- Mark Cuban criticised Trump’s memecoin launch, stating it undermines crypto’s legitimacy despite positive regulatory changes.
- The $TRUMP memecoin initially surged to US$75.35 but has since crashed by 85%, with a brief recovery after announcing a dinner with the President for top token holders.
- Critics have called Trump’s crypto ventures corrupt, with his family reportedly making billions from their involvement in the sector.
- Despite his concerns, Cuban welcomed the overdue leadership changes at the SEC, marking the end of Gensler’s controversial “regulation by enforcement” approach.
Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban has issued a stern warning about Donald Trump’s incursions in the crypto sector.
Many have welcomed Trump’s initiatives, such as the executive orders on a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, the appointment of a crypto czar and crypto-friendly department heads at key regulatory agencies like the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
But not all is as it seems. Cuban told The Block that Trump’s issuance of a memecoin in his own name has a bad look to it:
Memecoins and gaming TVL sets a bad example to people who want to try to understand the utility and value of crypto.
The token initially rocketed to a peak of US$75.35 (AU$117.14) but has since lost 85% of its value. It staged a brief recovery – reaching almost US$16 (AU$25) after news of an exclusive dinner with the US president for major token holders – but has since slid back to around US$11 (AU$17).
Related: Crypto’s Bright Future: Why 2025 Could Shatter Records – If Politics Don’t Derail It
Industry Loses Hope to Legitimise Itself, Says Billionaire
Circling back to the event for memecoin holders, a Bloomberg report indicates that most prospective dinner attendees live outside the US. Critics have condemned the event as blatant corruption, especially given that the Trump family has amassed billions through its crypto ventures.
At the time of Trump’s memecoin launch, Cuban said grifts like these took “whatever hope the crypto industry had of legitimizing itself”.
There’s also World Liberty Financial’s new Trump-backed USD stablecoin, USD1, set to fuel a US$2 billion (AU$3.1 billion) MGX investment into Binance, which has upended stalled Capitol Hill legislation – prompting Senator Richard Blumenthal to launch an inquiry into potential conflicts of interest in Trump’s crypto ventures.
Cuban Welcomes “Long Overdue” Changes at SEC
Despite his criticism, Cuban was still able to see some good done by the new administration. He said he was “glad to see what he [Trump] has done from a regulatory perspective”, pointing to changes in SEC leadership:
I’m thrilled to see changes at the SEC. They are long overdue.
Mark CubanUnder Gary Gensler, the SEC brought countless lawsuits against the industry but refused to provide any guidance whatsoever. It’s an era now gone, and it seems there’s no one out there missing Gensler’s regulation-by-enforcement approach – at least that seems to be something all can agree on.
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The post Mark Cuban Calls Out Trump’s Crypto Gambit: ‘Memecoins Are a Bad Example’ appeared first on Crypto News Australia.
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