Democratic Party Urges SEC To Save Records Related To Trump's Crypto Business, Investigate Potential Conflict Of Interest
JAKARTA A number of Democratic lawmakers have asked the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to keep and provide records regarding US President Donald Trump's involvement in the World Liberty Financial crypto project.
The request comes amid concerns about a possible conflict of interest involving the Trump family and its influence on crypto industry regulations in the US.
Senator Elizabeth Warren and Maxine Waters Representative sent a letter to SEC Temporary Chair Mark Uyeda, containing requests for information regarding the extent to which Trump's family's financial interests in World Liberty Financial could affect the commission's policies.
In the letter, Warren and Waters cited the latest reports revealing how World Liberty Financial has raised more than half a billion dollars in recent months, with the Trump family controlling 75% of the revenue of the tokens generated.
In addition, the Trump family will also receive 60% of operating revenue after the "decentralized finance" (DeFi)-based core business begins. With this arrangement, the Trump family is currently entitled to around 400 million dollars of the fees raised.
SEE ALSO:
A White House spokesman stated that Trump's assets are in a trust managed by his children, so there is no conflict of interest. However, Democrats continue to highlight Trump's influence in SEC policies, especially with the appointment of Commissioner Hester Peirce as the leader of the SEC crypto task force. Peirce is known to have a more pro-crypto view than his predecessors did.
In response to these allegations, a spokesman for World Liberty Financial called Warren's actions an attempt "to abuse government power to attack Trump's family and our project." The statement added that the allegations in the letter were "banishing, baseless and dangerous."
Meanwhile, the three Trump children mentioned in the letter have yet to provide official comments, as have the founders of World Liberty Financial, including crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, who is said to be the largest single investor with an investment of 75 million dollars.
Warren and Waters asked the SEC to keep and provide a copy of communications between the White House and the SEC on World Liberty Financial. They also questioned the procedures implemented to prevent Trump's family's influence in the SEC's decision, given "unprecedented financial relations between Trump's family and the crypto industry."
This request also includes records related to the SEC's decision to postpone its case against Justin Sun and its Hong Kong-based affiliated companies. Sun, apart from being a major investor, is now also an advisor to the World Liberty Financial project.
Trump has promised to make major changes to crypto regulations to accelerate his widespread adoption in the US. Over the past few years, the Trump family has been involved in various crypto projects that generate hundreds of millions of dollars.
Under the leadership of Gary Gensler, the SEC during the Joe Biden administration took a strict stance on the crypto industry. However, after Uyeda served as SEC's Temporary Chair, the commission began to relax its approach, including by reducing the size of the crypto-related law enforcement team.
On March 25, World Liberty Financial announced plans to launch a new stablecoin named USD1, which is pegged against the US dollar. Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee led by Republicans is considering legislation to expand stablecoin adoption.
In a meeting related to the stablecoins on Wednesday April 2, Waters confirmed that he would not support the bill unless President Trump was barred from owning a stablecoin business through World Liberty.
"With this stablecoin bill, the committee created an unacceptable and dangerous precedent. This provides validation for the president's and his kronin's efforts to write the rules to enrich themselves at the expense of others," Waters said.