The Trump family's web of crypto businesses is growing ever more tangled, as they've announced yet another crypto treasury company (this one in partnership with Crypto.​com). This is either the fifth or sixth the Trumps are involved with.

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#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

The Trump family’s crypto web is only getting more tangled, as Trump family-linked companies are further entwining themselves with various crypto ventures. Trump majority-owned Trump Media and Technology Group, creator of the Truth Social platform, announced a joint venture with Singapore-based exchange Crypto.com. TMTG purchased $105 million of Crypto.com’s CRO token, Crypto.com purchased $50 million of TMTG stock, and the two companies are creating Trump Media Group CRO Strategy Inc., a CRO treasury company they plan to take public through a SPAC merger.

In February, Crypto.com contributed $10 million to the MAGA Inc. Trump super PAC.6 A month later, TMTG and Crypto.com announced their partnership, initially focused on developing “America First investment vehicles” (including crypto ETFs) to be offered by Trump’s social media venture [I80]. Three days after the partnership announcement, Crypto.com said the SEC had dropped an investigation into the company.

This will be either the fifth or sixth Trump family-owned or -linked crypto treasury company, in addition to American Bitcoin,a Trump Media & Technology Group (which itself acquired a substantial bitcoin treasury earlier this month [I90]),b Metaplanet,c and ALT5 Sigma.d Donald Trump Jr. was previously a major shareholder in Thumzup Media;e he sold some or all of his shares,7 though some crypto news outlets continue to describe him as involved with the company.8
The Trump family’s crypto web is only getting more tangled, as Trump family-linked companies are further entwining themselves with various crypto ventures. Trump majority-owned Trump Media and Technology Group, creator of the Truth Social platform, announced a joint venture with Singapore-based exchange Crypto.com. TMTG purchased $105 million of Crypto.com’s CRO token, Crypto.com purchased $50 million of TMTG stock, and the two companies are creating Trump Media Group CRO Strategy Inc., a CRO treasury company they plan to take public through a SPAC merger. In February, Crypto.com contributed $10 million to the MAGA Inc. Trump super PAC.6 A month later, TMTG and Crypto.com announced their partnership, initially focused on developing “America First investment vehicles” (including crypto ETFs) to be offered by Trump’s social media venture [I80]. Three days after the partnership announcement, Crypto.com said the SEC had dropped an investigation into the company. This will be either the fifth or sixth Trump family-owned or -linked crypto treasury company, in addition to American Bitcoin,a Trump Media & Technology Group (which itself acquired a substantial bitcoin treasury earlier this month [I90]),b Metaplanet,c and ALT5 Sigma.d Donald Trump Jr. was previously a major shareholder in Thumzup Media;e he sold some or all of his shares,7 though some crypto news outlets continue to describe him as involved with the company.8
@molly0xfff i know i'm just a smooth brained crypto sceptic but investing any amount of money in #CryptoCom's bullshit #CRO token and a blockchain that literally no one uses (not even money launderers use #Cronos!) strikes me as completely unhinged.

they want to put more cash into their #CRO treasury than any "digital asset treasury" company other than MSTR w/the bitcoins.

wtf?

https://x.com/Cryptadamist/status/1960723981960667296

@molly0xfff Where does Tether fit in this?

I know they're in El Salvador doing stuff. I know they're coming back to the US now that Trump is back and fraud investigations have stopped. I know they want to at least add USDT as an alternative to USDC.

I have a feeling they're in El Salvador because they're trying to implement Yarvin's ideas of bringing back the City States, which would be largely implemented by crypto governance.

How in with Trump are they and where would they be in this map?

The normally five-person CFTC Commission will soon be down to just one Commissioner, Acting Chair Caroline Pham. Pham plans to resign when Trump's nominee is confirmed. This could leave the agency — which may take on primary crypto oversight — under unilateral control.

