Trump's Crypto Amnesia: Conveniently Forgetting His Pardons?
Okay, so Trump pardons this crypto dude, Changpeng Zhao (or "CZ," whatever), who pleaded guilty to enabling money laundering. Big deal, right? Politicians do favors all the time. But then, then he goes on 60 Minutes and says, "I don't know who he is." Give me a freakin' break.
The "I Don't Know Him" Defense
"I don't know who he is," Trump says. Right. Just like he didn't know anything about Stormy Daniels. This is his go-to move, the "plausible deniability" playbook. Except it's not plausible, is it? This guy Zhao ran Binance, the biggest crypto exchange in the world. You're telling me the former president, who's now suddenly a crypto enthusiast, has never heard of Binance? 'I don't know who he is', says Trump after pardoning crypto tycoon
Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, called Zhao's prosecution a "war on cryptocurrency." A "war on cryptocurrency"? Seriously? It sounds like something QAnon would tweet. I mean, the guy admitted to enabling money laundering! It's not like they busted him for jaywalking.
And let's not forget, Trump's got history with crypto shenanigans. His sons are involved with Dominari Holdings, a digital-currency project based in Trump Tower, that Zhao's companies partnered with. His administration previously halted a fraud case against some other crypto entrepreneur. It's a pattern, folks. A swamp of crypto-tinged "coincidences," if you ask me.
The Crypto Connection
He claims he was told Zhao was a victim of a "witch hunt" by Biden. A witch hunt? That's rich, coming from the guy who cried "witch hunt" every time someone looked at him sideways. But hey, maybe Trump's just got a soft spot for alleged victims of injustice. Or maybe, just maybe, there's something else going on here.
Speaking of something else, Trump also said the US needs to lead in crypto or China will gain an advantage. So, is he pardoning crypto criminals for the good of America? Is that what we're supposed to believe? Because honestly...
I get the feeling that the whole "America First" spiel is just a convenient excuse to line his own pockets. He doesn't give a damn about crypto, except how he can use it to stay relevant and, more importantly, solvent.
And what about the future of crypto? Bitcoin's hovering around $108,000, and some Treasury Secretary is saying high interest rates might be pushing us into a recession. All this crypto stuff is starting to feel less like a revolution and more like a house of cards.
The DAT Death Spiral
Then there's this whole digital asset treasury (DAT) thing. Apparently, some of these DATs are selling off their crypto holdings to buy back shares. One VC called it "an uncommon move." Another one warned about a "DAT death spiral." A "death spiral"! It sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie.
Here's how it works: if a DAT's stock trades at a deep discount, they might sell some of their crypto to buy back shares and prop up the price. But if they keep selling, the value of their crypto holdings goes down, which puts even more pressure on the stock price. And so on, down and down and down... offcourse, this is just speculation.
Thing is, what happens when these DATs start offloading Bitcoin or Ethereum? What happens when the big players start selling? It could trigger a domino effect, sending the entire crypto market into a tailspin. Or maybe not. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. But something about all this feels incredibly unstable.
So, What's the Real Story?
Trump's "I don't know him" act is insulting. He thinks we're all idiots. Maybe he's right. But the fact that he's cozying up to crypto while simultaneously claiming ignorance is a five-alarm dumpster fire of hypocrisy. The man has no shame. And that, my friends, is the only thing you can consistently count on.
