Before taking office, the Trump family launched a cryptocurrency project called World Liberty Financial (WLFI) and issued an official meme coin $TRUMP, which not only shocked the crypto world and the world, but also plunged Trump into a controversy over moral and conflict of interest in the US recently. Opponents have called on Congress and oversight agencies to investigate the matter.
According to a report by Coindesk, Gerald Connolly, the ranking Democratic member of the House Oversight Committee, wrote to the committee's Republican chairman James Comer yesterday (22nd), calling for the Oversight Committee to immediately take action to investigate whether Trump and his family's cryptocurrency business and the issuance of an official meme coin pose a serious conflict of interest with his presidential duties.
In the incoming Trump administration, peddling influence has become a global business, resulting in a dramatic increase in the president's conflicts of interest.
Trump WLFI Platform and TRUMP Meme Coin Involve Conflict of Interest
As the ranking member of the Oversight Committee, Congressman Connolly questioned whether Trump may have profited from his family's WLFI platform and Meme coin $TRUMP, which could involve conflicts of interest, violations of presidential ethics standards, and national security risks.
The power and financial entanglements of President Trump and the Trump Organization are deeply troubling.
He pointed out that Trump's WLFI platform is particularly concerning, as public reports show that WLFI's largest investor, Justin Sun - the founder of TRON, is under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and he also mentioned Sun's lawsuit filed by the SEC in 2023 for securities fraud and market manipulation.
Democratic Congressman: Trump's Meme Coin Pollutes Crypto Industry
Maxine Waters, a Democratic Congresswoman who previously chaired the House Financial Services Committee, also expressed concerns about Trump's meme coin. On January 20, the day of Trump's inauguration, she issued a statement saying:
Trump has created a way to evade national security and anti-corruption laws through his meme coin, allowing interested parties to anonymously funnel money to him and his inner circle. Buyers could include large corporations, allied nations forced to show "respect" to the president, and our adversaries like Russia and China, who could profit immensely from influencing Trump's presidency.
Waters believes that $TRUMP not only damages Trump's moral standards, but also pollutes the broader cryptocurrency industry, stating that "the industry has long been struggling to gain legitimacy and a fair competitive environment with other financial institutions."
Although the two Democratic Party leaders of the relevant House committees have publicly called for Congress to investigate Trump's family's cryptocurrency business and the issuance of meme coins, the report also states that due to their Democratic affiliation, it is unlikely that the Republican-controlled Congress will respond to their demands.
Analyst: TRUMP Token Economics Horrible, but No Immediate Supply Concerns
Additionally, according to a report by The Block, DeFi analyst David Zimmerman of K33 Research said in a report on Wednesday:
"Trump's official token economics are horrible, but there is no unlocking for 3 months, so there is no need to worry about new supply for a considerable period of time."
Currently, 20% of the official Trump supply is in circulation. Half of the circulating supply is used for liquidity, and the other half is provided to the public. The remaining 80% is locked and will be gradually released over 36 months. These locked tokens are divided into six entities, labeled as Creators and CIC Digital 1-6.
Each group will face a lock-up period of 3 to 12 months, after which 10% or 25% will be unlocked first, and then unlocked daily over two years. The first unlocking will affect the "Creators" and "CIC Digital 1", which is expected to occur in three months.
The report points out that this token economic structure is already outdated for a meme coin, as the market is increasingly favoring projects launched with a fully circulating supply. He added: "There is no sugar coating this, this token economics is horrible for a meme coin."
According to the report, Trump has reached an agreement with CIC Digital and CIC Ventures, both of which are owned by Trump's revocable trust fund. Zimmerman said: "It is currently unclear who the creators are, but Trump will have a significant economic interest in the meme coin through CIC Digital."
$TRUMP plunges 13%
CoinGecko data shows that $TRUMP, which had a market capitalization of $14.5 billion, plummeted nearly 13% in the past 24 hours, currently trading at $37.15 and with a market capitalization of $7.4 billion, ranking 29th among cryptocurrencies. The First Lady meme coin MELANIA also crashed more than 19% in the past 24 hours, currently trading at $3.33.
