61 h. ago Trump’s crypto ventures may be his most dangerous moneymaking scheme | Mohamad Bazzi

The US president is leveraging his position for personal gain by exploiting an industry known for lack of transparency and fraudThroughout his business career, Donald Trump sought new ways to leverage his name to make easy money. He ran an airline, a university and a winery. Thanks to The Apprentice show that made him a reality TV star, the US president slapped his name on real estate projects around the world built by other companies – along with Trump-branded steaks, vodka, deodorant and bottled water. Many of these businesses ultimately failed, but Trump rarely invested his own funds and he still walked away with hefty licensing fees.Today, as the most powerful person in the world, Trump has found perhaps the easiest way to profit off his name: cryptocurrency. Days before his inauguration for a second term on 20 January, Trump’s family business launched a meme coin, called $TRUMP, which is a type of digital currency often connected to an online joke or mascot. It has no inherent ...

Politics

8 d. ago Is every memecoin just a scam? Experts on whether Andrew Tate and Trump are fleecing their followers

After I was turned into a memecoin, I looked into the hype behind the crypto that only a tiny percentage of people profit fromIn November last year, I was turned into a memecoin. Several, in fact.Someone alerted me that a memecoin called Dork Nerd Geek ($DNG) had been minted with a picture of my face, and it already had a market cap (the total value of all coins in circulation) of $29,000. Twenty minutes later it was $100,000. An hour later it was $800,000. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Trump team makes it easier to invest 401(k)s in crypto. Some experts say that’s a bad idea

Rescinding Biden-era guidance on pension plan investments in crypto comes as vice president declares industry has ‘a champion and an ally in the White House’

Politics

1 week ago Trump says he will be negotiating the ‘big, beautiful’ tax bill after Musk criticizes it – live

Trump says the bill ‘needs to get a lot of support’ in Congress, adding ‘we have to get a lot of votes’Musk says Trump tax bill weakens Doge cost-cutting measuresThe vice-president, JD Vance, is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the Bitcoin 2025 Conference in Vegas, which will set out the Trump administration’s turbocharged approach to the US crypto industry.If you cast your minds back, it’s the same conference Trump spoke at last year in Nashville calling for America to become a “bitcoin superpower” and the “crypto capital of the planet” under his leadership.At 4:30pm ET, Trump’s sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr will speak at the very same conference in Vegas. It’s presumably an industry they feel invested in, given they back a major Bitcoin venture themselves, per Reuters. And it comes just a day after a separate family-linked business, the Trump Media & Technology Group, announced its intention to raise $2.5bn to invest in bitcoin, as the Wall Street Journal reports. A...

Politics

1 week ago Marco Rubio announces visa restrictions for foreigners ‘complicit in censoring Americans’ – US politics live

US secretary of state makes announcement that appears to take aim at other countries’ enforcement of social media regulationsMusk says Trump tax bill weakens Doge cost-cutting measuresThe vice-president, JD Vance, is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the Bitcoin 2025 Conference in Vegas, which will set out the Trump administration’s turbocharged approach to the US crypto industry.If you cast your minds back, it’s the same conference Trump spoke at last year in Nashville calling for America to become a “bitcoin superpower” and the “crypto capital of the planet” under his leadership.At 4:30pm ET, Trump’s sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr will speak at the very same conference in Vegas. It’s presumably an industry they feel invested in, given they back a major Bitcoin venture themselves, per Reuters. And it comes just a day after a separate family-linked business, the Trump Media & Technology Group, announced its intention to raise $2.5bn to invest in bitcoin, as the Wall Str...

Politics

1 week ago Musk criticises Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’, saying tax plans undermine Doge measures – US politics live

Tesla billionaire calls legislation a ‘massive spending bill’ that will add to the federal deficitMusk says Trump tax bill weakens Doge cost-cutting measuresThe vice-president, JD Vance, is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the Bitcoin 2025 Conference in Vegas, which will set out the Trump administration’s turbocharged approach to the US crypto industry.If you cast your minds back, it’s the same conference Trump spoke at last year in Nashville calling for America to become a “bitcoin superpower” and the “crypto capital of the planet” under his leadership.At 4:30pm ET, Trump’s sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr will speak at the very same conference in Vegas. It’s presumably an industry they feel invested in, given they back a major Bitcoin venture themselves, per Reuters. And it comes just a day after a separate family-linked business, the Trump Media & Technology Group, announced its intention to raise $2.5bn to invest in bitcoin, as the Wall Street Journal reports. And th...

Politics

1 week ago Donald Trump serves crypto guests 'airline food' after they paid £1.3million for 'most exclusive invitation in world'

The black tie event was held for the 220 buyers of the US President's official cryptocurrency, which is believed to have bagged him and his family a whopping £109million

Economics

1 week ago Apple’s triple threat: tariffs, AI troubles and a Fortnite fail

Once unshakable, Apple is showing rare signs of strain. Meanwhile, OpenAI bets billions on its next act, and Trump’s crypto fans lose millionsHello, and welcome to TechScape. This week in tech: Apple struggles on multiple fronts, OpenAI grows increasingly ambitious, and Trump helps some of his fans lose money on cryptocurrency. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago 'Worse than airline food': Crypto investors who paid $1.7m for Trump event furious at meal served

Trader Nichols Pinto said 'it was the worst food I've ever had at a Trump golf course' and 'the only good thing was bread and butter'.

Economics

1 week ago Trump’s media company plans to raise $3B to buy crypto as conflict of interest claims deepen: report

Trump owns a majority stake in TMTG, which is held in a trust managed by his son, Donald Trump Jr, for as long as he is president.

