Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Congressman Stephen Lynch (D-MA), announced that next week will be “Anti-Crypto Corruption Week” during which they will lead Democrats in opposition to Republicans’ efforts to jam through the House three dangerous pieces of crypto legislation, including the so-called “CLARITY Act,” the “GENIUS Act,” and a bill banning a central bank digital currency.

Together, these bills pave the way for massive crypto fraud and legitimize President Trump’s crypto corruption, which has already netted him a staggering $1.2 billion.

“Just days after passing one of the most egregious billionaire giveaways in American history and ripping basic needs away from American families, Republicans are at it again. They’re doubling down by fast-tracking a dangerous package of crypto legislation through Congress,” said Congresswoman Waters. “Aside from lacking urgently needed consumer protections and national security guardrails, these bills would make Congress complicit in Trump’s unprecedented crypto scam – one that has personally enriched himself, his entire family, and the billionaire insiders in his cabinet, all while defrauding investors. Worse still, these bills serve as a brazen stamp of approval for the blatant abuse of power we’re witnessing in real time. And the irony couldn’t be more glaring: the same Republicans who rail against a government-backed digital dollar in the name of ‘freedom’ are now rushing to hand over the keys to Americans’ financial future to Trump’s illegal and corrupt crypto empire.

Republicans are sending a clear message to the American people that they are unwilling to stand up to the crypto lobby, and even more disturbingly, that they are too cowardly to stand up to the President. Well, Democrats are not afraid, and will spend this week reminding the public of the true cost of this corruption. Our message is clear: we will not allow the financial system to become a vehicle for self-dealing, lawlessness, and abuse of power. The stakes for consumers, investors, and our democracy could not be higher.”

“My Republican colleagues are eager to continue doing the bidding for the crypto industry while conveniently ignoring the vulnerabilities and opportunities for abuse that exist in crypto – especially given President Trump’s acceptance of billions of dollars in investment in his family crypto business from foreign governments and his blatant conflicts of interest,” said Congressman Lynch. “The Republican-led, ‘CLARITY Act’ and the Senate’s ‘GENIUS Act’ will not only further President Trump’s corruption, but expose our financial stability, national security, and consumer protections to greater risk. Meanwhile the ‘Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act,’ will shackle U.S. Government research while giving China another opportunity to capitalize on a new technology. The volatile and risky nature of crypto products and the lack of investor protections will likely have devastating consequences on Americans’ financial lives, and Congress cannot allow it to undermine our traditional financial markets which are the envy of the world. President Trump’s blatant violation of ethics laws and exploitation of the Presidency to sell baseball hats, sneakers, commemorative coins, fragrances, watches, jewelry, musical instruments, T-shirts, and Bibles as well as crypto to fill his own pockets is a disgrace and cannot go unchecked.”

This effort builds on the relentless work Committee Democrats have carried out over the last few months to call attention to Trump’s crypto crimes:

• Led effort to block dangerous stablecoin bill: Waters led Committee Democrats through a 13-hour markup, offering more than 30 amendments to block a harmful stablecoin bill that fails to provide urgently needed protections and empowers President Trump and his insiders to continue exploiting his power to enrich himself through stablecoins.
  
  
• Blocked Republican hearing, staged walkout: Congresswoman Waters led Committee Democrats in blocking a joint Financial Services-Agriculture Committee hearing to explore the Republican-led crypto market structure bill after Chairman Hill refused to include provisions in the bill to block Trump’s crypto crimes.
  

• Convened Democratic-led hearing: After walking out of the joint hearing, Waters led Committee Democrats in convening a separate Democratic hearing focused on the litany of crypto corruption carried out by Trump and his family.
  
  
• Introduced the “STOP Trump in Crypto Act” hours before Trump’s memecoin dinner: This bill introduced by Waters and Committee Democrats would prevent the President, Vice President, Members of Congress and their immediate families from engaging in crypto corruption.
  
  
• Convened a SECOND Democratic hearing: Following a full Committee hearing led by Republicans to discuss the “CLARITY Act,” Waters and all Committee Democrats used a rare procedural maneuver to convene a “Minority Day hearing.” During this hearing, which featured a second panel of witnesses selected solely by Committee Democrats, Members obtained a fuller picture of the implications of Trump’s crypto crimes, as well as the perils of the market structure bill.
  
  
• Hosted a “page-turn” for Democratic Members on Committee: Congresswoman Waters hosted a “page-turn” session with ethics, securities, and national security experts to give Committee Democrats a page-by-page deep dive into the “CLARITY Act,” and highlight the worst parts of this bill ahead of the markup vote.
  
  
• Led historic fight against dangerous “CLARITY Act”: During the full Committee markup, Democrats offered nearly 30 amendments to lessen the harm of the bill. Republicans rejected all amendments, including amendments blocking Trump from profiting from crypto at the expense of consumers and strengthening protections. See the full list of amendments they blocked here.
  

Background:

Under the leadership of Congresswoman Waters, this Committee has a long history of exploring crypto regulation. After assuming chair in 2019, Waters responded to the emergence of new technologies in the financial services industry by establishing Congress’ first-ever Task Forces on Financial Technology and Artificial Intelligence. Under the leadership of Task Force Chairs, Stephen Lynch and Bill Foster, respectively, Committee Democrats led the way to encourage equitable and responsible innovation and ensure that regulators and the law are adapting to the changing landscape to best protect consumers, investors, and small businesses. Waters also established the Digital Assets Working Group composed of Members of the Committee’s Democratic caucus to specifically dive deeper into digital assets, holding a variety of discussions with key government officials, industry representatives, academic experts, and consumer and investor advocates. The Task Forces held a total of 22 hearings across the 116th and 117th Congresses.

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