On Day 1 of Anti-Crypto Corruption Week, Ranking Member Maxine Waters and Committee Democrats are shining a light on just how shady President Donald Trump’s memecoin scam really is. In case you forgot, Trump once railed against crypto on Fox Business in 2021 and declared that he wanted the U.S. dollar to remain the “currency of the world.”

What changed? He realized just how much money he could make from it.

On January 17, just three days before Trump was inaugurated as President, he launched his $TRUMP memecoin, which, in just a few weeks, helped significantly inflate his net worth by at least $350 million while defrauding investors of over $2 billion. This is a textbook example of a pump and dump scheme, allowing his insiders the ability to buy in early and cash out at the expense of regular investors.

That’s not all.

The $TRUMP memecoin:

• Serves NO purpose. It only has value because of Trump’s name and public profile. It exists only to extract money from investors and sell access to the White House.
  
  
• Is a clear violation of securities laws. Trump continues to profit off the memecoin without proper guardrails. Under Trump’s SEC, memecoins are conveniently not considered a security – so nothing will be done.
  
  
• Creates a gateway for foreign money and influence into the White House and our political system through unregulated, potentially anonymous cryptocurrency transactions.
  

The New Republic sums up $TRUMP as a “vessel for corruption”:

After launching the memecoin, Trump hosted the top holders of his memecoin to dine at his private golf club in Virginia (which was a massive scam, btw. Here’s what some of the attendees had to say). People spent an estimated $148 million to attend these events. Of the top 25 $TRUMP holders vying for this VIP dinner, 19 used foreign exchanges, meaning they appeared to be foreign nationals. More than half of the top 220 wallets were linked to similar offshore platforms. The idea that foreign individuals can buy their way into Trump’s inner circle through a crypto scheme is blatant corruption and a massive national security risk. Clear as day.

To stop this blatant memecoin scam, Members of Congress must vote “NO” on the so-called “CLARITY” and “GENIUS” Acts which give Trump a greenlight to continue this memecoin scam. Congress should also pass Ranking Member Waters’ “Stop TRUMP in Crypto Act of 2025.”

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