As former President Donald Trump gets his cryptocurrency venture under way, Democrats on Capitol Hill promised to give his business a thorough examination to target any potential conflict of interest, Politico reported Tuesday.
Trump on Monday announced via livestream on X the launch of World Liberty Financial, which will be run by his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, as well as real estate investor Steve Witkoff.
Experts have noted a reversal in Trump's embrace of the crypto markets after he initially expressed skepticism. World Liberty Financial is expected to be a borrowing and lending service used to trade cryptocurrency.
While Donald Trump Jr. has said embracing cryptocurrency is a key alternative to what some on the right call a banking system warped against conservatives, Democrats have balked at the notion of a presidential candidate launching such a business during an election campaign.
"For those of us who care about preventing money laundering and protecting investors, it is imperative that we apply the highest scrutiny to this most recent Trump family grift," said Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., who serves on the House Financial Services Committee.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., expressed similar concerns that Trump would be using the office of president to further his own empire.
"The basic problem is that the presidency is not a money-making venture, or it should not be, and Trump from the beginning has regarded it as an extension of his business enterprises," Raskin said in an interview last week. "This just multiplies the conflicts of interests and the exposure to more criminal and constitutional problems."
Trump's business launch coincides with a report from the Federal Election Commission that noted a record level of political donations in 2024 have been made in crytpo thus far, totaling $190 million across both parties and a 13-fold increase since 2020.
Trump dismissed the Democrats' view of his business.
"It's a very hostile environment right now. The SEC has been extremely hostile, and really going after people," he said. "I view it differently. I just view it that we have to be the top, no matter what we do."
Donald Trump Jr. called the family's new venture "a game changer," adding it would be the start of a "financial revolution."
Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., said Trump and crypto, "make Clarence Thomas look like Mother Teresa," in reference to Thomas' alleged accepting of gifts in the form of vacations from billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow.
According to cryptocurrency price tracking site CoinMarketCap, there are over 2 million cryptocurrencies, yet the site notes that number includes many "dead" coins, meaning they are part of an abandoned project or a scam.
Bitcoin, the world's first cryptocurrency, remains the most valuable.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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