#citationneedednewsletter

Newsletter: Regulators race to reassure the crypto industry as the its flagship Clarity Act legislation collapses, SBF tries his luck with the Supreme Court, and crypto PACs unleash $30 million against Sherrod Brown. https://www.citationneeded.news/issue-110/ #crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics #CitationNeededNewsletter

Newsletter: The supposedly “unprecedented” ethics restrictions in the industry-written Clarity Act exempt Trump’s crypto businesses and leave enforcement to his loyalists. Senators must vote no on cloture tomorrow. https://www.citationneeded.news/clarity-act-ethics-charade/ #crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics #ClarityAct #CitationNeededNewsletter

Though Republicans are preemptively pinning blame on Democrats if the crypto bill fails to pass, Democrats are so far holding out for meaningful ethics language, and have suggested that ethics is not their only complaint with the draft legislation. #crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics #CitationNeededNewsletter

And even Republicans have expressed concerns with the bill, revisiting the issue of stablecoin yield that negotiators thought they had resolved. The bill needs sixty votes to pass, which would require all Republicans and seven Democrats to sign on. #crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics #CitationNeededNewsletter

If the Senate doesn’t pass Clarity by the start of recess on August 7, its chances become very slim. Future attempts at crypto legislation would not likely be nearly this friendly to the industry — a huge blow after crypto spent $200M+ expecting they could dictate the bill. #crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics #CitationNeededNewsletter

Also in this issue: Prediction markets continue to be a crypto-esque wild west, with a recent WSJ report exposing the Trump-linked Polymarket’s false advertising. Influencers paid by Polymarket are boasting about manipulating bets. #crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics #Polymarket #CitationNeededNewsletter

The Department of Justice is reportedly planning to drop charges against Matthew Goettsche, who ran a crypto Ponzi scheme that bilked $722 million from investors he described as “dumb” and “sheep”, after he hired Trump-linked lawyers to lobby for legal relief. #crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics #CitationNeededNewsletter

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has granted final approval to USDC stablecoin issuer Circle to operate as a national trust bank. Comptroller Jonathan Gould previously represented Circle as a client when he was a partner at Jones Day. #crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics #CitationNeededNewsletter

Newsletter: The Clarity Act cryptocurrency market structure bill may well be dead, as the crypto industry has spent $200 million to get a bill too corrupt for Democrats to pass and a president too corrupt to sign anything that might meaningfully limit his grift. https://www.citationneeded.news/issue-107/ #crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics #CitationNeededNewsletter

Though Republicans and the crypto industry presented the latest draft crypto bill as a viable option after months of disagreements, even the crypto-friendliest Democrats have are opposing its toothless ethics provision that would not meaningfully impact the President’s crypto grift. #crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics #CitationNeededNewsletter

Ethics enforcement would be left to a DOJ that has shown no appetite for reining in Trump’s corruption. The provision would expire in 2029, and explicitly bars retroactive enforcement against Trump. Any fine is capped at $500k: less than 0.04% of what the President brought in from crypto last year. #crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics #CitationNeededNewsletter

Trump’s most recent financial disclosure reveals more than $1.4 billion in income from his crypto-related ventures alone, and even that’s an incomplete picture. https://www.citationneeded.news/trumps-crypto-disclosure/ #crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics #CitationNeededNewsletter

The White House insists that there’s no conflict of interest, even as Trump brings in hundreds of millions from foreign nations seeking (and receiving) favorable policy outcomes, crypto firms looking for regulatory relief, and a tokens launched under the eyes of Trump loyalist regulators. #crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics #CitationNeededNewsletter

The disclosure gives little insight into where the money is coming FROM. That some of Trump’s income comes from figures like Justin Sun or the United Arab Emirates (who later reaped benefits) is not disclosed in the filing, but known only thanks to outside reporting or self-disclosure by investors. And Trump’s sons, who are heavily involved in the crypto sector and run some of Trump’s businesses, are not required to file disclosures. This is because they have no formal position in the White House, despite regularly meeting with high-level officials to discuss business and policy. #crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics #CitationNeededNewsletter

For years, crypto executives have touted cryptocurrency’s supposed anti-authoritarian and human rights credentials. But where are they when their beloved president claims Alex Pretti’s lawful gun ownership justified his killing, or when ICE leaders tell subordinates to enter homes without warrants? #crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics #CitationNeededNewsletter

The answer, of course, is that they never actually cared about these principles at all. In fact, many of these executives have long made it clear that authoritarianism isn’t just collateral damage in their pursuit of business-boosting deregulation, but a desirable outcome. #crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics #CitationNeededNewsletter

Amid all this, the crypto industry has amassed at least $315 million to spend in the midterms — more than double their recordbreaking 2024 spending that helped install Trump and members of Congress who either support his atrocities or are too craven to do anything about them. #crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics #CitationNeededNewsletter

The Fairshake PAC timed a press blitz about the nearly $200 million they’re brandishing towards members of Congress just ahead of a Senate Ag vote on crypto market structure. It passed, and amendments to address Trump’s crypto corruption or prohibit bailouts of crypto firms were shot down. #crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics #CitationNeededNewsletter

The crypto industry’s “educational nonprofit” has also launched an initiative to fund Congressional staff positions after participants go through weeks of “training” on “emerging technologies like crypto, AI, biotech, and defense tech”. #crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics #CitationNeededNewsletter

The SEC has dismissed with prejudice an enforcement action against the Winklevoss twins’ Gemini crypto exchange. This comes after the Winklevosses contributed $4.4 million to Trump, backed his sons’ ventures, and committed $21 million to elect pro-Trump, pro-crypto lawmakers. To date, the SEC has paused, dismissed, or otherwise ended crypto lawsuits or investigations against Aave, Binance, Coinbase, ConsenSys, Crypto​.com, Cumberland DRW, Dragonchain, Gemini (twice), Hex, Immutable, Kraken, Ondoe, OpenSea, PayPal, Ripple, Robinhood, Tron, Uniswap, Yuga Labs, and Zcash. #crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics #CitationNeededNewsletter