Billionaire Mark Cuban Warns of Donald Trump's Incursions in the Crypto Sector

Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban has issued a stark warning about Donald Trump’s forays 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:

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”.

Mint it, Print it, Sell it Fuck it. That is the mantra for the world you are suggesting. This is the biggest bunch of self serving Bullshit I have ever heard. In your world there is no ownership. Just speculation. Hello every scam targeted at everyone and anyone who has… https://t.co/OgA1kE9aAX

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 still saw some good done by the new administration. He said he was “glad to see what he [Trump] has done from a regulatory perspective”, highlighting changes in SEC leadership:

“We’re finally seeing some Long Overdue moves at the SEC with the departure of Gensler and the arrival of someone new. Gensler brought countless lawsuits against the industry but refused to provide any guidance whatsoever. An era now gone, and it seems no one out there misses Gensler’s regulation-by-enforcement approach – at least that seems to be something all can agree on.”

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