And Who Pays? We Do, Of Course
The Crypto-cartel has been shoveling millions of dollars into politicians’ coffers for two main reasons— first and foremost they want light regulation so that they Cana get away with ripping off the public. But also to see the creation of a national crypto reserve that will put the risk of their gambling and money laundering onto the public. Yesterday, their biggest single recipient of dirty money, Señor Trumpanzyy, announced he’s in the process of creating that reserve— and even named with crypto outfits with be included (Solana, XRP and Cardno)— sending their values sky-high immediately. (He immediately added Bitcoin and Ethereum.)
Andrew Ackerman reported that Señor T, referring to the cartel as a “critical industry,” said he aims to “ensure ‘the U.S. is the Crypto Capital of the World.’… Trump’s posts boosted crypto prices, reversing recent declines amid a general downturn in risky assets. Bitcoin rose about 8 percent to about $93,000 per coin as of early Sunday afternoon. XRP jumped about 30 percent. Solana, the underlying blockchain platform for so-called memecoins, including the [blatantly corrupt] president’s official $Trump token, rose nearly 20 percent. The Trump coin was up more than 15 percent.”
Crypto prices can fluctuate wildly, which could put taxpayer dollars at risk if the government acquires bitcoin and other tokens for a reserve and their values ultimately fall. Economists and fiscal experts say a strategic reserve would primarily benefit existing bitcoin owners, who could profit immensely if Trump’s actions boost prices and they opt to sell.
Jason Furman, a former economic adviser to President Barack Obama, was among the skeptics who criticized the idea. “Torn as to whether this is more dumb or more corrupt,” he said on Twitter.
Presumably, the reserve might start with the roughly 207,000 Bitcoin already held by the U.S. government, seized from criminal activities (e.g., the Silk Road case). Trump has suggested expanding this by halting auctions of seized crypto and instead stockpiling it. Additional purchases will occur, funded through the Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund (ESF), which some argue could be repurposed to buy digital assets without Congressional approval. Others, however, believe significant purchases would require new legislation, an easy ask for the crypto-cartel judging by the number of corrupt Members of Congress they have already bought.
The reserve would be held by the Treasury as a hedge against economic instability, inflation, or dollar devaluation. Trump has framed it as a way to cement U.S. dominance in the crypto space, calling it a response to “corrupt attacks” by the Biden administration. The reserve might also involve trading or lending these assets, though specifics are unclear.
A working group, chaired by corrupt crypto czar David Sacks, is tasked with drafting regulations and finalizing the reserve’s structure. A White House Crypto Summit on March 7, 2025, may provide further clarity. Legal experts are split on whether this can be done via executive action alone or needs congressional approval, adding uncertainty to its rollout. In practice, this could mean the U.S. government becomes a major holder of cryptocurrencies, potentially influencing their market prices and legitimizing them as state-backed assets, although the main use is still drug smuggling, money-laundering, gambling and terrorism. The market reacted swiftly to Trump’s announcement yesterday, with Bitcoin jumping 8-10%, XRP surging 33%, and Solana and Cardano seeing 20-60% gains, adding over $300 billion to the global crypto market cap in hours.
The plan benefits crypto insiders— at taxpayers’ expense— rather than serving a broader economic purpose. Financial experts like Dean Baker from the Center for Economic and Policy Research argue that cryptocurrencies lack intrinsic value, unlike oil or gold, which have tangible uses. Bitcoin, for instance, isn’t widely used for transactions anymore; it’s largely a speculative asset. Spending public funds on it could be seen as a gamble with no clear payoff for the average citizen. Bitcoin’s price volatility (e.g., soaring to $109,071 then dipping below $90,000 in recent months) means the government could lose billions if it buys high and the market tanks. Economist Eswar Prasad has warned that a reserve would expose the U.S. to these risks, sticking taxpayers with the bill while benefiting existing holders— like Trump’s crypto allies— who could cash out at inflated prices. The government buying large amounts of crypto will artificially inflate prices, creating a windfall for early investors, including crypto moguls who backed Trump’s campaign with over $230 million. If the U.S. spends, say, $677 billion (as proposed in Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis’ bill to buy 1 million bitcoin over five years), it might just enrich a small group of speculators rather than bolster national wealth. It wouldn’t surprise me if half the members of Congress are holding Bitcoin, some gifts from the cartel.
The widespread perception of the Crypto Reserve as another chapter in Trump’s endemic corruption hinges on his personal and political ties to the crypto industry. He flipped from calling Bitcoin a “scam” s recently as 2021 to a pro-crypto stance in 2024, coinciding with massive campaign donations from the crypto-cartel leaders— $22 million directly to his campaign, according to The Guardian— so basically a pay-to-play scheme, where policy favors reward donors. On top of that, Trump’s sons, Eric, Don Jr. and Barron, launched World Liberty Financial), a crypto venture that’s already secured $75 million from Justin Sun, a controversial figure facing SEC fraud charges. Trump himself stands to profit indirectly, and WLF’s prominence at events like the Abu Dhabi Bitcoin conference— attended by Trump lackeys— fuels claims of self-dealing. Scaramucci is warning that WLF’s model—allowing anyone to send crypto to a Trump-linked entity—creates a legal avenue for influence-buying, selling geopolitical, corporate or personal favors out in the open.
Trump’s appointees, like crooked new SEC chair Paul Atkins (with crypto ties, of course), and his pledge to oust Biden-era regulators like Gary Gensler, suggest a lax oversight environment tailored to industry allies. The SEC’s recent withdrawal of probes into firms like Coinbase aligns with this narrative, proving favoritism and outright corruption. Trump’s track record— oil billionaires writing deregulation wish lists for donations for example— feeds the view that the Crypto Reserve is less about national interest and more about rewarding loyalists. The crypto industry’s $40 million to unseat Senator Sherrod Brown in Ohio shows its political muscle, now seemingly aimed at leveraging Trump’s presidency.
