By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: January 22, 2025 ~
The crypto billionaires who played a major role in putting Donald Trump in the White House and defeating the reelection of honest Senators who had sat on the Senate Banking Committee, were celebrating their big wins at the Crypto Ball last Friday night at the gilded Mellon Auditorium just down the street from the White House, when they were blindsided by a Tweet from President-elect Donald Trump.
The Tweet delivered the bombshell news that Trump – two days away from being sworn in as President of the United States — had just launched his own crypto coin:
“My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE! It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump Community. GET YOUR $TRUMP NOW. Go to http://gettrumpmemes.com — Have Fun!”
Numerous attendees at the Ball thought this was such over-the-top grift, even for Trump, that his X (Twitter) account must have been hacked. Their anger was all the more intensified by Sunday, when the incoming First Lady, Melania Trump, joined the grift with her own crypto coin, called – what else – Melania.
Both coins have a price chart that looks like a typical pump and dump scheme. (See TRUMP coin chart here and MELANIA chart here.)
The website for the TRUMP coin indicates that 80 percent of the coins will be initially held by the Trump Organization and its affiliates. Under the coin’s “Terms & Conditions,” buyers of the coin must “agree that you will not bring, join or participate in any class action lawsuit as to any claim, dispute or controversy that you may have against any of the Covered Parties” and, in capital letters, it reads: “FOR PURPOSES OF ANY COURT PROCEEDINGS, YOU AGREE THAT ANY SUCH DISPUTE SHALL BE TRIED BEFORE A JUDGE, AND NOT A JURY, AND YOU HEREBY WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO A TRIAL BEFORE A JURY.”
The glow of the Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees the right to a jury trial for every American for claims exceeding $20, has apparently dimmed for Donald Trump after a 12-person jury unanimously convicted him of 34 felony counts in May of last year.
Three of the key charges against King George III that the founders of America placed in the Declaration of Independence were these:
“He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good…
“He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries…
“For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury…”
In an interview on CNN with Anderson Cooper, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), a former Harvard Law professor, was asked if this is a conflict of interest since the Trump administration will play a central role in how crypto is regulated. Warren responded with this:
“Of course it is. But look: we used to talk about transparency, how we want transparency in government on the notion that if it was out in public, there was sunshine on it, then our elected officials would behave appropriately…This is transparent corruption. This is right out there for everybody to see. You want to influence Donald Trump? Help make him richer. You want to influence Melania Trump to influence Donald Trump? Make her richer. You no longer have to sign up at the Trump Hotel. You just actually come in and make a purchase right on line. That is a corruption that runs so deep and runs to the heart of not just Donald Trump but the entire administration.”
It was not that long ago that Donald Trump was a big crypto critic. On July 11, 2019, Trump had Tweeted that he was “not a fan” of crypto; that it was “based on thin air,” and that it could “facilitate unlawful behavior.”
Trump’s attitude changed dramatically last July after he delivered a speech at the 2024 Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. Throughout the speech, Trump pushed the idea that the United States “cannot let China dominate” in the race to innovate with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. In reality, a Chinese government ban on transactions of crypto in China dates back to 2021.
At 46 minutes and 10 seconds (46:10) on this CSPAN video of the Trump speech at the Bitcoin Conference you can hear Trump say this to the audience:
“America will become the world’s undisputed bitcoin mining powerhouse. You’ll be a bitcoin mining powerhouse. You will not have to move your family to China. We will not be moving to China. As we implement these reforms, Bitcoin and crypto will grow our economy, cement American financial dominance and strengthen our entire country, long into the future….”
That was the message that the crypto billionaires were expecting Trump to consistently deliver during his presidency; not to climb on a crypto grift bandwagon himself and undermine their agenda in the eyes of the public.
Both the TRUMP AND MELANIA crypto coins are known as “Meme Coins.” Meme coins are the bottom of the barrel of the crypto world, with one trading on the Coinbase exchange with the name FARTCOIN.
For what scientists and other experts have told Congress about crypto and blockchain, see our report: Despite More than 1600 Tech Scientists Signing a Letter Calling Crypto a Sham, Trump Names a Crypto Cheerleader for SEC Chair