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

Crypto lobbying groups have written a letter to President Trump, reiterating their support for his nomination of Brian Quintenz as CFTC Chair. His confirmation, they write, is “essential to accomplishing the proactive agenda your Administration has established to ensure a golden age for digital assets in America”. The letter praises Quintenz for his “forward-looking vision of this transformative technology”.10 It makes no mention of his recently released emails with CFTC employees, obtained via FOIA request, which lawmakers and crypto industry figures have said raise serious questions about possible ethics violations [I90]. Quintenz’s nomination was scheduled for a vote in front of the Senate Agriculture Committee in late July, but the vote was canceled twice. One of the cancellations was at the request of the White House, which did not elaborate on its reasoning for the delay.
Crypto lobbying groups have written a letter to President Trump, reiterating their support for his nomination of Brian Quintenz as CFTC Chair. His confirmation, they write, is “essential to accomplishing the proactive agenda your Administration has established to ensure a golden age for digital assets in America”. The letter praises Quintenz for his “forward-looking vision of this transformative technology”.10 It makes no mention of his recently released emails with CFTC employees, obtained via FOIA request, which lawmakers and crypto industry figures have said raise serious questions about possible ethics violations [I90]. Quintenz’s nomination was scheduled for a vote in front of the Senate Agriculture Committee in late July, but the vote was canceled twice. One of the cancellations was at the request of the White House, which did not elaborate on its reasoning for the delay.
The hollowing out of regulatory agencies has reached a critical point, with the CFTC soon to have just a single commissioner as the crypto industry heavily lobbies for it to become their primary regulator. In normal times, outgoing CFTC Commissioners would be replaced by a roughly bipartisan slate of presidential appointees, but Trump has not bothered to nominate any new commissioners besides his controversial pick for Chair. With the current CFTC Acting Chair set to depart after a new Chair is confirmed, Trump may hope to exert control over the independent regulatory body by installing a single pawn who will hold unilateral agency control.
The hollowing out of regulatory agencies has reached a critical point, with the CFTC soon to have just a single commissioner as the crypto industry heavily lobbies for it to become their primary regulator. In normal times, outgoing CFTC Commissioners would be replaced by a roughly bipartisan slate of presidential appointees, but Trump has not bothered to nominate any new commissioners besides his controversial pick for Chair. With the current CFTC Acting Chair set to depart after a new Chair is confirmed, Trump may hope to exert control over the independent regulatory body by installing a single pawn who will hold unilateral agency control.

Commerce Secretary Lutnick has announced plans to "put out GDP on the blockchain". I am a little concerned they hope to lean on the supposed inherent reliability of blockchains to lend artificial credibility to questionable numbers.

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

I am a little concerned that this push is an effort to lean on the supposed inherent reliability of blockchains to lend artificial credibility to questionable numbers cherry-picked by Trump when the real ones are unflattering, as he did recently with jobs data.22 While it is harder to alter information once it has been recorded on a blockchain, this does not mean the information itself is reliable. Blockchain advocates often conflate immutability with accuracy, suggesting that blockchains inherently validate the truth of recorded data. In reality, a blockchain only preserves data in the state it was entered — it doesn’t verify whether that data was correct in the first place. I may be ascribing a far greater degree of forethought to Lutnick’s announcement than it deserves, though — maybe our Commerce Secretary is actually just making sure he tackles the top priority of making sure Polymarket bettors can bet on the future GDP without needing to rely on an oracle.
I am a little concerned that this push is an effort to lean on the supposed inherent reliability of blockchains to lend artificial credibility to questionable numbers cherry-picked by Trump when the real ones are unflattering, as he did recently with jobs data.22 While it is harder to alter information once it has been recorded on a blockchain, this does not mean the information itself is reliable. Blockchain advocates often conflate immutability with accuracy, suggesting that blockchains inherently validate the truth of recorded data. In reality, a blockchain only preserves data in the state it was entered — it doesn’t verify whether that data was correct in the first place. I may be ascribing a far greater degree of forethought to Lutnick’s announcement than it deserves, though — maybe our Commerce Secretary is actually just making sure he tackles the top priority of making sure Polymarket bettors can bet on the future GDP without needing to rely on an oracle.
To be extra clear, Lutnick is not proposing moving any funds — just using some unspecified blockchain as a ledger to record statistics like GDP. In a normal timeline, an announcement that the government will publish its statistics in an additional type of database would not warrant announcement from a cabinet official, but it’s 2025 and there’s a Crypto President to indulge.
To be extra clear, Lutnick is not proposing moving any funds — just using some unspecified blockchain as a ledger to record statistics like GDP. In a normal timeline, an announcement that the government will publish its statistics in an additional type of database would not warrant announcement from a cabinet official, but it’s 2025 and there’s a Crypto President to indulge.
The White House has finally cracked the code on how to publish numbers to the internet. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced at a Cabinet meeting, “The Department of Commerce is going to start issuing its statistics on the blockchain, because you are the Crypto President, and we are going to put out GDP on the blockchain. So people can use the blockchain for data distribution, and then we're going to make that available to the entire government, so all of you can do it. We're just ironing out all the details so we can do it.”
The White House has finally cracked the code on how to publish numbers to the internet. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced at a Cabinet meeting, “The Department of Commerce is going to start issuing its statistics on the blockchain, because you are the Crypto President, and we are going to put out GDP on the blockchain. So people can use the blockchain for data distribution, and then we're going to make that available to the entire government, so all of you can do it. We're just ironing out all the details so we can do it.”
@molly0xfff I know that you understand this all very well already but just cannot get my head around just how little sense their proposal makes.

