"Trump surprised his crypto supporters with a cash grab that’s shameless even by his standards." I am going to point out that there is no standard of shame for Trump, and Trump is shameless.
I have 2 things to say about this.
1) Trump's main purpose for being in the White House, is to become the richest man in the world. This desire is probably intensified by hanging out with the Broligarchy now, and I am certain that he wants to be wealthier than Musk or Putin, and perhaps wealthier than them together. I am sure he wants to be the first trillionaire. He might want to stay out of prison, but that is secondary to his desire for wealth, as a sign of being the best.
2) Trump also likes crypto because it is dark money and as such he can hide who is investing in his endless grifting products from guns, to watches, to bibles, to crypto coin memes, to selling our military as a mercenary army, or selling our intel as soon as his people get their grubby hands on it.
The more I read from trusted writers, the more hopeless I feel about the future. How can we fight back against a greedy autocrat who is supported by the oligarchy, the media and the judicial system? Nothing thar is said to refute his lies is ever heard by his MAGA supporters, and his wealthy supporters are thrilled with his actions and words. Hard to continue being optimistic about anything. Sorry.
Isn’t there any way to trigger some consequences under the Emoluments Clause? There has to be a point at which even the SCOTUS would say he’s gone too far
So what SCOTUS essentially said about the Emouluments suits that were brought during his first term was that there was no enforcement mechanism. So any such suits are moot without a remedy.
The only people that could do something would be Congress (impeachment and removal) and we saw how well that went during his first term.
I think it's really important here to understand how these things (Meme coins, ICOs, etc) functionally work (or don't work).
There are two primary points I'd like to make:
The first is about Rug Pulls and and how those types of scams work in Crypto. The Hawk Tuah coin mentioned here is a good example of a common scam (even if those involved say it wasn't a scam). Step 1 is to pump your coin on Social Media. Having a brand name (like the Hawk Tuah woman) is a great example. Step 2 is for those that created it to sell when it reaches peak mania (usually within hours or days). Those "insiders" usually hold a large portion of the tokens and when they sell the price crashes. Anyone left holding coins is essentially holding something worthless. This is known as a rug pull, but in common finance parlance this is a pump and dump. What differentiates from a common pump and dump, scheme, though, is that normally in a classic pump and dump it's based on usually lies like this company's drug is going to get approved, or some other breakthrough is imminent. With a meme token, it's really just "vibes".
The second thing is tied to the first, and is why the token's price plummets. It's also why any valuation (such as Felix Salmon's which is cited here) is just plain wrong. Any paper value Trump has that's stated here or anywhere else is bogus. The reason why is liquidity. Molly White wrote a fantastic piece about this, and updated it a few days ago specifically talking about the Trump coin and why values that are stated are bogus. So let's talk about why.
Today Trump's coin has traded in the $34-$39 range. That would give a market cap of about $7.5 billion based on the current circulating supply. It's also being traded pretty frequently, so there is a good market for it (that volume, however, has been decreasing, by about 50%). But the key is the structure. Only 20% of the tokens have been released, with 80% being held by insiders. Why I'm not sure about all the particulars in the structure, I believe that insiders will be able to sell in blocks over the next 3 years, with all the tokens available 3 years after the initial release.
So when people, even smart people, talk about how much money Trump has from this on paper they multiply the current price by all the outstanding tokens (which gives a market cap of about $37 billion at today's prices). That, though is a completely made up number.
Liquidity is the reason. Basic economics says that while there is only so much supply, there is also only so much demand (dollars chasing that supply, in this case tokens). Right now all those dollars are chasing only 20% of the tokens that will ever be in circulation. So what happens when those tokens enter circulation, highly likely the price drops. Even if the number of dollars chasing those tokens increases, will it increase to chase all of them? Highly unlikely. It's also likely that if insiders start to sell, it will create a panic and everyone will try to sell to lock in what profit they have (or cut their losses).
So citing how much insiders have on paper is a fools errand until the majority of the tokens are in circulation. The current valuation is made up because supply is artificially constrained (by 80%).
