Latest news with #EndCryptoCorruptionAct
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GameStop bought $500 million of Bitcoin
GameStop announced on Wednesday that it bought 4,710 Bitcoin, which is worth over $500 million at the time of the purchase. The video game retail chain has struggled to stay relevant in a time when digital gaming purchases are increasingly popular -- plus, the company took on a new kind of notoriety when it unwittingly became the center of a short squeeze in 2021. GameStop stock remains a bit inflated from where it was before the meddling of Reddit community r/WallStreetBets, but years out from its unpredictable moment in the spotlight, GameStop is still reporting annual declines in net sales. To support its financials, GameStop announced to investors in March that it would update its investment policy to add Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset, and today's news represents GameStop's follow-through on that promise. GameStop stock stumbled after each crypto-related announcement, likely due to investors' concerns around the historic volatility of crypto. GameStop's recent interest in Bitcoin isn't as random as it may seem. Under former President Joe Biden, the U.S. government was cracking down on the crypto industry due to its connection to fraud and corruption. Now, the Trump administration has flipped the script and is establishing a Bitcoin reserve. Trump's media company also has plans to raise $2.5 billion to buy Bitcoin. Trump even invited the top holders of his memecoin -- a volatile cryptocurrency that is not pegged to any real determinant of value, but rather, the trollish whims of certain online communities -- to a private dinner at the White House. As Trump and his family become more entwined with crypto, his opponents have raised concerns around Trump's ability to manipulate the crypto market for his own financial gain. Co-sponsored by 17 other Democratic senators, Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) responded to Trump's increasing investment in crypto with the "End Crypto Corruption Act." 'Currently, people who wish to cultivate influence with the president can enrich him personally by buying cryptocurrency he owns or controls,' Senator Merkley said in a press release. 'This is a profoundly corrupt scheme. It endangers our national security and erodes public trust in government." But without support across the aisle, these efforts to mitigate Trump's ethically suspicious crypto investment are unlikely to gain momentum. With the U.S. government on its side, Bitcoin's price has jumped to all-time highs in May, breaking the $110,000 mark after falling to around $75,000 in April. Companies like Tesla, Coinbase, and Block have already made large Bitcoin purchases as a way of growing the company's assets, with each holding over one billion dollars worth of Bitcoin. Now, with its massive Bitcoin purchase, GameStop follows in these companies' footsteps. This article originally appeared on TechCrunch at Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GameStop bought $500 million of Bitcoin
GameStop announced on Wednesday that it bought 4,710 Bitcoin, which is worth over $500 million at the time of the purchase. The video game retail chain has struggled to stay relevant in a time when digital gaming purchases are increasingly popular -- plus, the company took on a new kind of notoriety when it unwittingly became the center of a short squeeze in 2021. GameStop stock remains a bit inflated from where it was before the meddling of Reddit community r/WallStreetBets, but years out from its unpredictable moment in the spotlight, GameStop is still reporting annual declines in net sales. To support its financials, GameStop announced to investors in March that it would update its investment policy to add Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset, and today's news represents GameStop's follow-through on that promise. GameStop stock stumbled after each crypto-related announcement, likely due to investors' concerns around the historic volatility of crypto. GameStop's recent interest in Bitcoin isn't as random as it may seem. Under former President Joe Biden, the U.S. government was cracking down on the crypto industry due to its connection to fraud and corruption. Now, the Trump administration has flipped the script and is establishing a Bitcoin reserve. Trump's media company also has plans to raise $2.5 billion to buy Bitcoin. Trump even invited the top holders of his memecoin -- a volatile cryptocurrency that is not pegged to any real determinant of value, but rather, the trollish whims of certain online communities -- to a private dinner at the White House. As Trump and his family become more entwined with crypto, his opponents have raised concerns around Trump's ability to manipulate the crypto market for his own financial gain. Co-sponsored by 17 other Democratic senators, Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) responded to Trump's increasing investment in crypto with the "End Crypto Corruption Act." 'Currently, people who wish to cultivate influence with the president can enrich him personally by buying cryptocurrency he owns or controls,' Senator Merkley said in a press release. 'This is a profoundly corrupt scheme. It endangers our national security and erodes public trust in government." But without support across the aisle, these efforts to mitigate Trump's ethically suspicious crypto investment are unlikely to gain momentum. With the U.S. government on its side, Bitcoin's price has jumped to all-time highs in May, breaking the $110,000 mark after falling to around $75,000 in April. Companies like Tesla, Coinbase, and Block have already made large Bitcoin purchases as a way of growing the company's assets, with each holding over one billion dollars worth of Bitcoin. Now, with its massive Bitcoin purchase, GameStop follows in these companies' footsteps.