And, by the way, El Salvador’s crypto experiment, which started in 2021, just ended in failure. Right-wing, authoritarian kook Nayib Bukele, who was elected president in 2019, “vowed to shun conventional capital markets, and raise billions via tokenised blockchain bonds. He would buy $500 million-worth of bitcoin, build a “bitcoin city” in the jungle and develop geothermal energy to power bitcoin miners. The conventional markets shunned him. Several Salvadoran bonds traded below 30 cents on the dollar in the summer of 2022. When the government started deferring public-sector salaries to preserve cash, investors prepared for the worst.” It didn’t work out and he has now turned to the original neoliberal trick instead: Austerity.
Based on federal indictments and campaign finance records, we know that Sam Bankman Fried and his associates directed immense sums— mostly from stolen FTX customer funds— to political campaigns and committees, often in ways that violated campaign finance laws. His political giving spree peaked during the 2022 midterm cycle, where he and FTX executives donated at least $100 million, probably much more, some through straw donors to skirt federal limits and disclosure rules. This wasn’t limited to one party— while SBF publicly leaned towards corrupt conservative Democratic like Ritchie Torres and Josh Gottheimer, he claimed in a November 2022 interview with Tiffany Fong that he donated roughly equal amounts to Republicans via dark pool channels.
Big recipients included the congressional leadership of both parties, especially Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Tom Emmer (R-MN), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Pete Aguilar (D-CA), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
Emmer’s rise in GOP House leadership— he’s now Majority Whip, the 3rd ranking Republican in the House— has been closely tied to the crypto-cartel’s financial muscle; it’s a glaring example of how deep their influence runs. He’s currently the most prominent crypto advocate in Congress, a role that didn’t come cheap. The cartel has underwritten his rise inside the GOP Conference with at least $561,000 in “contributions.” In the 2022 cycle alone, he raked in $211,000— second only to Blue Dog scumbag Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) that year— while heading the NRCC. That haul included a $750,000 injection from FTX’s PAC into Kevin McCarthy’s Congressional Leadership Fund, which Emmer influenced as NRCC chair. The crypto-cartel— think Coinbase, Ripple, Andreessen Horowitz, and their super PACs like Fairshake— saw Emmer as a prize. In 2020, he hosted a Cryptocurrency Town Hall, one of the first by a Congress Member, openly pitching crypto execs: donate, and you’ll flip skeptics in Congress. “Do you know how powerful this is for some elected officials to look over and say, ‘What’s Emmer doing, he’s getting campaign contributions? I need to learn more,’” he said, per The Washington Post. It worked. By 2024, Fairshake and its affiliates had spent $93.8 million, much of it backing GOP candidates like Emmer, helping secure a pro-crypto House majority. His whip role, won in November 2022, was cemented by this cash flow, giving him sway over the GOP agenda— including pushing bills like FIT21, which passed in May 2024 with 71 corrupt Democrats on board. This was a straight-up purchase. Emmer’s rise from a mid-tier Minnesota rep to leadership mirrors the crypto industry’s $129 million federal spending spree since Citizens United. Emmer’s refusal to return FTX-tied funds after its collapse— unlike many colleagues— only fuels the “crook” narrative.
Other cartel superstars include former Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) who, as House Financial Services Committee chair until his 2025 retirement, was a crypto darling, pocketing $373,000 career-long, including $50,000 from Coinbase in 2022-2024. He shepherded FIT21 and stablecoin talks, aligning with industry goals. His temporary Speaker stint in 2023 kept crypto bills alive. He now works as a 7-figure salaried lobbyist for the cartel.
Then there’s crooked Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R), the Senate’s crypto queen, whose haul was at least in $312,000 from the cartel. Her 2024 bill to create a 1-million-BTC treasury reserve— costing taxpayers $677 billion— reads like a crypto lobbyist’s dream. She’s tight with the Blockchain Association, which spent $1.8 million on her allies. One of his allies in another sleaze bucket, this one a Democrat, Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), who sucked up close to $300,000 from the cartel. The two of them introduced the 2022 Responsible Financial Innovation Act, a crypto wishlist— light regulation, CFTC primacy— showing bipartisan buy-in.
The aforementioned Rep. Josh Gottheimer topped the 2022 House list with $243,000. Gottheimer’s stablecoin bill, co-authored with McHenry, softened SEC oversight, a win for donors like Coinbase.
Schumer, as Senate Majority Leader, took in $100,000 career-long and his May 2024 vote to nix SEC crypto accounting rules (SAB 121) with 11 other Democrats signaled a shift. Wall Street ties and Fairshake’s $10 million in NY ad spending nudged him. The crypto-cartel’s strategy isn’t subtle: flood Congress with cash, target key committees (Financial Services, Banking, Agriculture), and back leadership races. Fairshake’s $133 million war chest in 2024— $50 million from Coinbase, $49 million from Ripple— knocked out crypto foes, helped advance the careers of puppets like Emmer and McHenry. Last year CryptoWhale
estimated that over 300 lawmakers got crypto funds. They’ve systemically poisoned the whole system. The result? Bills like FIT21 and the U.S. Crypto Reserve, which skeptics call taxpayer-funded handouts to industry insiders, keep rolling forward. The optics are rotten. Emmer’s 2022 letter with seven colleagues (four Democrats) to block SEC probes into FTX— months before its collapse— smacks of interference for donors. McHenry’s cozy dinners with Coinbase execs, Lummis’s BTC stockpile pitch, and Schumer’s flip-flop all tie back to cash trails. This isn’t influence— it’s a cartel rigging the system, with Emmer as one of the pre-Trump poster boys.
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