“A $2 billion crypto deal involving President Donald Trump's family and a foreign government is threatening to derail bipartisan stablecoin legislation that Congress has been working on for months,” according to an Axios report.
The crypto industry has aggressively lobbied for the original proposal, dubbed the GENIUS Act, “as a way to gain legitimacy and legal clarity in the U.S.”
It was supposed to be a landmark bipartisan legislation that created the first-ever regulatory framework for stablecoins, until Democrats “suddenly voiced opposition to the legislation.”
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According to Axios, “Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-CA) introduced bills targeting Trump's multibillion-dollar meme coin.”
Democrats also called Trump's crypto projects a “conflict of interest” with a “potential for gob-smacking corruption.” They are also claiming that Trump and his family are “profiting” off the presidency.
The outlet noted “two particularly brazen crypto projects,” which call crypto’s legitimacy into question.
The first being Trump’s meme coin, which invited its top 220 investors to an "intimate private dinner" with the president later this month.
The top 25 holders are also being offered a "VIP White House Tour." However, references to the White House were later scrubbed from the website.
The second concern stems from World Liberty Financial, which is the Trump family's crypto venture.
They announced that an Emirati state-backed venture fund would use World Liberty's new stablecoin to complete a $2 billion investment in crypto exchange Binance.
Trump has denied profiting from the presidency, telling NBC's "Meet the Press" that he started his crypto venture "long before the election."
"Stablecoin legislation should be passed on a bipartisan basis,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Axios. “President Trump is dedicated to making America the crypto capital of the world and revolutionizing our digital financial technology. His assets are in a trust managed by his children, and there are no conflicts of interest.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA.) argued the stablecoin bill "will make it easier for the president and his family to line their own pockets." She warned, "This is corruption and no senator should support it."
Axios believes, “The Trump family's aggressive business tactics may end up costing the industry the very legitimacy it's been chasing.”
