The launch of President-elect Donald Trump's new cryptocurrency token, $TRUMP, has raised a host of ethical and legal concerns.
Commentators and analysts have questioned whether the incoming president's ownership of such a financial asset creates a potential conflict of interest, given his rhetorical commitment to rolling back cryptocurrency regulations once in office.
Others have suggested that Trump's ability to profit from the new coin opens the door for direct bribery of a sitting president.
Newsweek has contacted the Trump transition team for comment via email outside of normal business hours and will update this article if a response is received.
Why It Matters
Trump, who previously attacked cryptocurrency as "highly volatile and based on thin air," has framed his incoming administration as profoundly pro-crypto.
As well as appointing the nation's first ever AI and crypto czar, the president-elect has vowed to enact policies that are more favorable to the industry, telling the crowd at the Bitcoin Conference 2024 that new regulations will be crafted "by people who love your industry, not hate your industry."
This rhetorical support has won Trump the backing of prominent individuals in the crypto sphere, with trading platforms like Ripple, Coinbase and Robinhood donating significant sums to the president's inaugural fund, with other industry sponsors hosting the Crypto Ball on Friday to celebrate the inauguration.
According to Bloomberg and Reuters, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, Trump is also planning to create a crypto advisory council shortly after taking office, and to review several regulations concerning the ownership of digital assets.
What To Know
Since launching the coin on Friday the price of the $TRUMP meme coin—characteristically volatile cryptocurrencies whose value is tied to community enthusiasm rather than inherent utility—soared to around $75 dollars.
This sank significantly following Melania Trump floating her own $MELANIA token, now sitting at $49.00 as of 7:44 a.m. ET.
According to a disclaimer on the Trump Meme website, Trump Organization-affiliated entities hold 80 percent of the cryptocurrency, and will earn profits from the "trading revenue" generated through sales.
On Sunday, Axios reported that the massive trading volume seen since its launch has led the $TRUMP coin to account for "about 89 percent" of Trump's net worth.
What People Are Saying
Catherine Rampell, Washington Post columnist, in an interview with CNN: "On the one hand I think this is a massive scam of his own followers, who are buying nothing, essentially, in the hopes that there will be a greater fool down the line to buy more ... On the other hand, maybe they're somewhat shielded from downside losses, because there will be a reliable source of individuals, companies, and foreign governments that see this—see buying these coins, these tokens—as a very convenient way to pay off the president for favors."
Norman Eisen, former White House ethics adviser under the Obama administration, told The Washington Post: "He's launching a major, new multibillion-dollar venture in the burgeoning crypto industry, where he has the most profound conflict of interest between [what] he's seeking to gain and his duties to regulate that industry—which now includes himself. This may represent the single worst conflict of interest in the modern history of the presidency."
Anthony Scaramucci, former Trump White House Director of Communications and co-host of The Rest Is Politics: US podcast, via X: "Most dangerous thing for country about Trump coin is what comes next. Now anyone in world can essentially deposit money into bank account of President of USA with a couple clicks. Every favor—geopolitical, corporate or personal—is now on sale, right out in the open."
Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA), via X: "Elected officials must be barred from having meme coins by law. Meme coins are highly speculative and like gambling must be regulated by the SEC. They are neither neutral money (not controlled by insiders) nor platforms for innovation."
Justin D'Anethan, independent cryptocurrency analyst, told Reuters: "While it's tempting to dismiss this as just another Trump spectacle, the launch of the official Trump token opens up a Pandora's box of ethical and regulatory questions … Should public figures, especially those with such political clout, wield this kind of sway in speculative markets? That's a question regulators are unlikely to ignore."
Jordan Libowitz, Vice President of communications at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told Politico: "After decades of seeing presidents-elect spend the time leading up to inauguration separating themselves from their finances to show that they don't have any conflicts of interest, we now have a president-elect who, the weekend before inauguration, is launching new businesses along with promises to deregulate ... those sectors in a way to just blatantly profit off his own presidency."
What Happens Next?
Once sworn in, Trump has promised to swiftly implement pro-crypto policies—including the establishment of a national strategic Bitcoin reserve—in an effort to transform the U.S. into the "crypto capital of the planet."
"The reign of terror against crypto is over," David Sacks, incoming White House AI and crypto czar, declared at Friday's Crypto Ball, "and the beginning of innovation in America for crypto has just begun."
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