A recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing by Trump Media & Technology Group, announcing a $2.5 billion Bitcoin deal, makes plain the glaring conflict of interest between President Trump’s financial investments and his advocacy for crypto deregulation. In a June 5 filing, the company said it considers the possibility of Bitcoin being classified as a security to be a significant risk for its operations. If Bitcoin were to be considered a security, the company wrote, it would not only dramatically lower the value of its Bitcoin holdings, which it says make up a significant portion of its assets, but would also force it to register as an investment company, making it subject to stricter regulations.
The filing, an S-3 registration statement, covers sales of shares to a group of roughly 50 institutional investors as part of a $2.5 billion deal to purchase more Bitcoin and create a Bitcoin treasury for the company. "We view Bitcoin as an apex instrument of financial freedom, and now Trump Media will hold cryptocurrency as a crucial part of our assets,” said CEO Devin Nunes in a statement announcing the deal. The disclosure of the Bitcoin-related regulatory risks was first noted by Accountable.US.
Conveniently, Trump’s Republican allies in Congress are pushing legislation called the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, a market structure bill that would define blockchain-linked digital assets like Bitcoin to be commodities, which face lighter regulatory oversight under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and avoid the SEC’s rules on disclosures and investor protections. The bill was proposed by Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.), and if passed into law would protect the Trump family from the Bitcoin-regulation risks it identified in the SEC filing. The bill, which is supported by Blockchain Association industry group, is the subject of two markups being held today by the House Financial Services Committee and the House Agriculture Committee, which oversees the CFTC’s commodity regulations.
As the largest investor in Trump Media & Technology Group with a 52% stake, President Trump stands to gain significantly from deregulation. While most White House administration officials are required to divest assets that may pose a conflict of interest with their work for the government, the president is generally exempt from such requirements.
Trump, once dismissive of Bitcoin and crypto, has championed Bitcoin as a commodity through his support for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, placing the digital asset alongside commodities like oil and gold that the government holds in strategic stockpiles. In March, Trump signed an executive order to create the reserve using government-seized coins, while also creating a reserve for other assets the president’s family is invested in, like Ethereum. Trump’s nomination of Paul Atkins as SEC chairman further tipped the scales towards Bitcoin being treated as a commodity rather than a security. Atkins, a crypto industry advocate who supports light-touch regulations for digital currencies, is now in charge of the agency that guides rulemakings on such matters.
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