Written by Elizabeth Howcroft and Susan Heavey
PARIS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s launch of a cryptocurrency token just before his inauguration on Monday has raised new conflict of interest concerns, ethics experts and industry officials said.
President Trump has vowed to hand over control of his assets to his children, but cryptoassets are particularly worrisome because of their little transparency and ability to attract billions of dollars in speculative funds at a moment’s notice. .
The company that issued the $TRUMP and $MELANIA “meme coins” for first lady Melania Trump said they were not investments or securities, but a “statement of support.”
The token follows Trump-branded non-fungible tokens, sneakers and a Bible, among other items Trump has launched.
Ethics advisers and industry experts say the latest investment is different because his administration will regulate industries in which he has stakes through new tokens, and in which any value is likely tied to his presidency. .
The company behind the Trump token, CIC Digital LLC, an affiliate of the Trump Organization, and Fight Fight Fight LLC, which is co-owned by CIC Digital, together own 80% of the token, so Trump-related companies It could have earned $8 billion. Cryptocurrency value over the weekend.
Daniel Bryan, president of the watchdog group Project on Government Oversight, said President Trump’s move toward cryptocurrencies is concerning given the lax oversight of the industry. “In addition to being a blatant financial conflict of interest on behalf of the president, it deepens the president’s involvement in the world, which raises real national security concerns,” she said.
President Trump’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Prominent cryptocurrency investor Nick Carter said on social media that the creation of private meme coins “opens the door to secretive foreign buyers seeking to influence our nation’s leaders.”
Some U.S. Democratic lawmakers also echoed national security concerns and concerns about conflicts of interest.
Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, said, “Anyone in the world, including individuals who have been sanctioned by the United States or banned from capital markets, can use a variety of unregulated platforms. You can now trade $TRUMP and make profits through it.
Meme coins typically refer to small, highly volatile cryptocurrencies, often named after online jokes or trends. Supporters hope the tokens will appreciate as the meme spreads, but most have little value.
Both Trump Token websites avoid using the word cryptocurrency, instead calling it a “fungible crypto asset” and marketing it as a meme.
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