"there’s now a fear that people who are not super familiar with this industry will see it as a cash grab and not see all the good uses of crypto that exist. They worry this will give crypto a bad name.”
Ah yes, the "good" uses for crypto, like funding terrorists and further destroying the environment.
Also, haven't other countries that heavily invested in crypto crashed themselves into recessions because of it?
He and his entire family are just repulsive, utterly, completely repulsive. That this wannabe king, signing his proclamations and decrees, will be the man presiding over the 250th anniversary of this country is the surest sign yet of its decline and eventual demise. And yet these depths will be seen as a pinnacle from which we've fallen in the years to come as the corruption accelerates.
Every Republican member of Congress should be asked whether or not they have purchased a Trump meme coin. And, if they say no, ask they why they aren't financially supporting Trump. We may not be able to hold Trump to much in the way of accountability, and he's a lame duck, but we can shame Republicans.
The crypto guys are just another group of trump supporters that he is going to f**ck over. He is clearly suffering from dementia but his narcissism trumps (npi) that. He can still grasp how to take what he can get and screw everyone else. Its a reflex that requires no thought at this point.
One of FFOTUS34's "tells" is throwing back a question after being asked one he doesn't like. Why do reporters fall for this? REPEAT THE QUESTION. It's not hard.
I read somewhere (possibly here) that the crypto industry spent something like $40 million to get rid of Sherrod Brown, one of the few in congress who is actually knowledgeable about it. Also - SMELLANIA??? Seems like an appropriate name.
Late to the party, and my comment has no value, but I just want to say that “I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air" is not something Trump wrote himself. "Highly volatile" are not words he would use; he's more like to say "the value goes up and down, think of it". :)
"Trump surprised his crypto supporters with a cash grab that’s shameless even by his standards." I am going to point out that there is no standard of shame for Trump, and Trump is shameless.
I have 2 things to say about this.
1) Trump's main purpose for being in the White House, is to become the richest man in the world. This desire is probably intensified by hanging out with the Broligarchy now, and I am certain that he wants to be wealthier than Musk or Putin, and perhaps wealthier than them together. I am sure he wants to be the first trillionaire. He might want to stay out of prison, but that is secondary to his desire for wealth, as a sign of being the best.
2) Trump also likes crypto because it is dark money and as such he can hide who is investing in his endless grifting products from guns, to watches, to bibles, to crypto coin memes, to selling our military as a mercenary army, or selling our intel as soon as his people get their grubby hands on it.
“…but that is secondary to his desire for wealth, as a sign of being the best.” I think you mean as a sign of “be best”. 😉
The more I read from trusted writers, the more hopeless I feel about the future. How can we fight back against a greedy autocrat who is supported by the oligarchy, the media and the judicial system? Nothing thar is said to refute his lies is ever heard by his MAGA supporters, and his wealthy supporters are thrilled with his actions and words. Hard to continue being optimistic about anything. Sorry.
Isn’t there any way to trigger some consequences under the Emoluments Clause? There has to be a point at which even the SCOTUS would say he’s gone too far
So what SCOTUS essentially said about the Emouluments suits that were brought during his first term was that there was no enforcement mechanism. So any such suits are moot without a remedy.
The only people that could do something would be Congress (impeachment and removal) and we saw how well that went during his first term.
You’re harassing my mellow, man. (No, not high. 😊) I guess the film was prescient - #realitybites
I think it's really important here to understand how these things (Meme coins, ICOs, etc) functionally work (or don't work).
There are two primary points I'd like to make:
The first is about Rug Pulls and and how those types of scams work in Crypto. The Hawk Tuah coin mentioned here is a good example of a common scam (even if those involved say it wasn't a scam). Step 1 is to pump your coin on Social Media. Having a brand name (like the Hawk Tuah woman) is a great example. Step 2 is for those that created it to sell when it reaches peak mania (usually within hours or days). Those "insiders" usually hold a large portion of the tokens and when they sell the price crashes. Anyone left holding coins is essentially holding something worthless. This is known as a rug pull, but in common finance parlance this is a pump and dump. What differentiates from a common pump and dump, scheme, though, is that normally in a classic pump and dump it's based on usually lies like this company's drug is going to get approved, or some other breakthrough is imminent. With a meme token, it's really just "vibes".