Politics

1 week ago ‘Roadmap for corruption’: Trump dive into cryptocurrency raises ethics alarm

The president’s hawking of $Trump memecoin has sparked a firestorm of criticism over potential influence buyingDonald Trump’s push to sharply ease oversight of the cryptocurrency industry, while he and his sons have fast expanded crypto ventures that have reaped billions of dollars from investors including foreign ones, is raising alarm about ethical and legal issues.Watchdog groups, congressional Democrats and some Republicans have levelled a firestorm of criticism at Trump for hawking his own memecoin $Trump, a novelty crypto token with no inherent value, by personally hosting a 22 May dinner at his Virginia golf club for the 220 largest buyers of $Trump and a private “reception” for the 25 biggest buyers. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump may have skirted the law addressing his crypto investors using the presidential seal

It’s illegal to use the seal to convey a ‘false impression of sponsorship or approval’ by the government

Politics

2 w. ago ‘America is not for sale:’ Protesters mob Trump golf course guests ahead of exclusive crypto dinner

Demonstrators held signs reading ‘Stop Crypto Corruption,’ ‘America is not for sale,’ as well as brandishing a large gold coin featuring a large image of the president’s scowling face

Politics

2 w. ago Trump to host dinner for top holders of his crypto token – although many lost money with it

Meme coin buyers may have gotten dinner with president, but they lost millions, Guardian analysis revealsDonald Trump will host the top holders of his cryptocurrency at a gala tonight at his private golf club near Washington DC. Though the president has called the $Trump token “The Greatest of them all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”, nearly half the gala’s guests suffered losses from purchasing it, according to a Guardian analysis of their public cryptocurrency wallets.The attendees are winners of the US president’s meme coin competition. Last month, Trump announced that the 220 crypto wallets with the largest holdings of $Trump between 23 April and 12 May would win a ticket to a private dinner at the Trump National golf club. The top 25 holders would also be invited to a “Private VIP Reception” with the president beforehand. The news caused the coin to spike more than 50%. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Nearly half of Trump’s crypto sweepstakes winners lost money

Meme coin buyers may have gotten dinner with president, but they lost millions, Guardian analysis revealsDonald Trump will host the top holders of his cryptocurrency at a gala tonight at his private golf club near Washington DC. Though the president has called the $TRUMP token “The Greatest of them all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”, nearly half the gala’s guests suffered losses from purchasing it, according to a Guardian analysis of their public cryptocurrency wallets.The attendees are winners of the US president’s meme coin competition. Last month, Trump announced that the 220 crypto wallets with the largest holdings of $TRUMP between 23 April and 12 May would win a ticket to a private dinner at the Trump National golf club. The top 25 holders would also be invited to a “Private VIP Reception” with the president beforehand. The news caused the coin to spike more than 50%. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump once condemned Qatar. How things have changed | Mohamad Bazzi

The country’s charm offensive and global mediator role – as well as a $400m plane – reveal a complicated relationshipOn his tour of the Middle East last week, Donald Trump was treated like royalty by the leaders of the wealthiest countries in the Arab world. The US president was feted in gilded ballrooms, his motorcade was flanked by dozens of men riding white Arabian horses and he was awarded an elaborate gold medal necklace. The leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates went out of their way to show Trump that they respect him more than his predecessor, Joe Biden.While Trump frequently praised Saudi and UAE leaders during his first term, he was highly critical of Qatar, a small emirate that is rich in natural gas but usually overshadowed by its two larger and more powerful neighbors. In June 2017, Trump said Qatar “has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level” and he supported a blockade against the country, led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Qa...

Politics

3 w. ago Crypto traders who won dinner with Trump also made big profits

Some wallets that scooped up large chunks of the president’s token have already transferred them

Politics

3 w. ago Trump’s cryptocurrency endeavor caps a political career filled with conflicts of interest

Trump’s foray into cryptocurrency involves him leveraging his presidency for personal gain and operating in an industry he has power overThe 220 winners of a cryptocurrency contest were told on Monday to look out for an email featuring “the most exclusive invitation in the world”. As a reward for spending immense amounts of money, in some cases millions of dollars, they had won the prize of attending a private gala with Donald Trump at his own Washington DC golf club later this month.Awarding access to the president in exchange for investment in his crypto endeavor was Trump’s latest conflict of interest in a political career filled with, in the words of one of his most repeated catchphrases, “many such cases”. Real estate holdings, a media company, merchandising deals, fraud and most recently Qatar’s gift of a $400m plane are only some of the myriad of entanglements that government ethics watchdogs have warned about for a decade now. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Trump’s Middle East trip isn’t just about diplomacy. It’s about the family business | Mohamad Bazzi

The Trump Organization has millions in developments in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE – sites of his first state visitOn his first day back in the White House, reporters asked Donald Trump where he might go on his maiden overseas trip. The US president saw it as an opportunity to show off his deal-making prowess and expound on how he would convince Saudi Arabia to inject billions of dollars into the US economy.While US presidents often visit Canada, Mexico or the UK as their first foreign destination, Trump upended that tradition when he traveled to Saudi Arabia in May 2017. Hours after his second inauguration, Trump dangled the possibility of a return trip to the kingdom – for a price. “I did it with Saudi Arabia last time because they agreed to buy $450bn worth of our products,” he said. “If Saudi Arabia wanted to buy another $450bn or $500 – we’ll up it for all the inflation – I think I’d probably go.” Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Trump pal Roger Stone calls for senator’s ‘execution’ after he challenges president’s crypto profits in office

Roger Stone, a longtime Republican strategist and Trump loyalist, accused Senator Mark Kelly of ‘treason’ for backing a law aimed at ending a crypto conflict of interest in the White House

Politics