Trump begins selling new crypto token $Trump, raising ethical concerns
WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump and his family on Jan 17 started selling a cryptocurrency token featuring an image of Trump drawn from the July assassination attempt, a potentially lucrative new business that ethics experts assailed as a blatant effort to cash in on the office he is about to occupy again.
Disclosed just days before his second inauguration, the venture is the latest in a series of moves by Trump that blur the line between his government role and the continued effort by his family to profit from his power and global fame. It is yet another sign that the Trump family will be much less hesitant in this second term to bend or breach traditional ethical boundaries.
Trump announced the launch of his new business on Jan 17 night on his social media platform, in between announcements about filling key federal government posts. He is calling the token $Trump, selling it with the slogan: “Join the Trump Community. This is History in the Making!”
The venture was organised by CIC Digital, an affiliate of the Trump Organisation, which already has been selling an array of other kinds of merchandise such as Trump-branded sneakers, fragrances and even digital trading cards.
But this newest venture brings Trump and his family directly into the world of selling cryptocurrency, which is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Trump recently disclosed he intended to name a cryptocurrency advocate as SEC chair.
A disclosure on the website selling the tokens says that CIC Digital and its affiliates own 80 per cent of the supply of the new Trump tokens that will be released gradually over the coming three years and that they will be paid “trading revenue” as the tokens are sold.
The move by Trump and his family was immediately condemned by ethics lawyers who said they could not recall a more explicit profiteering effort by an incoming president.
“It is literally cashing in on the presidency – creating a financial instrument, so people can transfer money to the president’s family in connection with his office” said Mr Adav Noti, executive director of Campaign Legal Centre, a non-profit ethics group. “It is beyond unprecedented.”
Mr Eric Trump, who helps run Trump Organisation business operations, said on Jan 18 that this offering was part of a new and growing business sector that the Trump family has entered. NYTIMES
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