The self-diagnosed “very stable genius” has, fittingly, signed into law the GENIUS Act, which introduces (very loose, industry-friendly) regulations for the operation of stablecoins—cryptocurrencies pegged to assets like the US dollar. During the press conference and signing ceremony for the bill, Trump got quite transparent about his relationship with the crypto community, telling them, “I got you guys out of so much trouble.”
Trump’s comments, made over the weekend, show quite the prescience, seeing as Fortune reported on Tuesday that the Justice Department has dropped a probe into Jesse Powell, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. Powell had his home raided by the FBI in part of a case in which he was accused of hacking and cyber-stalking a nonprofit arts group, but that appears to be behind him now that Trump’s DOJ has taken its foot off his neck.
It’s just the latest instance of Trump looking the other way on accused crypto-criminals. Earlier this month, the DOJ and U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission ended investigations into crypto futures betting platform Polymarket, which was focused on accusations that the platform was allowing Americans to place bets despite it being illegal for them to do so. Shortly after Trump took office, the Securities and Exchange Commission paused its attempts to charge Chinese crypto mogul Justin Sun for financial crimes—a decision that came shortly after Sun poured $30 million into Trump’s memecoin $TRUMP. All of that is in line with the Justice Department’s announcement when Trump took office, stating that it would pull back on pursuing crypto-related crime.
Trump’s off-the-cuff riffing at the GENIUS Act signing provides a pretty straightforward picture of his relationship with the crypto community. In addition to acknowledging he’s gotten the crypto bros out of a bind by offering little regulatory oversight or criminal investigation into their industry, he also explained in just a few words the favor-trading he’s been doing.
“[Crypto] is good for the dollar, and it’s good for the country, and that’s why I backed you at an early stage,” Trump said. “I also did it for the votes, because you did come out and vote.” That’s a pretty uncomplicated arrangement. The crypto industry backed Trump, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars during the campaign and his inauguration, so Trump offered a crypto-friendly platform to woo the voting bloc. Now they’re all cashing in—Trump included, seeing as his kids announced a stablecoin earlier this year that will benefit from the GENIUS Act.
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