Behind Trump’s embrace of cryptocurrencies, there are many secrets that remain hidden from the publi

This summer, a group of corporate executives presented a business plan to Wall Street financiers and Anthony Scaramucci, who was once an advisor to President Trump. They hoped that Scaramucci would join a publicly traded company with a unique strategy: by accumulating large amounts of cryptocurrency assets, the company could become more attractive to investors.

“They didn’t even need to say much,” recalled Scaramucci. Soon after, he joined three unknown companies that adopted this strategy as advisors. “The entire process of negotiating was very smooth.”

However, this boom did not last long. This fall, the cryptocurrency market plummeted, and the stock prices of the three companies involved in this strategy suffered significant losses. The worst-performing company saw its stock price drop by more than 80%.

The rise and fall of these companies truly reflected the enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies that Trump sparked. This leader, who called himself “the first cryptocurrency president,” not only eliminated regulatory restrictions on cryptocurrency companies but also promoted cryptocurrency investments publicly in the White House, signed laws supporting the development of cryptocurrencies, and even issued a meme coin called TRUMP. In doing so, he brought this once niche field to the forefront of the global economy.

Now, the chain reaction of Trump’s support for cryptocurrencies is beginning to take shape.

Since the beginning of this year, numerous new cryptocurrency companies have emerged, breaking through industry boundaries and drawing more people into this highly volatile market. Currently, more than 250 publicly traded companies are accumulating cryptocurrency assets. The price fluctuations of these digital assets are no different from those of traditional investments like stocks and bonds.

In 2024, Anthony Scaramucci, a former advisor to Trump, attended a Bitcoin conference in the UAE.

Several companies introduced innovative products, lowering the barriers for cryptocurrencies to be integrated into brokerage accounts and retirement savings plans. At the same time, industry executives are lobbying regulatory authorities to introduce encrypted tokens that are comparable to stocks of listed companies, aiming to create a stock trading market based on cryptographic technologies.

This wave of radical innovation has already exposed many problems. Over the past two months, the prices of mainstream cryptocurrencies have plummeted, causing companies with large investments in cryptocurrencies to face collapse risks. Other emerging projects have also drawn warnings from economists and regulators, indicating that market risks are accumulating.

The core issue that causes concern is the continuous expansion of borrowing levels. By the autumn of this year, listed companies had borrowed heavily to purchase cryptocurrencies. Investors held futures contracts worth over $200 billion related to cryptocurrencies. These transactions often rely on leveraged funds, which can bring huge profits but also carry the risk of margin calls.

What’s more concerning is that a series of new measures taken by the cryptocurrency industry have deeply integrated the crypto market with the stock market and other financial sectors. If a crisis breaks out in the crypto market, it could spread to the entire financial system, triggering a chain reaction.

“ Nowadays, the boundaries between speculation, gambling, and investment have become blurred.” Timothy Massad, who served as the Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability at the U.S. Treasury Department after the 2008 financial crisis, said, “This situation worries me greatly.” Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, responded by saying that Trump’s policies aim to “promote innovation and create economic opportunities for Americans, thereby making the United States a global center for cryptocurrencies.” Executives in the cryptocurrency industry argue that these new projects demonstrate the potential of blockchain technology to transform the traditional financial system. In their view, market volatility is precisely the opportunity for profit. “High risk often comes with high rewards,” said Duncan Moir, president of 21Shares, a company that offers cryptocurrency investment products. “Our mission is to bring these investment opportunities to more people.” This surge in innovation is thanks to the relaxed regulatory environment, which represents one of the most favorable periods for cryptocurrency companies. Over the past few years, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been involved in legal disputes with the cryptocurrency industry. In January this year, the SEC established a special task force on cryptocurrencies and has already held meetings with dozens of companies seeking new regulations or approvals for their products. A spokesperson for the SEC said that the agency is working to “ensure that investors have access to sufficient information to make informed investment decisions.”

Washington, D.C., headquarters of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

值得注意的是，许多这类新兴企业，都与特朗普家族不断扩张的加密货币商业版图存在关联，这种联系已然模糊了商业与政府的界限。

今年夏天，特朗普旗下加密货币初创公司World Liberty Financial的高管宣布加入上市公司ALT5 Sigma的董事会。这家公司原本主营回收业务，如今计划募资15亿美元进军加密货币市场。

资本狂潮：一场失控的加密赌局

加密货币爱好者将特朗普政府催生的这场高风险投资热潮，命名为「加密财库公司之夏」。

加密财库公司(DAT)，是指以囤积加密货币为核心目标的上市公司。加密货币咨询公司Architect Partners的数据显示，在这类新兴企业中，近半数专注于囤积比特币这一知名度最高的加密货币，另有数十家企业宣布计划购入狗狗币等非主流币种。

2025年各月加密财库公司企业成立数量。数据来源：Architect Partners，统计截至12月16日

这类企业的运作模式往往简单粗暴：一群高管物色一家在公开市场交易的小众公司(例如玩具制造商)，说服其转型加密货币囤积业务;随后与该公司达成合作，向高净值投资者募资数亿美元，最终将资金用于购买加密货币。

Its core purpose is to encourage more people to invest in cryptocurrencies by issuing traditional stocks that are linked to the price of cryptocurrencies. This strategy theoretically offers significant profit potential. Many investment funds and asset management companies have been hesitant to directly invest in cryptocurrencies due to the complex storage processes involved, high costs, and the risk of hacking attacks.

