Does Crypto Bill FUND TRUMP’S WALLET?

The U.S. Senate advanced the GENIUS Act to regulate stablecoins, prompting Senator Elizabeth Warren to warn it could enable President Trump to profit from his own cryptocurrency ventures.

At a Glance

The Senate advanced the GENIUS Act with a 66–32 vote, aiming to regulate stablecoins.

Senator Elizabeth Warren opposed the bill, citing concerns over President Trump’s potential financial gain.

The Trump family’s firm, World Liberty Financial, launched the USD1 stablecoin, raising conflict of interest issues.

A $2 billion investment from Abu Dhabi into USD1 intensified ethical concerns.

The bill includes provisions for reserve requirements and consumer protections for stablecoin issuers.

Political Battle Over Crypto Regulation

The GENIUS Act, a bipartisan effort to regulate stablecoins, passed a key procedural hurdle in the Senate with a 66–32 vote. The bill mandates that issuers of dollar-backed stablecoins maintain full reserves, adhere to anti-money laundering laws, and provide transparent disclosures. But controversy erupted when it emerged that the legislation contains exemptions that could benefit President Trump’s cryptocurrency holdings.

Senator Elizabeth Warren emerged as the bill’s loudest critic, accusing lawmakers of enabling Trump’s personal crypto enrichment. “The GENIUS Act will accelerate Trump’s corruption,” she declared on the Senate floor, arguing that the measure effectively puts Trump in charge of regulating his own financial product.

Watch a report: Senator Warren remarks on GENIUS Act.

Ethical Concerns and Foreign Investments

Much of the criticism stems from Trump’s ties to World Liberty Financial, the firm behind the USD1 stablecoin. As noted in Senate Banking Committee testimony, the Trump family maintains a majority stake in the company, raising alarms about self-dealing and conflicts of interest.

These concerns escalated after it was revealed that a $2 billion investment from Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund had been funneled into USD1. Critics argue this creates a geopolitical vulnerability, effectively placing foreign capital in the hands of a former—and potentially future—U.S. president.

Supporters of the legislation maintain that regulation is long overdue. They point to the bill’s detailed consumer protection provisions as a necessary step to stabilize a volatile market that has long lacked federal oversight.

Implications for the Cryptocurrency Market

If passed, the GENIUS Act would mark the first comprehensive federal framework for stablecoin regulation in U.S. history. Provisions within the bill would require stablecoins to be fully backed by liquid assets, and would impose regulatory authority under the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve—despite Warren’s claims to the contrary.

Financial analysts warn, however, that the law could create precedent for political entanglement in crypto markets. As outlined in a report by Reuters, such regulatory frameworks may be vulnerable to exploitation when political figures maintain financial stakes in the assets being governed.

Though Warren’s rhetoric is dramatic, the underlying concern—whether U.S. crypto regulation can truly be impartial—remains unresolved. And with the 2024 election cycle still reverberating through Washington, the GENIUS Act may end up doing more to politicize crypto than to regulate it.