So, Trump pardoned crypto dude Changpeng Zhao – CZ, whatever. Then, when asked about it on 60 Minutes, he pulls the "I have no idea who that is" card. Give me a break.
Seriously? This is the guy who's all about "making deals," and he's claiming ignorance about a pardon that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt spun as correcting Biden's "war on cryptocurrency"? You expect us to believe that Trump just signs off on pardons without knowing who the hell he's letting off the hook? 'I don't know who he is,' says Trump after pardoning crypto tycoon
It's either a flat-out lie, or it paints a picture of a president so detached from reality that he's basically a puppet reading lines. And neither option is exactly comforting, is it?
He says he was told CZ was a victim of a "witch hunt" by Biden. Okay, fine. But even if you buy that – and I definitely don't – doesn't it strike anyone else as insane to base a pardon on hearsay? I mean, shouldn't there be, like, a process involved? Some due diligence? Offcourse, that's assuming anyone in Trump's orbit gave a damn about processes.
Let's not forget the conveniently timed partnerships between CZ's companies and Trump-linked firms, including Dominari Holdings, which has Trump's sons on the board. Coincidence? Yeah, and I'm the Queen of England.
And then there's that whole stablecoin thing with World Liberty Financial, another Trump family crypto venture, getting a $2 billion investment from an Abu Dhabi firm connected to Binance. Does anyone else see a pattern here? It's like a poorly written crime novel where the clues are practically flashing neon signs.
Trump also pardoned founders of BitMEX (money laundering charges) and Ross Ulbricht (Silk Road guy). It's a regular crypto crime spree of pardons!
What's even more galling is Trump's sudden embrace of crypto, saying the US needs to be a leader in the space or risk China taking over. Suddenly, he's a crypto evangelist? Right. Seems more like someone realized there's money to be made, and ethical considerations are, as always, secondary.
Meanwhile, the SEC is dragging its feet on crypto ETFs. Or was dragging its feet. Now, some issuers are trying to sneak them through using procedural loopholes, hoping the SEC is too busy dealing with whatever else is going on to notice. Canary Capital, Bitwise, Grayscale...they're all jumping on the bandwagon.
Fidelity's trying to get a Solana ETF approved, Canary's pushing for an XRP ETF. November could be the month when crypto ETFs finally explode onto the scene, regardless of whether the government reopens.
Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart says some funds might launch next month, but others are stuck waiting for SEC feedback. So, it's a mixed bag. A whole lot of waiting around. Crypto ETFs: November Could Be the New October for U.S. After Shutdown Delays SEC Decisions
But wait... are we really supposed to believe the SEC is this incompetent? That companies can just bypass them with a few clever filings? It feels like the whole system is rigged, and we're just pawns in some giant game.
It makes you wonder if the whole "government shutdown" thing wasn't just a convenient excuse to delay the inevitable. Or maybe I'm just being paranoid. Maybe I need to lay off the caffeine... Nah.
So, what's the real story? Trump's either lying through his teeth about not knowing CZ, or he's so out of touch that he's signing off on pardons based on Fox News soundbites. Either way, it's a reminder that politics is a dirty game, and crypto is just the latest playground for the rich and powerful to play their games.
