TLDR
- Lawmakers Warren and Waters have written to the SEC, requesting details about the Trump family's involvement with World Liberty Financial
- Reports suggest the Trump family is claiming a whopping 75% of the World Liberty token's earnings, accumulating an estimated $390 million to date.
- The SEC has recently put a hold on legal proceedings against several crypto enterprises, including one linked to WLFI financier Justin Sun.
- The House Financial Services Committee has advanced legislation on stablecoins amidst a heated debate about Trump’s potential crypto conflicts.
- WLFI has just released a USD1 stablecoin as lawmakers debate stablecoin legislation.
Concerns have been raised by Democratic lawmakers about a possible intersection between Trump's crypto endeavors and U.S. financial oversight. On April 2, Senator Elizabeth Warren, together with Maxine Waters, addressed a letter to SEC’s Acting Chair Mark Uyeda, asking for information regarding World Liberty Financial Inc. (WLFI), a crypto venture with significant Trump family connections.
The correspondence asks for all documentation and communication regarding WLFI as far back as October 15, 2024, when the entity started its $WLFI token sales, amassing $550 million through certain exemptions.
Legal filings reveal that Donald Trump, along with his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, have ties to WLFI through an entity called DT Marks DEFI LLC — reportedly possessing 75% of the token's profits and future operational revenues.
Lawmakers are worried that such deep financial entanglements “pose an unprecedented conflict of interest, influencing the administration's approach—whether active or passive—towards the crypto market.”
Changes in Regulations and Halted Enforcement Actions
At a time when the SEC is transitioning from rigorous enforcement to a more lax regulatory stance under Acting Chair Uyeda, several crypto legal actions have been paused or dismissed, including against companies like Coinbase, Kraken, Uniswap Labs, and OpenSea.
Particular focus has been on Tron’s founder Justin Sun. Not long after his $75 million investment in WLFI, the SEC quietly put a hold on their case against him, which some interpret as a potential bias in regulation.
This timeline has sparked discussions about questionable favoritism in regulatory practices. Lawmakers have asked the SEC to maintain “all internal discussions that justified the initial legal actions,” and to report on meetings involving SEC officials with representatives from Sun or Trump’s circle.
Trump has vowed significant regulatory overhauls to facilitate broader adoption of crypto within the U.S. Since the appointment of Uyeda as Acting Chair, there has been a task force dedicated to working excessively with the crypto sector, spearheaded by Republican Commissioner Hester Peirce, who is known for advocating pro-crypto policies.
Stablecoin Rules Amid Family Investments
Coinciding with the release of this letter, the House Financial Services Committee audibly moved forward in voting for stablecoin legislation. The STABLE Act saw committee approval with 32 votes in favor versus 17 against.
The bill, labeled as the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy Act, aims to lay down a structure for stablecoins in dollar value terms, covering reserve mandates and anti-money laundering criteria.
WATCH: @RepYoungKim in support of the STABLE Act:
“The bill’s state-chartered option would preserve innovation by granting smaller enterprises a regulatory approach that suits their size and risk profile.”
📺⬇️ pic.twitter.com/h1YvCeT8gw
— Financial Services GOP (@FinancialCmte) April 2, 2025
Just before this vote occurred, WLFI unveiled its USD1 stablecoin. This timing compounded issues surrounding the possible sway of political acumen over the legislative outcome.
At the committee discussion, Waters asserted her unwillingness to back the legislation unless President Trump was stopped from owning a stablecoin venture through World Liberty. “With this stablecoin act, this committee is sanctioning an unacceptable, risky course that acknowledges the President and his associates' maneuvers to draft rules that serve to enrich them at the public’s expense,” she declared.
Amendments were suggested by Democrats to prevent the President and high-ranking officials from launching such financial tools while in power. These amendments were disregarded by the Republican-led committee.
In a response, the White House stated, “President Trump’s holdings are maintained in a trust managed by his children. There are no ethical concerns.”
WLFI also reacted strongly towards the queries from lawmakers. A spokesperson regarded it as “disheartening that Senator Warren aims to utilize the government’s influence to continue the harassment and target on the Trump clan and our initiative.”
The SEC faces an April 14 deadline to answer the lawmakers’ letter. Warren and Waters closed their inquiry by emphasizing that “The U.S. public has the right to understand whether their financial systems are being administered fairly or if regulatory determinations are swayed by financial interests of the President’s kin.”
An SEC representative affirmed that “Acting Chairman Uyeda will address Congress members directly.”
