Activity tagged "crypto"

Published an issue of Citation Needed:

On Meidas Defense: cryptocurrency, sanctions, and Trump quid pro quo

A still from a split-screen video of Joe Plenzler interviewing Molly White

Last week I joined Joe Plenzler on the Meidas Defense podcast to talk about crypto. Meidas Defense is the MeidasTouch Network’s national security show, so we spent more time than I usually do on crypto as a geopolitical problem, in addition to a consumer protection one. The full episode and transcript are up on the Meidas newsletter, and there’s a shorter cut on YouTube.

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i’ve been writing about crypto for a while now, but this new addition to the $TRUMP memecoin website fine print may be the most blatant “lol you suckers are our exit liquidity” i’ve seen so far

Screenshot of text: activities, leaderboard competitions, events, or other benefits offered through the Coin Club are independent of, and are not designed to influence the timing or execution of, any token disposition program that may be in effect. [begin highlight] The existence of a Coin Club promotion or event does not indicate that Fight Fight Fight LLC, CIC Digital LLC or their respective affiliates are not contemporaneously disposing of $TRUMP coins [end highlight] pursuant to a pre-announced plan, and you should not acquire or accumulate $TRUMP coins based on any expectation that promotional activity will increase or maintain the market price of $TRUMP coins. You
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This WSJ investigation exposes yet more Tether-related corruption at the White House, revealing that they paid Bo Hines' consulting firm millions as he was ensuring the Genius Act stablecoin law would benefit them.

I needed a diagram.

Diagram showing how former White House crypto council officials Bo Hines and Harry Jung connect to the consulting firm NXUM, Tether and Tether US, the Fellowship PAC, Cantor Fitzgerald, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, including payments of $6.3M+ from Tether and $6.5M+ from the PAC to NXUM, and a loan from Tether to Lutnick.
“He Crafted a Crypto Law for Trump—as His Company Got Millions From a Crypto Giant”.
Sam Kessler in The Wall Street Journal.
Money from Tether flowed to Nxum while Bo Hines worked in the White House on landmark stablecoin legislation. Once the law passed, Tether hired him as its U.S. chief.
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The Clarity Act cloture vote has failed by a 49–50 margin; well short of the 60 votes needed. No Democrats crossed over to vote for the bill, and three Republicans voted against.

Senator Collins’ (R-ME) NO vote on Clarity was the most surprising today. She was defending the bill to constituents as recently as last week. My guess is she did not believe the bill had a chance to pass, and was more worried about defending a yes vote as her re-election prospects look slimmer.

Thank you for contacting me to share your concerns about the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025.I appreciate your taking the time to do so.The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on July 17, 2025, and a companion bill in the Senate received bipartisan approval from the Senate Banking Committee on May 14, 2026, advancing toward a full Senate vote. Both bills seek to create a regulatory framework for digital commodities, prohibit the Federal Reserve banks from offering certain services directly to individuals, and forbid the use of central bank digital currency.Proponents believe that the bills create a clear regulatory framework for digital assets, the rules and regulations of which are currently determined by a series of regulatory actions and court decisions.I recognize the need to provide regulatory clarity with how the digital assets should be treated by regulatory authorities.Any actions taken should be for the benefit of the general public and strengthen the overall health of our regulatory system.Congress first addressed digital assets with the GENIUS Act, passed by the Senate and subsequently signed into law by the President on July 18, 2025. The new law provides clarity on stablecoins, a particular type of digital asset.After the bipartisan passage of the GENIUS Act, members of the House and Senate have expressed interest in further addressing digital assets, including cryptocurrency. As the Senate continues to work on digital asset market structure legislation, I will keep your perspective in mind.Again, thank you for contacting me.Sincerely,Susan M. CollinsUnited States Senator

Senators Hawley (R-MO) and Moran (R-KS), neither of whom are up for re-election, were the other NOs. They had already pledged to vote against the previous version of the bill, citing concerns from farmers over loan availability from local banks competing with stablecoins.