Will Crypto Bend the Knee of Trump?

The FBI will find you, and we will bring you to justice.

These were the words a couple of weeks ago from FBI Director Kash Patel regarding putting crypto scammers on notice.

It’s part of the bureau’s “Operation Level Up” against crypto-related cybercrime.

And the timing couldn’t feel more ironic…

This week, President Trump’s 2025 financials were disclosed in a 927-page report submitted to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.

And the numbers are wild.

Trump reported more than $1.4 billion in income from his family’s crypto ventures.

$520 million came from sales of crypto tokens, with more than $250 million from the sale of interests in World Liberty Financial. Then another $635 million from sales related to his memecoin.

Meanwhile, the price of Trump’s memecoin looks like this…

To add on to this, the president made 327 stock purchases the day before he announced a tariff pause, one of the largest buying sprees disclosed in the report…

The S&P 500 jumped nearly 10% the following day.

These numbers are hard to ignore.

Especially as we gear up for the 250th anniversary of America declaring its independence from tyranny. And as Lincoln so rightfully stated nearly 100 years after that declaration, a government of the people, by the people, for the people.

There’s something that feels unequal about this. Something ethical…

A subject that’s about to become the main talking point in Washington, D.C., as it pertains to digital assets.

Unified Efforts

Frequent readers of Chain of Thought will know the CLARITY Act well.

It’s the piece of legislation that gives a framework for digital assets to operate in the United States. The bill is also set to codify what the White House, CFTC, and SEC have been pushing hard to implement via their Project Crypto initiative.

In fact, SEC Chair Paul Atkins on June 30 gave a speech at the Economic Club of New York, where he echoed this continued effort:

So, over the past year, we have moved purposefully to answer President Trump’s call to make America the Crypto Capital of the World. Through what we’re calling Project Crypto, we are taking historic steps to modernize our rules and regulations to facilitate markets’ moving on-chain.

The efforts and work that have gone into pursuing the agenda have spanned well over a year. In that period, we’ve seen the GENIUS Act passed to give regulatory guidance on how to issue a compliant U.S. dollar stablecoin.

We’ve had an immense amount of guidance come out from the SEC, such as the Token Taxonomy, a no-action letter for the Depository Trust Company to tokenize stocks and other securities, and an interpretation that clarifies how federal securities laws apply to crypto. This is in addition to the SEC dropping numerous cases related to companies in the industry.

The CFTC went ahead with a Crypto Sprint focused on listing spot digital assets on CFTC exchanges, issued a letter that allows tokenized bitcoin, ether, and US dollar stablecoin to act as collateral, and provided guidance on how spot digital assets could trade on CFTC-registered exchanges.

There were also similar initiatives and actions from the Department of Justice, the U.S. Treasury, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and others.

It’s the type of effort that showcases that Project Crypto is an initiative that is well coordinated with a unified approach across regulatory agencies.

CLARITY Act is a way to make all these efforts have permanence. Which makes it incredibly difficult for a new administration to come in and reverse course. It’s an important milestone as we’ve seen the harm that can be done when an administration that’s not pro-innovation is in power, such as the prior Biden administration.

The unfortunate reality is the culmination of all these efforts on making digital assets a mainstay in our economic system… the time spent to get to the point we are at now… and the dollars put towards the effort to allow crypto to simply exist without fear in the United States…

It all comes down to one thing.

The Main Issue

When we last wrote about progress on the CLARITY Act in Ring The Bell, we touched on two main issues that still need to be addressed before the Senate is likely to reach 60 votes to bypass any filibusters.

The first issue had to do with illicit finance.

It’s a fair critique from those unfamiliar with the technology. The ability to move and settle money across borders in seconds using a complex-looking string of numbers and letters feels scary to those who don’t fully grasp the technology.

The reality is that the technology is transparent. Criminals who use public blockchain technology are leaving their footprints for all to see without the ability to alter their past.

As said in the Department of the Treasury’s Congressional Report on Innovative Technologies to Counter Illicit Finance, open ledger data empowers law enforcement. Calling it a “force multiplier.”

And it appears law enforcement might be getting closer to better understanding this view. They might not be fully on board, but the White House is pushing hard with the various law enforcement groups once again at the White House earlier this week.

Continued progress.

This is coming at an ideal time. We expect the final text of the CLARITY Act to finally drop next week. The idea is to give Senate members time while on recess to go ahead and work out any objections before their return.

The hope is to push the dialogue to the floor and come to an agreement as the bill is put to a vote.

It’s suggesting this will all likely come down to the wire around the end of July or the first week of August.

But here’s the main concern. It’s the second issue.

What Will Trump Do?

Regular readers will recall that the last issue to likely be ironed out will need to be on ethics.

This has to do with conflicts of interest and government officials profiting off the industry. It’s essentially tackling the exact items that Trump just showcased to the world this week… That positions of power can profit hand over fist.

But the issue here is that whatever gets written down in this section of the CLARITY Act will need the President’s sign-off, since he holds veto power. And I can’t imagine that Republicans will put a bill on Trump’s desk that he won’t ultimately be ok on or cause him to look unfavorable in the media.

My view here is that a concession will be made to appease Democrats to make a deal on this topic. That concession would likely involve placing Democratic SEC chairs in place starting in 2027.

Based upon the amount of guidance that’s been released to the market and the Act codifying much of this work, this wouldn’t be much of a loss.

But the question now is, based on what his financials showed, will it be enough? Will President Trump bend the knee to Congress and slow down his wealth-making?

I’m torn about how this will play out.

The situation feels like it could go either way as things are changing by the hour. I’m getting updates several times a day on the issue. For now, we will just need to pay attention to how things shake out once the final text drops next week.

In the meantime…

For those in the United States, I wish you a happy Fourth of July. It’s one of my favorite holidays of the year as we remember the mindsets of our Founding Fathers freeing themselves from what felt like injustice.

They did it without asking permission. They went ahead and declared independence while forging a new country.

It’s an ethos I try to shine a light on when it comes to the digital asset and blockchain industry. It’s what draws me into this industry.

Permissionless solutions don’t seek acceptance. It’s an attitude that gave rise to the most productive economy on the planet.

Sovereignty and property rights helped set the foundation for this growth. And when it comes to permissionless technology, we see these same virtues give rise to innovation to better society.

It’s human ingenuity, capitalist virtues, and public good at its finest

Enjoy your time this weekend.

Your Pulse on Crypto

Ben Lilly
Editor, Chain of Thought