Original Article Title: Teapot Dome. Watergate. They're Nothing Compared to This.

Original Article Author: Jacob Silverman (Author of "Golden Rage: Elon Musk and Radicalized Silicon Valley")

Original Article Translation: Kaori, Peggy, BlockBeats

Editor's Note: In U.S. political history, no president has intertwined national power, personal brand, and financial speculation on a global scale quite like Trump.

The combination of money and power is not new, but when this combination takes the form of "tokens," when a head of state's image is forged into a tradable asset, when political influence can freely flow on the blockchain, what we face is no longer traditional corruption but a system-level reconfiguration.

The article at hand does not document a single scandal but a paradigm shift: the president is no longer just a political figure but the largest hodler in a decentralized economy; diplomatic relations are no longer achieved through secret talks but through connected wallet addresses. Technology, once seen as a safeguard of transparency and fairness, may now become a new power broker.

As cryptocurrency enters the White House, as the digital shadow of the dollar intertwines with national will, we must rethink a fundamental question: In this era of "on-chain sovereignty," do the boundaries of power still exist?

Below is the original content.

The New Power Wallet: How Cryptocurrency Entered the White House

If you were an authoritarian leader trying to influence another country's head of state, you might give them a lavishly equipped Boeing 747 jet; you might indulge in their hotel, or invest in the many businesses they and their children own; you could even purchase their branded sneakers, NFTs, and other branded goods.

But in the case of President Trump, potential "power brokers" have a richer menu of options.

However, today, all of these seem superfluous.

During his campaign, Trump announced his own cryptocurrency plan—World Liberty Financial—and launched a "meme coin" bearing his name just days before taking office. Anyone who buys World Liberty's token can indirectly funnel funds to the Trump family business. Through a crypto project controlled by the president, his son, and family friends, the Trump family has amassed billions in accrued wealth.

World Liberty has become a powerful channel of influence: anyone — whether it's you, me, or a prince of the UAE — can simply buy the company's issued token to fill Trump's wallet.

The key lies in this "convenience." For those seeking influence, suitcases full of cash and Swiss bank accounts have been replaced by crypto tokens that can be quickly transferred between wallets and exchanges. And more sophisticated crypto users — nation-state actors, hacker groups, money laundering syndicates — can use tools like "coin mixers" to disguise transaction traces.

It is this convenience that has made cryptocurrency the tool of choice for criminal organizations and sanctions evaders.

The Illusion of Transparency: When Corruption Happens in the Name of "Decentralization"

This is unprecedented in American political history.

Looking back at scandals in previous administrations — corruption among Grant's presidential staff, the Teapot Dome scandal during Harding's term involving oil lease bribes, and even Nixon's Watergate scandal — none have seen anything like Trump, who has so extensively intertwined personal and government interests, nor has anyone profited so significantly from it.

There is nothing innovative here; the real "novelty" lies only in the current president blatantly using his name, image, and social media influence to promote a crypto token that is hardly distinguishable from the myriad other products on the market. In the eyes of MAGA supporters and ordinary speculators, buying these tokens may mean "going all-in"; and a president leading political supporters into such high-risk investment is condemnable in itself.

But the bigger risk is that powerful foreign forces may use this as a means to funnel large sums of money to Trump.

For any head of state, buying Trump's token or investing in his crypto project has become a direct political speculative action.

This is precisely the perverse incentive created by the Trump "crypto donation box."

Take, for example, two recent multi-billion-dollar transactions involving one of the most influential figures in the UAE — Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan — and Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff:

In the first transaction, a state-owned investment fund led by Tahnoon pledged to invest $20 billion worth of USD1 stablecoin (issued by World Liberty Financial) in the world's largest crypto exchange, Binance. (Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies aimed at maintaining value stability and serving as a "digital dollar" substitute.)

It is worth noting that Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, after admitting to money laundering, is now seeking a pardon from Trump.

In the second transaction, Vitalikov facilitated an agreement with David Sacks, the "AI and Cryptocurrency Czar" appointed by Trump—a venture capitalist—that allowed the UAE to purchase hundreds of thousands of high-end AI chips for data center construction. These chips are highly sought after in the global AI race and are subject to strict export controls. Experts are concerned that the UAE may resell or share these chips with Chinese companies.

Although there is no concrete evidence of a direct "quid pro quo" in these two transactions, the participants are closely intertwined in a web of interests, and a pattern of blurred lines between public and private is becoming a hallmark of the Trump administration.

Tahnoon's use of a $2 billion USD-backed stablecoin is intriguing in itself.

If his sole purpose was to invest in Binance, a direct wire transfer would have sufficed.

Choosing to use World Liberty Financial's $1 USD stablecoin as an "intermediary" is essentially a way to "fund" a company that directly benefits Vitalikov and Trump.

Despite the scandalous nature, Trump's crypto activities have mostly unfolded in a relatively open environment.

Some notorious figures in the crypto sphere have even openly boasted on social media about buying tens of millions of dollars' worth of WLFI tokens.

In the past (meaning a few years ago), a president involved in such blatant conflicts of interest would have triggered congressional hearings and law enforcement investigations.

However, a recent Supreme Court ruling on "presidential immunity" has almost rendered these oversight mechanisms meaningless.

The Department of Justice will not prosecute a sitting president.

At the beginning of his new term, Trump dismissed 18 inspectors general—key figures who could have exposed and investigated government crypto activities. In February of this year, he also ordered the DOJ to suspend the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (which prohibits bribing foreign officials) until four months later when it was reinstated.

Meanwhile, regulatory agencies have been withdrawing their focus from the cryptocurrency space, with the Trump administration helping drive legislative agendas favored by the crypto industry.

Trump and his offspring's accumulation of crypto wealth seems poised to continue expanding during his term.

There is currently no apparent "ceiling" to halt the influx of foreign capital. This open door has paved the way for a level of corruption at the highest echelons of America that has not been seen before, and we must confront the dark possibilities it brings.

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