Declan Harty

‘It sucks’: Crypto gets a rude awakening to kick off Trump’s second year Bitcoin has plunged from an all-time high of more than $126K in October by nearly 50 percent, even as the president has paved a new era for the industry in Washington.

‘It sucks’: Crypto gets a rude awakening to kick off Trump’s second year

The blockchain network: Crypto begins to fret over Winklevoss brothers’ embrace of MAGA Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss — the Facebook-famous crypto billionaires — have emerged as President Donald Trump’s fiercest allies in the digital assets world.

New: A pair of crypto's best-known billionaires is going full MAGA. President Donald Trump is thrilled.

The rest of the $4 trillion industry? Not so much.

A look at the Winklevii's rising MAGA profile and crypto's concerns, via @politico.com

www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

‘Everything’s up for examination’: SEC’s Atkins plots a new era for corporate America The plans have triggered concern among pension funds and investor advocacy groups, who fear that the changes could deprive them of key information about public companies, and have caused a split on th...

SEC Chair Paul Atkins is laying the groundwork for a major regulatory overhaul that could hand corporate America new power over investors.

“This is a race to the bottom for us that no one else seems to be running.”

www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

POLITICO Pro: SEC taps military judge as head enforcement official

The SEC has a new top cop.

Judge Meg Ryan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces — a one-time contender to join the Supreme Court under President Donald Trump — is joining the agency after Labor Day as enforcement director.

subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...

Trump’s crypto embrace opens the door to a Wall Street overhaul Wall Street traditionalists, who once downplayed the threat of crypto, are fighting back.

Wall Street is bracing for a clash pitting upstart cryptocurrency firms against traditional financial heavyweights.

Winklevoss brothers pressed Trump to dump pick for top Wall Street regulator The Trump-supporting billionaire twins told the president that his nominee for Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair was not the right fit.

EXCLUSIVE: The Winklevoss brothers pressed Trump to dump his crypto regulator nominee.

President Donald Trump just signed into law a landmark bill laying out a new regulatory framework for stablecoins, a major win for the crypto industry.

It also marks "a put up or shut up moment" for crypto.

www.politico.com/news/2025/07...

‘Forest fire’: Corporate America’s bitcoin buying spree fuels concern Critics warn that hoovering up digital assets could backfire whenever the volatile crypto markets take a turn for the worse.

“It’s a lot of kindling being built up. ... There’s going to be a forest fire, and it’s going to be catastrophic.”

New from me: As corporate America binges on bitcoin, some in the crypto industry and Washington are sounding the alarm. politico.com/news/2025/06...
@politico.com

POLITICO Pro: SEC drops landmark case against crypto giant Binance The dismissal is the latest in a string of moves by the Wall Street regulator to walk back its enforcement crackdown on crypto firms.

“Crypto Christmas in D.C.”

The SEC is dropping its case against the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance.

subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...

Trump’s crypto conflicts, explained Podcast Episode · POLITICO Tech · 05/29/2025 · 21m

President Trump and his family are diving deeper into the crypto business as his administration rolls back regulations and implements crypto-friendly policies.

On POLITICO Tech, reporter Declan Harty dissects Trump's crypto conflicts. 🎧 Listen & subscribe:

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

“.. ‘It’s a distraction,’ said one lobbyist .. ‘We’re excited to have a president who is enthusiastic about crypto. But the way they’ve done this … it just doesn’t look good.’”

@politico.com
www.politico.com/news/2025/05...

Meet the crypto investors who bought a dinner with Trump The event — billed as the “most EXCLUSIVE INVITATION in the World” — is the latest example of the president’s stunning pivot from crypto scourge to evangelist.

President Trump is set to meet with the biggest holders of his own crypto memecoin tonight at an exclusive dinner — a move many critics have said is a pay-to-play scheme.

Meet the crypto investors who bought a dinner with Trump The event — billed as the “most EXCLUSIVE INVITATION in the World” — is the latest example of the president’s stunning pivot from crypto scourge to evangelist.

It's memecoin dinner day.

“The whole week I was talking to my wife and father, ’Wouldn’t it be insane if I get to meet the president of the United States based on a memecoin competition?"

www.politico.com/news/2025/05...

The blunt reality of Trump’s ‘brazen’ crypto conflicts Washington is in knots over President Donald Trump’s deepening ties to the wild and lucrative world of crypto.

Washington is in knots over President Donald Trump’s deepening ties to the wild and lucrative world of crypto.

It may want to try getting comfortable.

www.politico.com/newsletters/...

From Trump whisperer to West Wing pariah: What went wrong for lobbyist Brian Ballard After a March incident at Mar-A-Lago involving cryptocurrency and a Truth Social post, the White House turns on a well-known political fixer.