The only real value of a blockchain is to create shared consensus in a distributed system in the absence of a trusted authority. When it comes to publishing GDP statistics, a) who else is or wants to publish or edit those stats? and b) isn’t the US government supposed to be the trusted authority here?

🫠

The revolving door flung former Digital Assets Advisory Council director Bo Hines into an advisory role at stablecoin issuer Tether, after he helped back the stablecoin regulation that will largely dictate Tether's operations in the US going forward.

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

Bloomberg published a great story about a plan by Tether co-founder and some other guy to pitch bitcoin fugitive Roger Ver on paying $30 million for a pardon. It didn't work out, and Ver is apparently paying (much less) for Roger Stone instead.

(Bloomberg article: bloomberg.com/news/articles/20)

Ver seems to have opted for more reliable lobbyists like Roger Stone, who I certainly can’t argue lacks experience with presidential pardons. (Stone is, if nothing else, substantially cheaper than Argall, charging a mere $600,000 to lobby for “ending the exit tax and reform of cryptocurrency tax policy”. Ver has also paid $30,000 for lobbying by Sterling Green’s Tracy Ackerman on the same subject, as well as “supporting the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda” and “criminal justice reform for cryptocurrency related law enforcement and lobbying for the dismissal of charges against Roger Ver.”).2829
Ver seems to have opted for more reliable lobbyists like Roger Stone, who I certainly can’t argue lacks experience with presidential pardons. (Stone is, if nothing else, substantially cheaper than Argall, charging a mere $600,000 to lobby for “ending the exit tax and reform of cryptocurrency tax policy”. Ver has also paid $30,000 for lobbying by Sterling Green’s Tracy Ackerman on the same subject, as well as “supporting the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda” and “criminal justice reform for cryptocurrency related law enforcement and lobbying for the dismissal of charges against Roger Ver.”).2829
Bloomberg reported a plan by bitcoin fugitive Roger Ver to pay $30 million in hopes of securing a pardon from President Trump. Ver was charged with tax fraud in April 2024 after allegedly evading around $50 million in expatriation taxes owed after renouncing his US citizenship, and is currently fighting extradition from Spain [I57]. According to Bloomberg, Tether co-founder (and former Mighty Ducks child actor) Brock Pierce schemed with Matt Argall to pitch a plan for Ver’s pardon in exchange for a hefty fee. “It’s unclear whether Argall and his associates had genuine connections to people with power, much less the clout to persuade them that Ver’s pardon was a worthy cause,” writes Bloomberg, noting that, aside from a LinkedIn picture of him at a campaign event with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Argall doesn’t “appear to have any clear connections to Trump’s inner circle”. Although Ver may have been interested in the offer early on, one of his lawyers may have warned him off, opining that the claims of high-level connections seemed false.27
Bloomberg reported a plan by bitcoin fugitive Roger Ver to pay $30 million in hopes of securing a pardon from President Trump. Ver was charged with tax fraud in April 2024 after allegedly evading around $50 million in expatriation taxes owed after renouncing his US citizenship, and is currently fighting extradition from Spain [I57]. According to Bloomberg, Tether co-founder (and former Mighty Ducks child actor) Brock Pierce schemed with Matt Argall to pitch a plan for Ver’s pardon in exchange for a hefty fee. “It’s unclear whether Argall and his associates had genuine connections to people with power, much less the clout to persuade them that Ver’s pardon was a worthy cause,” writes Bloomberg, noting that, aside from a LinkedIn picture of him at a campaign event with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Argall doesn’t “appear to have any clear connections to Trump’s inner circle”. Although Ver may have been interested in the offer early on, one of his lawyers may have warned him off, opining that the claims of high-level connections seemed false.27

