9mo ago

Experts alarmed by Trumps’ crypto meme coins: ‘America voted for corruption’

www.theguardian.com

Summary

Donald Trump faced backlash after launching the $TRUMP cryptocurrency meme coin, valued at billions, days before his inauguration.

Experts, including former ethics officials, called it a major conflict of interest, as Trump has pledged pro-crypto policies while profiting personally.

First Lady Melania also launched her own coin, $MELANIA.

Critics warn the coins, which lack intrinsic value and are highly volatile, could lead to lawsuits and public losses.

Ethics experts described the move as one of the worst conflicts of interest in modern U.S. presidential history.

56 comments

For my own mental health, I have to change "America voted for corruption" (which isn't necessarily wrong) to "Not enough Americans voted against corruption". Looking at you, everyone who stayed home or threw their vote away on non-viable third party protest votes.
- Because this wasn't going to happen anyway .. ok. Blame the low man on the ladder instead of the dnc for refusing to put forward a candidate that anyone actually wants or policies that people actually give a shit about. Repubs do whatever and make us deal with it all anyone really asked the dnc was to shove that same shit down their throats for once.
  
  Both are culpable. But asking for people to actually fucking vote is the lowest of bars.
  
  It's the fault of everyone who didn't vote against this.
  We all know how the system works. Staying at home because Harris didn't promise you a pony means you're ok with this because it was always the only other option.
  
  Oh yea because the last election cycle was the perfect time to "teach them dems a lesson at the polls" huh, oh yea they're really feeling it aren't they? Definitely isn't one of those "punishments" that ends up punishing the punisher more than the punishee...
  
  Harris had a bunch of great policies that most people actually want, but people ignored everything because she didn't side with Palestinians (which was never going to happen regardless of the candidate). The media also didn't give her any coverage on them.
  Was she the best choice for the Democrat candidate? No. Was she a better choice than Trump? Without a shadow of a doubt.
- Not that this helps, but it should be "Americans voted for white nationalism" and "Not enough people voted against racism".
"America" did not. I'm sick of these articles making it sound like he won big. He didn't. 1.43% . The smallest margin of victory in 25 years.
His idiot followers have no critical thinking skills and voted for all the lies he told them which they are up. They're going to be absolutely devastated under his presidency.
- Don't forget all the qualified people who didn't vote at all, and instead just said "Meh, it's fine."
  Not voting is a choice.
  
  True, although personally I think "America didn't give enough of a shit to do even the bare minimum of voting" is no less damning.
- They're not going to be devastated. No matter how much worse off they will become, they will think they are doing better because the mainstream media of Fox and OAN will tell them they are doing better than ever.
  They were fighting for toilet paper under Trump.
- They won't be devastated. They'll continue to watch the same "news" that will tell them how great the country is doing no matter what happens... and then continue to say how awful the Democrats are, and to blame them for individual problems.
- A plurality of Americans voted for him. It wasn't even EC shenanigans this time. It wasn't a huge margin, no, but more Americans who voted wanted him than any other candidate.
  
  This is not the right use of the word "plurality". A "plurality" voted for Harris as well. Stop trying to disguise what you're saying.
  Trump barely one, and it may have had to do with small segments voting in kind. It was not a landslide nor mandate.
- I'm sick of these articles
  Let's be very clear that corporate news has failed so spectacularly, they can not recover from this. They will not change, and we shouldn't give them any benefit of doubt.
  You will need to find a different way of getting the news than from CNN / NBC / NYT or whatever it used to be in the before-times.
Donald Trump faced backlash...
Yeah, from people who have been crying foul about Trump for years now. Unfortunately his supporters just don't give a shit. Why aren't they asking Republican senators and representatives about the president launching his own currency? They're the dumb fucks that should be offering up backlash but aren't.
- The corporate news sewer spew begins. You can drink all you want, but it never gets any better and it costs a lot to do it.
- Manufactured morons. That's been the Rs goal since Reagan at the latest.
  
  Earlier. Southern Strategy, it's what helped Reagan get into power.
Could this be the end of the American empire?
With this blatant and chaotic corruption, criminality, exploitation, cheating, and stealing, how could the US stay a world empire? Won't we just spiral out of control and everything that made us the world leader fade away, die off, emigrate, or become ineffectual?
If cheating is now encouraged by the highest leader and law of the land, why wouldn't it spread everywhere in our system?
I'm not hopeful. Scary times!
- In my opinion, most likely yes!
  But empires can take decades/centuries to fall. I'm aure it's different in the modern age with modern technology but america might still hold out for decades
  I'd argue that the American Empire has been in decline for decades now, however
Really? Strump and Smelania?
- Heh, yup. Whole lot of suckers about to be robbed of their last dollar in the next few years.
I don't have a problem with people launching meme coins for fun. They're consenting adults, if they want to risk thousands of dollars on a meme, that's their choice. But an elected official who has the power to pass laws regulating cryptocurrency doing it? Yikes.
You have to be an expert to realize that?
Melania coin? Absurd.
- After they duped idiots out of millions with the Trump coin, they quickly (in 1 day) threw together the Melania coin. Because they saw how easy it was to pump their base for money, so they just did it twice because why not?
  No way this is legal, but with Trump that doesn't seem to matter one bit. They also state it has nothing to do with the presidency or any government related thing, but I don't really see how that's possible if it's the official coin of the (at time of launch) president elect. Not that any of this will ever go to court, but still.
  I wouldn't be surprised if they release a Junior coin somewhere in the next months, the Trump base is so far gone they will continue to throw their money on the grift that is Trump.

56 comments