The second thing is tied to the first, and is why the token's price plummets. It's also why any valuation (such as Felix Salmon's which is cited here) is just plain wrong. Any paper value Trump has that's stated here or anywhere else is bogus. The reason why is liquidity. Molly White wrote a fantastic piece about this, and updated it a few days ago specifically talking about the Trump coin and why values that are stated are bogus. So let's talk about why.
Today Trump's coin has traded in the $34-$39 range. That would give a market cap of about $7.5 billion based on the current circulating supply. It's also being traded pretty frequently, so there is a good market for it (that volume, however, has been decreasing, by about 50%). But the key is the structure. Only 20% of the tokens have been released, with 80% being held by insiders. Why I'm not sure about all the particulars in the structure, I believe that insiders will be able to sell in blocks over the next 3 years, with all the tokens available 3 years after the initial release.
So when people, even smart people, talk about how much money Trump has from this on paper they multiply the current price by all the outstanding tokens (which gives a market cap of about $37 billion at today's prices). That, though is a completely made up number.
Liquidity is the reason. Basic economics says that while there is only so much supply, there is also only so much demand (dollars chasing that supply, in this case tokens). Right now all those dollars are chasing only 20% of the tokens that will ever be in circulation. So what happens when those tokens enter circulation, highly likely the price drops. Even if the number of dollars chasing those tokens increases, will it increase to chase all of them? Highly unlikely. It's also likely that if insiders start to sell, it will create a panic and everyone will try to sell to lock in what profit they have (or cut their losses).
So citing how much insiders have on paper is a fools errand until the majority of the tokens are in circulation. The current valuation is made up because supply is artificially constrained (by 80%).
"there’s now a fear that people who are not super familiar with this industry will see it as a cash grab and not see all the good uses of crypto that exist. They worry this will give crypto a bad name.”
Ah yes, the "good" uses for crypto, like funding terrorists and further destroying the environment.
Also, haven't other countries that heavily invested in crypto crashed themselves into recessions because of it?
He and his entire family are just repulsive, utterly, completely repulsive. That this wannabe king, signing his proclamations and decrees, will be the man presiding over the 250th anniversary of this country is the surest sign yet of its decline and eventual demise. And yet these depths will be seen as a pinnacle from which we've fallen in the years to come as the corruption accelerates.
Every Republican member of Congress should be asked whether or not they have purchased a Trump meme coin. And, if they say no, ask they why they aren't financially supporting Trump. We may not be able to hold Trump to much in the way of accountability, and he's a lame duck, but we can shame Republicans.
Wow.
The crypto guys are just another group of trump supporters that he is going to f**ck over. He is clearly suffering from dementia but his narcissism trumps (npi) that. He can still grasp how to take what he can get and screw everyone else. Its a reflex that requires no thought at this point.
Is Trump going to pardon Sam Bankman Fried next? Again, the fools who fill the Trump hoppers with their money and then get burned will be legion.
One of FFOTUS34's "tells" is throwing back a question after being asked one he doesn't like. Why do reporters fall for this? REPEAT THE QUESTION. It's not hard.
Trump 2.0 - exploring new avenues of grift and profit.
Uhm
Only just noticed, but
Strump
Smelania
If they say so…
I read somewhere (possibly here) that the crypto industry spent something like $40 million to get rid of Sherrod Brown, one of the few in congress who is actually knowledgeable about it. Also - SMELLANIA??? Seems like an appropriate name.
The grifter in chief continues destroying our country.
Late to the party, and my comment has no value, but I just want to say that “I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air" is not something Trump wrote himself. "Highly volatile" are not words he would use; he's more like to say "the value goes up and down, think of it". :)