Political fundraising is ramping up for the midterms, and the pro-crypto super PAC Fairshake is number one on the list of super PACs by cash raised in the 2025–2026 cycle.

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

Political action and party committees
Viewing 1,399 filtered results for:
2025–2026Super PAC (independent expenditure only) 
Name	Type	Receipts	Disbursements	Ending cash on hand	
FAIRSHAKE	Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only)	$59,056,790.44	$3,800,671.85	$119,500,316.53	
DEMOCRACY PAC	Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only)	$52,029,116.25	$2,647,275.44	$53,120,780.28	
AMERICA PAC	Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only)	$45,341,344.67	$47,398,032.68	$165,960.38	
SENATE LEADERSHIP FUND	Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only)	$26,475,632.45	$2,807,526.22	$29,750,782.85	
SMP	Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only)	$17,362,935.92	$12,898,516.02	$13,635,089.11	
V-PAC: VICTORS, NOT VICTIMS	Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only)	$16,971,139.41	$4,391,775.03	$12,696,180.56	
UNITED DEMOCRACY PROJECT ('UDP')	Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only)	$14,509,998.44	$4,594,753.92	$38,718,139.62	
TEXANS FOR A CONSERVATIVE MAJORITY	Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only)	$11,248,318.04	$429,741.76	$12,168,534.86	
SCHOOL FREEDOM FUND	Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only)	$10,000,000.00	$0.00	$10,128,286.22	
RESTORATION PAC	Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only)	$8,123,576.61	$5,324,298.83	$4,214,869.99
Political action and party committees Viewing 1,399 filtered results for: 2025–2026Super PAC (independent expenditure only) Name Type Receipts Disbursements Ending cash on hand FAIRSHAKE Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $59,056,790.44 $3,800,671.85 $119,500,316.53 DEMOCRACY PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $52,029,116.25 $2,647,275.44 $53,120,780.28 AMERICA PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $45,341,344.67 $47,398,032.68 $165,960.38 SENATE LEADERSHIP FUND Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $26,475,632.45 $2,807,526.22 $29,750,782.85 SMP Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $17,362,935.92 $12,898,516.02 $13,635,089.11 V-PAC: VICTORS, NOT VICTIMS Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $16,971,139.41 $4,391,775.03 $12,696,180.56 UNITED DEMOCRACY PROJECT ('UDP') Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $14,509,998.44 $4,594,753.92 $38,718,139.62 TEXANS FOR A CONSERVATIVE MAJORITY Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $11,248,318.04 $429,741.76 $12,168,534.86 SCHOOL FREEDOM FUND Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $10,000,000.00 $0.00 $10,128,286.22 RESTORATION PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $8,123,576.61 $5,324,298.83 $4,214,869.99

Political fundraising is ramping up for the midterms, and the pro-crypto super PAC Fairshake is number one on the list of super PACs by cash raised in the 2025–2026 cycle. They’ve received about $59 million so far, and have almost $120 million in cash on hand.h This puts them ahead of all other super PACs,i including George Soros’ Democracy PAC, Elon Musk’s America PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, and the Senate Majority PAC.33 Most of Fairshake’s contributions this period are from Coinbase ($25 million) and Ripple ($23 million).34
Political fundraising is ramping up for the midterms, and the pro-crypto super PAC Fairshake is number one on the list of super PACs by cash raised in the 2025–2026 cycle. They’ve received about $59 million so far, and have almost $120 million in cash on hand.h This puts them ahead of all other super PACs,i including George Soros’ Democracy PAC, Elon Musk’s America PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, and the Senate Majority PAC.33 Most of Fairshake’s contributions this period are from Coinbase ($25 million) and Ripple ($23 million).34
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