CNBC
23-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
At Trump's $148 million meme coin dinner, 'the food sucked' and security was lax
The price of President Donald Trump's meme coin plunged 16% as of Friday morning, just hours after he hosted a black-tie gala at his Virginia golf club for its biggest buyers — an elite crowd that spent a combined $148 million on the token for the chance to be there. It was billed as "the most exclusive invitation in the world." Among the 220 attendees were crypto influencers, industry executives like Sandy Carter of Unstoppable Domains, and former NBA star Lamar Odom, who used the occasion to praise Trump as "the greatest president" and promote his own token, $ODOM. The top 25 wallets were promised a private reception and guided tour. Others, like 25-year-old Nicholas Pinto — whose dad drove him to the event in his Lamborghini — left underwhelmed and still hungry. "The food sucked," Pinto said. "Wasn't given any drinks other than water or Trump's wine. I don't drink, so I had water. My glass was only filled once." Trump made only a brief appearance. "He didn't talk to any of the 220 guests — maybe the top 25," Pinto said. All in, the president was there for 23 minutes, Pinto said. Trump delivered a brief address re-hashing old crypto talking points, then he left on a helicopter before taking any questions or pictures with his meme coin contest winners. Phones weren't locked in RFID pouches, and security was lax, according to Pinto. "Once Trump left, they didn't really worry about anything else," Pinto added. The opulence was on full display. "Richard Mille watches weren't even rare," Pinto said. "I saw at least 16 people wearing them. I never see that unless I'm at a high-end restaurant in Miami or Dubai." But the vibe was more muted than expected, he said: "Lots of people didn't even hold the coin anymore. They were checking their phones during dinner to see if the price moved." For lawmakers and regulators, the dinner set off alarm bells. The #1 token holder was Chinese-born crypto mogul Justin Sun who is currently facing Securities and Exchange Commission fraud charges that were recently paused, with the agency citing "the public interest." Sun holds over $22 million in the $TRUMP token and another $75 million in World Liberty Financial's native token. "As the top holder of $TRUMP and proud supporter of President Trump, it was an honor to attend the Trump Gala Dinner," Sun posted on Friday. "Thank you @POTUS for your unwavering support of our industry!" Outside the gates of Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Va., about a hundred protesters gathered, according to NBC News. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., joined them, backing a new End Crypto Corruption Act with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Signs read "Crypto Corruption" and "Trump is a traitor." "The Trump family activity in the memecoin space makes my work in Congress more complicated," Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., told CNBC Friday. Hill, who's leading negotiations on a bipartisan stablecoin bill known as the GENIUS Act, called the gala "a distraction from the good work we need to do." Now, the GENIUS Act, a bill to regulate stablecoins, is at risk. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., recently added a controversial rider to the bill that would cap credit card late fees — what's seen as a poison pill that could alienate banking allies and stall final approval. On Thursday night as the meme coin contest dinner was underway, a bloc of Senate Democrats announced they'd be pushing for a new provision that would ban presidents and senior officials from profiting off crypto ventures while in office — a direct challenge to the Trump-linked stablecoin USD1 that launched this spring. in Washington, there's growing concern that political infighting over Trump's crypto ventures could derail the stablecoin bill altogether. That poses an even bigger risk. According to the Wall Street Journal, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citi, and other major banks are in early talks to issue a unified digital dollar to compete with Tether, the foreign-controlled stablecoin that now commands over 60% of global market share. Those plans hinge on legal clarity. If the GENIUS Act stalls, the U.S. could lose its window to regain ground in the global race for digital payments. The White House has tried to draw