Meme Coins and Political Influence

Donald Trump was once a cryptocurrency skeptic, saying as recently as 2021 that bitcoin “seems like a scam.” Today, some critics are saying the same thing about the president’s now fervent embrace of crypto, both in his business investments and policy decisions. During the campaign, Trump promised to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet,” while taking tens of millions in donations from the industry. After the election, he and Melania Trump both touted the release of a crypto meme coin featuring their images. And last week, after making appointments and issuing executive orders aimed at boosting the industry, the president’s social media startup Truth Social announced plans to expand into crypto. Now some legal experts, and even industry leaders, are voicing serious ethics concerns. We’ll look at what Trump’s pro-crypto stance might mean for the future of digital assets, the economy, and national security.

Guests:

Andrew R. Chow, correspondent, Time; author, "Cryptomania: Hype, Hope, and the Fall of FTX's Billion-Dollar Fintech Empire"

Zeke Faux, investigative reporter, Bloomberg; author "Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall"

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