Market News
Trump's new crypto coin sparks ethics concerns - REUTERS
By Elizabeth Howcroft and Susan Heavey
Summary
- Ethics experts worry about conflict of interest, national security
- Trump-linked businesses own 80% of the meme coins
- Crypto investor, Democrat warn of foreign influence through tokens
PARIS/WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's launch of a crypto token shortly before his inauguration on Monday creates new conflict-of-interest concerns, ethics experts and industry insiders said.
Trump has pledged to hand management of his assets to his children, but the crypto asset is raising particular concerns due to its ability to quickly attract billions of speculative dollars with little transparency.
The companies behind the "meme coins" $TRUMP and $MELANIA, for first lady Melania Trump, said they are not investments or securities but are an "expression of support."