a line between Trump the president and Trump the private businessman. "The president is attending it in his personal time. It is not a White House dinner," press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters when pressed on attendee transparency. The administration declined to release a guest list. But blockchain data — and a patchwork of guest photos — tell part of the story. A Bloomberg News analysis found that all but six of the top 25 wallets used foreign exchanges, ostensibly off-limits to U.S. users. More than half of the top 220 wallets were linked to similar offshore platforms. One Nasdaq-listed penny stock, Freight Technologies, disclosed in an SEC filing that it spent $2 million on Trump's token to push U.S.-Mexico trade policy. It didn't make the cut for the dinner — finishing 250th. Since its January debut, the $TRUMP coin has generated more than $324 million in trading fees. Roughly 80% of the $TRUMP token supply is controlled by the Trump Organization and affiliates, according to the project's website. WLFI, the Trump's parallel token, has sold $550 million in two token sales. Still, White House AI & crypto czar David Sacks remained bullish on "significant bipartisan support" for stablecoin legislation. "We already have over $200 billion in stablecoins — it's just unregulated," Sacks told CNBC's "Closing Bell Overtime" on Wednesday. "If we provide the legal clarity and legal framework for this, I think we could create trillions of dollars of demand for our Treasuries practically overnight, very quickly." "We have every expectation now that it's going to pass," added Sacks, though he didn't answer a question about concerns from Democrats that there aren't sufficient safeguards in place to keep the president and his family from profiting from legislation. While Sacks sold $200 million in crypto-related holdings before taking his White House job, according to a disclosure filing, Trump and his family have been leaning into building a crypto empire. The Trumps are financial backers of World Liberty Financial, which is behind the UDS1 stablecoin that is backed by Treasuries and dollar deposits. Abu Dhabi's MGX investment fund recently pledged $2 billion in USD1 to Binance, the world's largest digital assets exchange. It's the company's largest-ever investment made in crypto. This self-driving car technology stock could pop by more than 400%, say three analysts Looking for alternatives to Nvidia? Futurum CEO names 3 he's bullish on for 2024 Bernstein tech analyst's best idea for 2024 is to short Tesla Morgan Stanley picks 'alpha' opportunities in China tech - giving one 52% upside
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What Roger Stone really meant when he said Sen. Mark Kelly should be executed
After U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona co-sponsored the End Crypto Corruption Act and blasted President Donald Trump for 'corruption in broad daylight,' Trump's good pal and adviser, Roger Stone, said Kelly should be 'charged with treason and if convicted executed.' It was another attempt by one of Trump's hatchet men to intimidate critics and change the subject. In this case, Stone tried to shift the focus away from Trump's crypto grifting to Kelly's personal finances. It didn't work, except, of course, for the most diehard Trump cultists. Over the weekend, Kelly responded to Stone's threatening rhetoric with a brief video in which he spoke of the dangers of political violence, something his family has personal experience with. Kelly's wife, former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, survived an assassination attempt in 2011 that left six people dead, among them 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green. In a brief statement accompanying the video, Kelly says, 'Roger Stone called for me to be charged with treason and executed because I introduced a bill to take on Trump's corruption. Last I checked, that's my job. Words matter, and political violence is personal to my family. This admin wants to intimidate us, but we can't let them.' In a nation run by better people, the president would quickly have condemned what his friend Stone said, but we knew that wouldn't happen. Particularly since one of Trump's other pals, Elon Musk, also has called Kelly a traitor. Opinion: Sen. Kelly whacks Trump in the bone spurs over Putin That happened in March after Kelly visited Ukraine, touring a military hospital and interacting