Several Democratic lawmakers have said that they will not vote to pass crypto regulations if potential conflicts of interest are not addressed.
US President Donald Trump didn’t answer a reporter’s question on whether he would divest from his family’s crypto ventures in order to ensure passage of key cryptocurrency legislation, saying only that if the US didn’t have crypto, China or other countries would.
“Many Democrats have said that they are not going to support crypto bills in Congress only because of you and your family’s personal crypto ventures,” a reporter said to Trump during press briefing at the White House on Friday.
Asked whether he would consider divesting from his crypto ventures to ease political pressure on digital asset bills on Congress, Trump responded:
“I became a fan of crypto, and to me, it’s an industry. I view it as an industry and I am president. And if we did not have it, China would, or somebody else would, but most likely China would love to, and we have dominated that industry.
We have created a very powerful industry, and that is much more important than anything that we invest in,” Trump said.
The growing concern among lawmakers over Trump’s crypto ties and the potential conflict of interests threaten to derail efforts to establish comprehensive regulations for the industry, a policy objective that has gradually gained bipartisan support since 2024.
Related: Ex-US top regulator warns of conflicts of interest as Senate weighs market structure
Democratic lawmakers move to address conflict of interest concerns
The Senate passed the GENIUS Stablecoin bill in a 68-30 vote on June 17, without proposed amendments from Democratic lawmakers seeking to limit a US president’s involvement in the crypto industry.
California Senator Adam Schiff introduced the Curbing Officials’ Income and Nondisclosure (COIN) Act on Monday. The bill would prohibit the president, his family and officials in the executive branch from issuing or endorsing any digital asset.
“Donald Trump and other senior administration officials have made a fortune off of crypto schemes. Today, I am introducing the COIN Act to put a stop to this corruption in plain sight,” Schiff wrote on X.
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