How Trump shamelessly enriched thanks to crypto – Friday

Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoins & Co. once stood for distant government, for an alternative and even progressive financial utopia. Now US President Donald Trump just uses the industry to shamelessly enrich itself

The 220 winners of a cryptocurrency competition have recently been asked to pay attention to an email with the “most exclusive invitation in the world”. As a reward for the use of immense amounts of money-in some cases several million US dollars-they won the price on May 22nd at a private gala-one “Crypto dinner“ – to take part in his golf club in Washington DC with Donald Trump.

The granting of personal access to the president for an investment in his cryptocurrency is only Trump's recent case of a blatant conflict of interest. According to his own words, his political career has “many such cases”: property ownership, a media company, merchandising business, the falsification of business documents and finally The gift of a $ 400 million aircraft from Qatar are just a few of the countless Entanglementsthat have been warning of anti -corruption organizations for a decade.

Trump's introduction to the crypto world combines and tightens all of these conflicts of interest: he uses his presidency for his personal advantage, opens a gateway for influence from abroad and regulates or deregulates an industry in which he is active himself. This resulted in a dangerous mix of Trump's business behavior and an industry that is known for fraud and non -transparency. It could become the most lucrative business in which he has ever been involved.

Investors from China and the Emirates pay millions of dollars. For what?

The rules of the “dinner competition” stipulated that the 220 best buyers of $ Trump, who were listed in a public ranking on the cryptocurrency website, would receive an invitation to an dinner with the president. The first 20 on the ranking were even more personal at the VIP reception Trump. Only the user names and codes of the crypto money exchanges of the participants were published on the ranking, and there was no further information on identification. According to the website, the winners were able to write any name on the invitation.

One of the main worries of Democrats and anti -corruption organizations is that foreign actors could influence themselves by investing in Trump's cryptocurrency. Analyzes of the $ Trump ranking have shown that a large percentage of top buyers used foreign crypto exchanges that prohibit US users on their platforms. This indicates that the winners may be located abroad.

Trump was actually a crypto opponent. Then his sons understood how they can make Reibach with it

The entry of the Trump family into the world of cryptocurrencies is a relatively new development. Already during the Presidential election campaign last year Trump has intensively promoted crypto investors. He was also the first candidate to accept crypto donations-and promised at a conference to make the United States a “crypto capital of the planet”. In September, Trump announced the foundation of the crypto company World Liberty Financial, which is controlled by Trump's family.

Since then, crypto companies that are connected to Trump have expanded and have created, among other things, a so-called “stablecoin” called USD1 and an IPO-traded ETF fund. Hundreds of million heavy investments from China and the Emirates were reported. The president's son, Eric Trump, recently announced that a Bitcoin mining company controlled by the family would go to the stock exchange.

While the Trump family is expanding their business in the crypto area, the Trump administration also drives the deregulation of the industry. For example, she appointed a crypto -friendly head of the security supervisory authority. In April, the Ministry of Justice concluded its unity to investigate cryptocurrency fraud. The Bitcoin mining systems, which are spreading in the United States, are increasingly causing energy, environmental and noise problems-but all of these areas are regulated by authorities on which Trump can exert political influence.

Democratic politicians in particular defend themselves against Trump's plans. The Senator of Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal, announced an investigation of the president's crypto activities. The Senator of Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren, also expressed criticism: “It is shocking how Donald Trump takes advantage of his position as president at a breakneck speed to get billions of US dollars for herself and his family,” said the politician recently in a speech. “We are experiencing the greatest corruption scandal of modern history – but hardly anyone looks.”