How Trump’s crypto empire became the center of a new influence economy
A House Judiciary Committee report alleges President Trump used his office to expand a personal crypto empire valued up to $11.6 billion through regulatory capture and shadow lobbying.Summary
A new report from House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin alleges that President Donald Trump significantly leveraged his presidency to enrich his personal cryptocurrency ventures, potentially valued up to $11.6 billion. The report, "Trump, Crypto, and a New Age of Corruption," argues that policy decisions, such as dismantling regulatory teams and issuing pardons, directly benefited the President’s financial interests, creating a structural conflict of interest. The committee contends that foreign and corporate actors engage in "shadow lobbying" by providing liquidity or purchasing tokens in Trump-linked DeFi protocols like World Liberty Financial, bypassing traditional, disclosed campaign finance rules. The report cites the pardon of Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao following Binance-linked support for World Liberty Financial as evidence of this pattern. Furthermore, the report details regulatory capture, alleging the Administration dissolved the NCET and halted investigations into major crypto firms like Coinbase and Ripple, which are significant supporters of the President. It also raises national security concerns regarding alleged deals involving UAE firms and access to US AI chips, suggesting national security protocols were overridden for financial gain. The committee concludes that current anti-bribery and conflict-of-interest laws are inadequate for decentralized digital assets and calls for immediate legislative reform.
(Source：CryptoSlate)