with Red Cross personnel. Afterward, Kelly wrote on social media, 'Everyone wants this war to end, but any agreement has to protect Ukraine's security and can't be a giveaway to Putin." In response, Musk wrote, 'You are a traitor.' Kelly has been to Ukraine several times. He tweeted back, 'Traitor? Elon, if you don't understand that defending freedom is a basic tenet of what makes America great and keeps us safe, maybe you should leave it to those of us who do.' Congress is controlled by Republicans who acquiesce out of fear to every whim and unsavory decision or demand made by Trump. Kelly knows that he is probably never going to convince his GOP colleagues to follow their sworn oaths, defend the Constitution and honor their obligation to rein in an out-of-control executive branch. Kelly knows as well that when one of Trump's stooges calls an Arizona senator traitorous and threatens ramifications, it is the president's way of sending a message that he is not to be defied. Or else. However, do you know what is actually traitorous? Trying to shut people up. Reach Montini at Like this column? Get more opinions in your email inbox by signing up for our free opinions newsletter, which publishes Monday through Friday. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mark Kelly won't be intimidated by Roger Stone or Trump | Opinion
Time of India
12-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
'My wife was nearly assassinated': Mark Kelly responds after Roger Stone calls for his 'execution'
Arizona Senator Mark Kelly has responded to Donald Trump ally Roger Stone , who called for his "execution" after Kelly questioned the president's financial interests in cryptocurrency . In a video posted on X, Kelly directly addressed Stone's remarks, calling them 'really, really dangerous' and warning of the real threat of political violence . 'Hey. The other day, Roger Stone, he called for me to be executed. Yeah, that Roger Stone, Donald Trump's buddy. And it's because I called out this administration on their corruption, how they're using meme coins and stablecoins for Donald Trump to make money. It should be illegal,' Kelly said. Kelly recently introduced the 'End Crypto Corruption Act', aimed at preventing sitting presidents, vice presidents, and members of Congress from issuing, endorsing, or profiting from crypto assets. Operation Sindoor India-Pak tensions: All eyes on DGMO talks today Before & after: Satellite pics show Op Sindoor's impact on Pak air bases, terror camps 'Shameful': Support pours in for foreign secretary Misri as trolls target his family In a post promoting the bill, he accused Trump of 'cashing in on his presidency and making millions from his own crypto coins,' calling it 'corruption in broad daylight.' Stone responded with a post of his own, writing, 'Senator Mark Kelly is cashing in on his US Senate seat as a partner in a Chinese communist company that makes surveillance balloons. He should be charged with treason and if convicted executed, consistent with federal law.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Invest $200 in Amazon without buying stocks to earn a second salary Marketsall Sign Up Undo He later claimed he was referring to a legal trial and not inciting violence, but doubled down on the sentiment. Kelly, a Navy veteran and former astronaut, helped co-found World View Enterprises in 2012, a company that received investment from Chinese tech firm Tencent. Kelly left the company in 2019 and his stake is held in a blind trust. World View says Tencent no longer has any ties to the company. In his video response, Kelly pointed to his personal connection to political violence, referencing his wife, former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords , who survived an assassination attempt in 2011. 'My wife, Gabby Giffords, was nearly assassinated. She was shot in the head. Political violence is a real thing, and they're trying to make it worse.' Giffords also responded to Stone's remarks. 'It stole a job that I loved. Inciting violence is unAmerican — it's what extremists do. Anyone serious about protecting this country should know the difference,' she wrote on X. Stone's latest outburst comes amid growing scrutiny of Trump's cryptocurrency ventures. The $TRUMP memecoin has raised concerns, particularly after it was revealed the Trump family has earned hundreds of millions from it, with around 75 percent of revenue reportedly going directly to them.
