Mark Cuban warns that President Donald Trump's direct involvement in cryptocurrency projects could do more harm than good

Generally speaking, U.S. crypto entrepreneurs remain giddy about having an American president championing digital assets. However, billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban warns that President Donald Trump's direct involvement in cryptocurrency projects could do more harm than good.

"Memecoins and gaming TVL sets a bad example to people who want to try to understand the utility and value of crypto," Cuban told The Block Wednesday when asked if Trump's direct involvement with a controversial memecoin project and the DeFi platform World Liberty Financial posed any risk to the industry at large.

Trump and his sons leaning into crypto has largely been seen as a boon for the crypto industry, given the power the U.S. president wields and his willingness to appoint crypto-friendly bureaucrats. But as of late, Trump has tested the boundaries as his crypto projects have aggressively sought growth.

Perhaps the most controversial element may be the Trump memecoin offering top holders exclusive access to the former president. The announcement sent the token’s price surging, but also triggered sharp criticism from Democrats. Most top holders of the TRUMP token — those likely to attend the gala dinner with Trump — appear to be based outside the United States, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

Of the roughly 2 million digital wallets that have bought the token, 58 of those wallets have made more than $10 million with over $1 billion in total gains, while 764,000 wallets have lost money, CNBC reported, citing blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

When Trump's memecoin launched in January, Cuban didn't pull any punches when offering criticism.

"Hello every scam targeted at everyone and anyone who has no clue about crypto," Cuban posted on X. "Good bye whatever hope the crypto industry had of legitimizing itself."

Stablecoin ruffles feathers

The Trump-backed World Liberty Financial platform launching its own stablecoin seems to have also ruffled feathers in Washington, D.C., where it appeared lawmakers may have been close to agreeing on legislation likely to propel massive growth for the USD-pegged digital tokens.

Earlier this year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would have barred the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from regulating stablecoins. However, the Senate version of the bill focused on granting the agency more authority over digital asset firms.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators announced in June that they had reached agreement on an amendment to a wide-ranging bill on economic competitiveness with China that would see the SEC tasked with setting rules for any cryptocurrency used for clearing, settlement or other critical functions in the U.S. financial system.

The Abu Dhabi investment firm MGX said last week it would use World Liberty Financial's USD1 stablecoin to close a $2 billion investment into Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume.

On Tuesday, Senate Democrat Richard Blumenthal sent letters to Fight Fight Fight LLC, the company behind the Official Trump memecoin, and World Liberty Financial, to say an inquiry had been launched "into potential conflicts of interest and violations of the law from President Trump's cryptocurrency ventures."

World Liberty Financial and Fight Fight Fight did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cuban 'thrilled' about regulation moves

Despite his criticism of Trump’s personal involvement, Cuban voiced support for the administration’s regulatory efforts.

"I'm glad to see what he has done from a regulatory perspective," Cuban said. "I'm thrilled to see changes at the SEC. They are long overdue."