An incident in early March took Brian Ballard from having a reputation as the top Trump administration lobbyist to becoming persona non grata in the West Wing.

Here's what happened behind the scenes 👇

Memecoin dinner sparks backlash over Trump crypto ties. The event is drawing criticism and unease from Democrats and even from some Republicans.

Wall Street investors scoffed at it. Democrats have railed against it. But cryptocurrency traders can’t get enough of Trump’s memecoin.

Memecoin dinner sparks backlash over Trump crypto ties. The event is drawing criticism and unease from Democrats and even from some Republicans.

In the two weeks since plans for an exclusive dinner with the $TRUMP memecoin’s namesake were unveiled, a rush of interest has boosted the once-flagging collectible crypto token and reignited a firestorm on Capitol Hill.

www.politico.com/news/2025/05...

'No playbook for this': Trump allies press SEC on businesses The rush of activity underlines a broader concern over the close ties that companies have with the Trump administration.

New — Paul Atkins took over as Wall Street’s chief regulator just a week ago, but he’s already staring at what could become a political headache: all the president’s friends.

www.politico.com/news/2025/04...

‘Paralyzed’: Wall Street dealmaking stalls over trade war Industry leaders are warning that the fallout from the market volatility and the slowdown in deals will be felt beyond the financial world.

‘Absolutely paralyzed’: Wall Street dealmaking stalls over Trump trade war

POLITICO Pro: SEC begins onboarding Elon Musk's DOGE Musk is facing charges from the agency over his purchases of Twitter stock in 2022.

Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has landed at the SEC.

"Our intent will be to partner with the DOGE representatives and cooperate with their requests."

subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...

The questions surrounding Paul Atkins’ SEC Paul Atkins is finally about to give Securities and Exchange Commission staff answers about what the coming years will mean for the Wall Street regulator.

SEC staff have been fretting about what the coming years will mean for the Wall Street regulator amid attacks on their work, the agency’s independence and hundreds of departures.

Paul Atkins is finally about to give them some answers.

Today's MM:

www.politico.com/newsletters/...

‘Italian vendetta’: SEC targeted by triumphant crypto industry The industry's pushback reflects the hostile reality facing federal agencies and workers today — one that Trump has openly welcomed.

The cryptocurrency industry has begun testing its new political power by pushing for accountability from the SEC — and in some cases payback — as the regulatory landscape shifts in its favor.

‘Italian vendetta’: SEC targeted by triumphant crypto industry The industry's pushback reflects the hostile reality facing federal agencies and workers today — one that Trump has openly welcomed.

New: In the war on crypto’s fallout, the SEC is becoming the target.

“It’s an Italian vendetta, and I don’t know what to do. Because in most vendettas, nobody actually wins. Everybody keeps dying.” www.politico.com/news/2025/03... @politico.com

www.politico.com/news/2025/03...

Crypto Can't Stop Fighting Itself In a friendly Washington, the crypto community might be its own worst enemy.

Crypto is firmly in its heyday in Washington, with lawsuits evaporating, a wave of industry-backed lawmakers settling into Congress and a digital asset czar reigning in the White House.

Now, crypto might be its own worst enemy.

My latest column:
www.politico.com/news/magazin...

‘He Finally Shot the Hostage’: Trump’s Trade War Is a Brutal Reality Check Trump imposing new tariffs on top of broader policy uncertainty will mean a hit to growth. The question is how large of a hit it will ultimately be.

Investors and consumers expected President Donald Trump to be a pro-business billionaire. What they got instead was Tariff Man.

My latest column:
www.politico.com/news/2025/03...

`A bubble looking for a pin': Trump-connected assets slide The declines underscore the shift that has rocked the U.S. financial markets in recent weeks.

Wall Street is caught in a deepening decline that is sparing no risky asset. Not even those tied to President Donald Trump.

www.politico.com/news/2025/03...

If you've got SEC, CFTC or markets tips, you can always drop me a line on Signal signal.me#eu/wvjEbvyOS...

‘People are really bulled up’: Stock surge has some on Wall Street worried A growing collection of hedge fund managers, financiers and analysts say the markets are now running too hot and are at risk of a sudden downturn.

CHANOS: “.. we’re back to the chaos presidency. .. Whatever you might think about the Biden administration, if you were a market participant, you generally didn’t need to check your Twitter feed the first thing in the morning when you woke up ..”

@politico.com
www.politico.com/news/2025/02...

‘People are really bulled up’: Stock surge has some on Wall Street worried A growing collection of hedge fund managers, financiers and analysts say the markets are now running too hot and are at risk of a sudden downturn.

Donald Trump’s election helped turbocharge an already surging bull market in the U.S., sending stocks and cryptocurrencies to record highs.

Now, some on Wall Street are beginning to sound the alarm that the fast times can’t last.

www.politico.com/news/2025/02...