Introduction: A 48:49 "Political Ambush" - Undercurrents in the Blueprint of the Crypto Empire
On May 9, 2025, under the dome of Capitol Hill in Washington, a vote that should have been recorded in crypto history came to an abrupt end with a dramatic 48:49 tally. The GENIUS Act, strongly pushed by Trump - a legislation aimed at establishing a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins - was stillborn due to the collective defection of the Democratic Party.
Meanwhile, Ripple's five-year lawsuit with the SEC ended in a settlement, but was pushed to the forefront of controversy due to suspicions of interest transfer involving the Trump family.
At this moment, the cryptocurrency market is experiencing a bizarre "split": Bitcoin breaking through $100,000, Altcoins like DOGE and SHIB surging over 300% in a single week, with retail investor frenzy coexisting with institutional observation. However, when regulatory vacuum collides with political gaming, is this Altcoin season triggered by "Trump concept coins" the prelude to a new cycle, or a bubble born of power rent-seeking?
Chapter One: Death of the Bill - A "Political Sniper Attack" Against Trump
1.1 From Bipartisan Consensus to Party Split: The 24-Hour Life and Death of the GENIUS Act
Rewinding to February 2025, the GENIUS Act emerged with a "bipartisan consensus". Its core design was ingenious: allowing compliant institutions to issue stablecoins with 100% USD reserves, publicly disclosing asset composition monthly, with mandatory audits for market caps over $50 billion. Republicans viewed it as the cornerstone of "digital dollar hegemony", while Democrats valued consumer protection clauses, briefly passing initial review in the Senate Banking Committee with an unusual five Democratic Party defections.
However, the turning point came on May 6th. Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley proposed the "Ending Crypto Corruption Act", demanding a ban on cryptocurrency asset ownership by presidents, congressmen, and their relatives.
This "sniper clause targeting Trump" instantly ignited the powder keg - according to the Wall Street Journal, the Trump family issued USD1 stablecoin through World Liberty Financial (WLFI), reaching a $2 billion transaction with a UAE sovereign fund, with personal crypto assets accounting for nearly 40% of net worth. Democratic leader Chuck Schumer even pressured colleagues in a closed-door meeting: "We can't let Trump's family treasury wear a legal cloak."
1.2 Power Distribution Struggle: The "Crypto Dark War" between Federal and State Rights
The surface controversy was anti-corruption, but it deeply concealed a power struggle between central and local authorities. Republicans advocated federal-led regulation, allowing institutions to directly apply for nationwide licenses; Democrats insisted on preserving states' review rights over foreign issuers, attempting to limit Trump-affiliated enterprise expansion through decentralized regulatory powers. This gaming was more subtle in technical clauses: Democrats forcibly added a monitoring clause requiring reporting for blockchain transfers over $10,000, derided by developers as "KYC tyranny in the DeFi world".
Finally, the May 9th vote became a sacrifice of bipartisan gaming. Republican leader John Thune even cast a "tactical opposing vote" to preserve the opportunity to reintroduce the bill in the future.
Behind this farce is the cruel reality of crypto regulation completely becoming a political bargaining chip.
Chapter Two: Ripple Case Finale - The "Revolving Door" Behind the Settlement
2.1 From $125 Million to $50 Million: SEC's "Strategic Retreat"
On the same day the bill failed, Ripple reached a settlement with SEC: paying only a $50 million fine, without admitting XRP's securities status. CEO Brad Garlinghouse called this a "victory for the industry", but the terms are thought-provoking - SEC abandoned personal prosecution of Ripple executives and allowed continued XRP institutional sales. This contrasts sharply with the hard-line stance against Coinbase in 2023.
2.2 Trump's "Crypto Tsar" and Revolving Door Suspicions
The case's turning point is closely related to Trump-appointed "Crypto Policy Coordinator" David Sacks. He publicly declared "XRP is not a security" and promoted the legalization of tokens like SOL and ADA.
More intriguingly, Sacks has multiple interest connections with WLFI: his Craft Ventures invested in WLFI's TrumpCoin, and WLFI's USD1 stablecoin is the core settlement tool for Ripple's cross-border payment network.
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal pointedly said: "This is not just a regulatory compromise, but a collusion of power and capital." When technical compliance yields to political alignment, the so-called "decentralization faith" has long been a rhetoric tool for interest groups.
Chapter Three: Altcoin Season Carnival - A "Dangerous Game" in Regulatory Vacuum
3.1 Meme Coin Surge and Trump's "Wealth Machine"
As the bill stalled, the crypto market staged an absurd scene: Trump token surged over 30%, with multiple Altcoins like Pnut violently rising.
Behind this is WLFI's carefully designed "positive feedback loop": policy hints raise coin prices → attract retail investors → use gains to lobby politicians → push for more lenient regulation. This "political+financial" hybrid manipulation makes traditional insider trading seem pale in comparison.
3.2 Institutional Funds' "Cold Observation"
Contrary to retail enthusiasm, institutions like Goldman Sachs and Fidelity chose to remain inactive. Goldman Sachs estimates that the bill's failure has postponed at least $12 billion in institutional funds.
Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire candidly said: "Without a federal license, we're like operating in 50 different countries." This division exacerbates market fragility - when 90% of stablecoin transactions still depend on offshore issuers like Tether (USDT), any black swan event could trigger a systemic collapse.
The Democrats' "anti-corruption priority" and Republicans' "innovation priority" are actually two sides of the same coin. On one hand, allowing stablecoins to grow wildly could weaken the dollar's dominance (like Tether's offshore dollar system); on the other hand, overly politicized regulation would strangle technological revolution.
This contradiction reaches its peak in Trump's "crypto empire": WLFI wants to become a "digital dollar agent" through USD1 stablecoin while harvesting retail investors through Meme coins to accumulate capital.
Conclusion: When Technology No Longer Waits for Policy
The GENIUS Act's failure reveals a deeper paradox: blockchain technology is reconstructing financial rules through code, while legislators are still immersed in old order power struggles. Satoshi Nakamoto's inscription in the Genesis Block - "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks" - might be a prophecy for today: when traditional power systems cannot solve their own corruption, technology will ultimately forge a new path.
Whether the Altcoin season's fireworks can illuminate the way forward, the answer is not in Washington's halls of debate, but in every line of code typed by developers. After all, the true crypto spirit has never been about awaiting someone's pardon, but creating immutable rules.
