9 Despite the official letterhead and Pulte ending his tweet with the Trumpian pseudo-judicial all-caps sign-off of “SO ORDERED”, as of five days after the post, Pulte’s directive does not actually appear on the FHFA’s list of official orders and may have solely been issued via Twitter.10 As the directive currently only orders the two companies to prepare a proposal, details on what this would ultimately look like are somewhat scarce. However, Pulte noted that any proposal should not require the cryptoassets to first be converted to dollars, and that only assets “that can be evidenced and stored on a U.S.-regulated centralized exchange subject to all applicable laws” should be considered. The latter is a somewhat controversial caveat for the “not your keys, not your coins” segment of the crypto populace, who view storing crypto on a centralized exchange as an unacceptable dereliction of control to the types of intermediaries crypto was supposed to make obsolete.
On June 25, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pultea published a memo directing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to “prepare a proposal for consideration of cryptocurrency as an asset for reserves in their respective single-family mortgage loan risk assessments.” The memo, Pulte said, came after he did some “significant studying”, and was aimed at satisfying Trump’s “vision to make the United States the crypto capital of the world.”9 Despite the official letterhead and Pulte ending his tweet with the Trumpian pseudo-judicial all-caps sign-off of “SO ORDERED”, as of five days after the post, Pulte’s directive does not actually appear on the FHFA’s list of official orders and may have solely been issued via Twitter.10 As the directive currently only orders the two companies to prepare a proposal, details on what this would ultimately look like are somewhat scarce. However, Pulte noted that any proposal should not require the cryptoassets to first be converted to dollars, and that only assets “that can be evidenced and stored on a U.S.-regulated centralized exchange subject to all applicable laws” should be considered. The latter is a somewhat controversial caveat for the “not your keys, not your coins” segment of the crypto populace, who view storing crypto on a centralized exchange as an unacceptable dereliction of control to the types of intermediaries crypto was supposed to make obsolete.
On June 25, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pultea published a memo directing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to “prepare a proposal for consideration of cryptocurrency as an asset for reserves in their respective single-family mortgage loan risk assessments.” The memo, Pulte said, came after he did some “significant studying”, and was aimed at satisfying Trump’s “vision to make the United States the crypto capital of the world.”9 Despite the official letterhead and Pulte ending his tweet with the Trumpian pseudo-judicial all-caps sign-off of “SO ORDERED”, as of five days after the post, Pulte’s directive does not actually appear on the FHFA’s list of official orders and may have solely been issued via Twitter.10 As the directive currently only orders the two companies to prepare a proposal, details on what this would ultimately look like are somewhat scarce. However, Pulte noted that any proposal should not require the cryptoassets to first be converted to dollars, and that only assets “that can be evidenced and stored on a U.S.-regulated centralized exchange subject to all applicable laws” should be considered. The latter is a somewhat controversial caveat for the “not your keys, not your coins” segment of the crypto populace, who view storing crypto on a centralized exchange as an unacceptable dereliction of control to the types of intermediaries crypto was supposed to make obsolete.
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 4 months ago
SEC Federal Judge Analisa Torres rejected the joint request by Ripple and the SEC to lift the August 2024 permanent injunction ordering Ripple to obey securities laws and reduce the $125 million penalty to only $50 million [I63]. This outcome is no huge surprise given Torres’ previous skepticism towards a malformed request to do the same thing [I84]. Torres elaborated:16 Not that long ago, the SEC made a compelling case that the public interest weighed heavily in favor of a permanent injunction and a substantial civil penalty. ... First, a penalty was necessary because Ripple had violated the law. ... Second, the SEC pressed for a permanent injunction because Ripple’s misconduct was reckless and likely to continue. ... None of this has changed—and the parties hardly pretend that it has. Nevertheless, they now claim that it is in the public interest to cut the Civil Penalty by sixty percent and vacate the permanent injunction entered less than a year ago. Torres essentially left Ripple with two options: accept the earlier penalties and walk away, or continue fighting to have the judgment overturned on appeal. Ripple chose the latter the following day, dropping its cross appeal against the SEC. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse also wrote that they still expected the SEC to drop their appeal as well, which was filed before Trump took office and which sought penalties closer to the nearly $2 billion originally requested by the agency.17
SEC Federal Judge Analisa Torres rejected the joint request by Ripple and the SEC to lift the August 2024 permanent injunction ordering Ripple to obey securities laws and reduce the $125 million penalty to only $50 million [I63]. This outcome is no huge surprise given Torres’ previous skepticism towards a malformed request to do the same thing [I84]. Torres elaborated:16 Not that long ago, the SEC made a compelling case that the public interest weighed heavily in favor of a permanent injunction and a substantial civil penalty. ... First, a penalty was necessary because Ripple had violated the law. ... Second, the SEC pressed for a permanent injunction because Ripple’s misconduct was reckless and likely to continue. ... None of this has changed—and the parties hardly pretend that it has. Nevertheless, they now claim that it is in the public interest to cut the Civil Penalty by sixty percent and vacate the permanent injunction entered less than a year ago. Torres essentially left Ripple with two options: accept the earlier penalties and walk away, or continue fighting to have the judgment overturned on appeal. Ripple chose the latter the following day, dropping its cross appeal against the SEC. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse also wrote that they still expected the SEC to drop their appeal as well, which was filed before Trump took office and which sought penalties closer to the nearly $2 billion originally requested by the agency.17
SEC Federal Judge Analisa Torres rejected the joint request by Ripple and the SEC to lift the August 2024 permanent injunction ordering Ripple to obey securities laws and reduce the $125 million penalty to only $50 million [I63]. This outcome is no huge surprise given Torres’ previous skepticism towards a malformed request to do the same thing [I84]. Torres elaborated:16 Not that long ago, the SEC made a compelling case that the public interest weighed heavily in favor of a permanent injunction and a substantial civil penalty. ... First, a penalty was necessary because Ripple had violated the law. ... Second, the SEC pressed for a permanent injunction because Ripple’s misconduct was reckless and likely to continue. ... None of this has changed—and the parties hardly pretend that it has. Nevertheless, they now claim that it is in the public interest to cut the Civil Penalty by sixty percent and vacate the permanent injunction entered less than a year ago. Torres essentially left Ripple with two options: accept the earlier penalties and walk away, or continue fighting to have the judgment overturned on appeal. Ripple chose the latter the following day, dropping its cross appeal against the SEC. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse also wrote that they still expected the SEC to drop their appeal as well, which was filed before Trump took office and which sought penalties closer to the nearly $2 billion originally requested by the agency.17
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