Action 148 Crypto Corruption
Background: Donald Trump has found a stunningly corrupt way to profit from his presidency. We first alerted you to this back in March (Action 58), but Democrats have been divided on the issues surrounding crypto. (1, 2) Now, crypto corruption is about to become legalized through bills in the Senate and House. The two bills are called the GENIUS act and the CLARITY act. Par for the course, they are neither brilliant nor clear. But together, they could possibly hand over the future of the United States’ entire financial system to crypto billionaires. “The GENIUS Act greenlights risky financial products with almost no real oversight, giving cover to Trump’s personal crypto empire and allowing figures like him to profit off fake currencies propped up by hype and fraud. The CLARITY Act strips away enforcement power from key regulators and prevents states from acting to stop abuse.” (3). History has informed us through the experience of 19th century banks that issued private currencies and then went bust in droves.
The “GENIUS” Act (4) passed the Senate on June 18. King voted against it, but of course Collins voted for it. Sadly, so did 18 Democrats. It’s now in the House, where the Financial Services Committee will consider it along with the “CLARITY” Act (5). “[To] many public-interest groups, and to Senate Democrats who voted against the legislation, its progress through the Senate mainly illustrated the power of the crypto lobby, which now exercises enormous influence at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.” (6) “Thanks to crypto, the president of the United States is now effectively for sale, and the buyers appear to include not just wealthy foreigners but foreign governments.” (2) Are you one of the Democrats who appears to be OK with this? Why, exactly? Is it because you want to appear “in the know” about crypto? But you don’t really understand it, do you, because you don’t have a mind that tends toward grifting and corruption, and crypto promoters overcomplicate the subject for purposes of obfuscation and bamboozlement of both the public and our politicians.
Action:
If you, like Senator King, are alert to the danger and want this juggernaut to slow down for sober consideration, contact Representatives Golden and Pingree expressing your deep concern, and ask them to vote against these dangerous acts that have the possibility of destabilizing the national economy. Ask them to describe their understanding of the issue. Compare what they say with what you learn from reading the Extra Credit items 2, 6 and 7. If you bother to call Susan Collins, ask her why, specifically and in detail, did she vote for this?
Urgency: Contact our Representatives this week if possible.
Extra Credit:
(1) https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/05/19/congress/crypto-stablecoin-senate-bill-republicans-democrats-00357887
(2) https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/crypto-is-still-for-criming
(3) https://actionnetwork.org/letters/stop-congress-from-legalizing-crypto-corruption
(4) “GENIUS” (S 1582), “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act”. Overview here: https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IN12522. It was sent to the House on June 23 where it will be considered along with the House’s similar bill, the STABLE Act. (HR 2392, “Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy Act”.) Overview here: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2392/
(5) “CLARITY” is in the House Financial Services Committee as HR 3633. Links to info about the bill (and the committee) are at https://financialservices.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=409758. Neither of Golden nor Pingree is on the committee.
(6) https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/why-passing-the-stablecoin-genius-act-might-not-be-so-smart/ June 23
(7) https://www.govtrack.us/posts/513/2025-06-20_what-is-the-genius-act
Other earlier articles:
https://www.kelly.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/End-Crypto-Corruption-Act.pdf
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/08/politics/senate-crypto-bill-democrats-trump
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/06/trump-coin-democrats-crypto-stablecoin
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trump-got-so-greedy-he-might-botch-cryptos-plan-in-congress.html https://contrarian.substack.com/p/trumps-crypto-conflicts-catch-fire
https://act.chrismurphy.com/signup/em_csm_250507_meme
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/07/trump-crypto-democrats