Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago

There is really no comparison in American history to the blatant corruption.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/opinion/trump-crypto-genius-act-memcoin.html

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

Molly White, whose Citation Needed newsletter I mentioned above, shares Massad’s views, writing by email: Trump has made hundreds of millions of dollars from hawking a memecoin — that is, a crypto token that doesn’t even try to pretend to have some underlying value or purpose — to his followers and to those hoping to buy influence with the president. There is really no comparison in American history to the blatant corruption of Trump’s pay-for-access memecoin dinner, where hundreds of primarily foreign nationals spent anywhere from $55,000 to more than $37 million for a ticket to the event. The crypto billionaire Justin Sun was the top memecoin holder at the dinner, and earlier this month announced he plans to buy another $100 million $TRUMP.
Molly White, whose Citation Needed newsletter I mentioned above, shares Massad’s views, writing by email: Trump has made hundreds of millions of dollars from hawking a memecoin — that is, a crypto token that doesn’t even try to pretend to have some underlying value or purpose — to his followers and to those hoping to buy influence with the president. There is really no comparison in American history to the blatant corruption of Trump’s pay-for-access memecoin dinner, where hundreds of primarily foreign nationals spent anywhere from $55,000 to more than $37 million for a ticket to the event. The crypto billionaire Justin Sun was the top memecoin holder at the dinner, and earlier this month announced he plans to buy another $100 million $TRUMP.
Molly White, whose Citation Needed newsletter I mentioned above, shares Massad’s views, writing by email: Trump has made hundreds of millions of dollars from hawking a memecoin — that is, a crypto token that doesn’t even try to pretend to have some underlying value or purpose — to his followers and to those hoping to buy influence with the president. There is really no comparison in American history to the blatant corruption of Trump’s pay-for-access memecoin dinner, where hundreds of primarily foreign nationals spent anywhere from $55,000 to more than $37 million for a ticket to the event. The crypto billionaire Justin Sun was the top memecoin holder at the dinner, and earlier this month announced he plans to buy another $100 million $TRUMP.
tripleman, a 🇨🇦 in 🇩🇪
@tripleman@mastodon.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago
@molly0xfff Did you see that AOC has to pay an extra $2700 to close out a “years long investigation” on whether she had paid enough to rent the “Tax the Rich”dress she wore to the Met Gala back in [checks notes] *2021*?

Guess we can all sleep easy now that that corruption has been rooted out of Washington.
Reay
@reay@beige.party replied  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago
@molly0xfff Sincere question: Given that the only value in any cryptocurrency is what buyers and sellers agree it’s worth, and that this particular “coin” doesn’t even pretend to be that, people who buy it will only ever lose money, correct? It’s exclusively a pump and dump scheme.

Even when it occurred to me that buyers fully understand that and buy it anyway, let’s say it’s entirely just to schmooze with Trump at the referenced dinner, then what’s ANY benefit in continuing to buy it?

Just another way to continue to fund Trump purely as a runaround of the regulations of monetary donations directly to politicians?
Kevin Neely :donor:
@ktneely@infosec.exchange replied  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago
@molly0xfff @reay taking aside the influence aspect, which is kind of unique to this particular coin, the people that make money are the first and early movers. Those that buy in early and then sell to those that follow, profiting off their FOMO. Just like in any Ponzi or MLM scheme.

For a great and creative breakdown of this scam, check out The Bezzle by @pluralistic
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io replied  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago

We should live in a world where selling out to corporate money or being completely spineless and ineffective in office is what threatens re-election.

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

Republicans in Congress, White continued, would be horrified if any other president, particularly a Democratic one, was profiting from the office of the presidency in the way that Trump is, but they are so terrified of him that they haven’t said a word about it. And the crypto lobby and its hundreds of millions in campaign donations, has produced a truly shameful situation among Democrats who have either sold out to the crypto lobby, or who are so afraid of opposition when it comes time for re-election that they’re keeping their mouths shut. We should live in a world where selling out to corporate money or being completely spineless and ineffective in office is what threatens re-election.
Republicans in Congress, White continued, would be horrified if any other president, particularly a Democratic one, was profiting from the office of the presidency in the way that Trump is, but they are so terrified of him that they haven’t said a word about it. And the crypto lobby and its hundreds of millions in campaign donations, has produced a truly shameful situation among Democrats who have either sold out to the crypto lobby, or who are so afraid of opposition when it comes time for re-election that they’re keeping their mouths shut. We should live in a world where selling out to corporate money or being completely spineless and ineffective in office is what threatens re-election.
Republicans in Congress, White continued, would be horrified if any other president, particularly a Democratic one, was profiting from the office of the presidency in the way that Trump is, but they are so terrified of him that they haven’t said a word about it. And the crypto lobby and its hundreds of millions in campaign donations, has produced a truly shameful situation among Democrats who have either sold out to the crypto lobby, or who are so afraid of opposition when it comes time for re-election that they’re keeping their mouths shut. We should live in a world where selling out to corporate money or being completely spineless and ineffective in office is what threatens re-election.
RRB
@rrb@infosec.exchange replied  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago
@molly0xfff The Supreme Court ruled that:

1. Money is speech, so refusing Justin Sun the ability to pay Trump $100 mill would violate his civil rights; and

2. It is not a bribe if it is a "tip" being given to the public official for having done something you like previously. For example (their example) my students could treat me to a $150 steak dinner after the semester is over out of gratitude for giving them good grades.

I'm with you. The Supreme Court is sick.