By partnering with crypto wallets companies, investors can outsource the logistics related to storing cryptocurrencies. However, such companies also carry significant risks: many of these companies were established hastily, and their management lacks experience in operating publicly traded companies. According to data from Architect Partners, these companies have announced plans to borrow over $20 billion to purchase cryptocurrencies.

“Leverage is the main culprit behind financial crises,” warned Corey Frayer, who was a consultant to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regarding cryptocurrencies. “And the current market is creating an environment where excessive leverage is being used.”

Some crypto wallet companies are facing operational difficulties or management crises, resulting in huge losses for investors.

After transforming into a crypto wallet company, Foward Industries became heavily invested in SOL. In September this year, the company raised over $160 million from private investors, and its stock price soared to nearly $40 per share.

Allan Teh, who manages assets for a family office in Miami, invested $2.5 million in Foward Industries this year. “Everyone thought this strategy was foolproof, and that the value of crypto assets would continue to rise,” recalled Allan Teh.

然而，随着加密货币市场暴跌，福沃德实业股价在本月一度跌至每股7美元。公司宣布计划在未来两年内斥资10亿美元回购股票，但这一举措未能阻止股价颓势。

「音乐骤停，游戏散场。现在我开始慌了，我能全身而退吗?」Allan Teh已亏损约150万美元，「这笔投资的亏损最终会达到多少?」福沃德实业方面拒绝对此置评。

加密财库公司的泛滥，已引起美国证券交易委员会的警惕。「显然，我们对此充满担忧。」该机构主席Paul Atkins上月在迈阿密加密货币大会上接受采访时表示，「我们正密切关注事态发展。」

而这一加密货币新赛道的背后，有着特朗普家族的强力支持。

World Liberty Financial的创始人包括特朗普之子Eric Trump和Zach Witkoff

今年8月，World Liberty Financial宣布，公司创始人(包括总统之子Eric Trump)将加入ALT5 Sigma的董事会。这家上市公司计划囤积World Liberty Financial发行的加密代币WLFI(Eric Trump目前的头衔是战略顾问兼董事会观察员)。

这一合作似乎能让特朗普家族迅速获利。根据World Liberty Financial官网公布的收益分成协议，每当WLFI代币交易发生时，特朗普家族旗下的商业实体都能从中抽成。

After that, ALT5 Sigma’s financial situation deteriorated rapidly. In August, the company announced that a senior executive of one of its subsidiaries was convicted of money laundering in Rwanda. The board of directors is currently investigating other “un disclosed matters.” Soon after, ALT5 Sigma announced the suspension of its CEO position and terminated the contracts with two other executives. Since August, the company’s stock price has plummeted by 85%. A spokesperson for ALT5 Sigma stated that the company remains “confident about its future prospects.” The crypto market has experienced significant turmoil recently, with the crisis starting on an evening in October. Under Trump’s policies, the crypto market remained stable for most of this year. However, on October 10th, prices of dozens of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, collapsed abruptly, resulting in a sudden crash. The direct cause of this collapse was Trump’s decision to impose new tariffs on China, which caused severe disruptions in the global economy. The root cause of the crypto market’s downfall lies in the large amounts of leverage funds that drove up prices in the first place. According to data from Galaxy Research, the scale of crypto lending worldwide increased by $20 billion in the third quarter of this year, reaching a record high of $74 billion.Previously, the most risky cryptocurrency leveraged transactions occurred in overseas markets. However, in July this year, Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, announced the launch of a new investment tool that allows traders to use 10 times leverage to bet on futures prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Prior to this, federal regulators in the United States had removed any restrictions on such leveraged transactions, thus approving Coinbase’s new product.

In July, Coinbase introduced a 10-times leverage cryptocurrency trading tool

. Although the collapse in October did not lead to a major industry disaster like those experienced by many large cryptocurrency companies in 2022, it still served as a warning to the market, indicating potential systemic crises in the cryptocurrency sector.

The essence of leveraged trading is that losses can be magnified when the market declines. Trading platforms may force liquidations, selling off customers’ collateral assets, which often further exacerbates price drops.

According to data from cryptocurrency analytics firm CoinGlass, on October 10th, at least $19 billion worth of cryptocurrency leveraged transactions worldwide were forced to be liquidated, affecting 1.6 million traders. These liquidations mainly occurred on platforms such as Binance, OKEx, and Bybit.

The sharp decline in prices led to a surge in trading activity, causing technical failures at several major exchanges, resulting in traders being unable to transfer their funds promptly. Coinbase stated that they have received reports from some users regarding delays or performance issues during transactions.

田纳西州的软件开发者Derek Bartron同时也是一名加密货币投资者，他透露自己的Coinbase账户在闪崩期间陷入冻结状态。「我想平仓离场，却操作无门。」Derek Bartron说，「Coinbase变相锁住了用户的资金，我们只能眼睁睁看着资产价值暴跌，无能为力。」

Derek Bartron称，在闪崩后的几天里，他的加密货币资产亏损约5万美元，部分原因就是无法及时平仓止损。

Coinbase发言人回应称，公司提供自动化风险管理工具，「这些工具在此次市场波动中运行正常，我们的交易所在整个事件期间始终保持稳定运营」。

币安发言人承认，交易所「因交易量激增出现技术故障」，并表示已采取措施对受影响用户进行补偿。

疯狂实验：代币化浪潮的监管困局

今年夏天的一个夜晚，加密货币创业者Chris Yin与Teddy Pornprinya身着正装，现身华盛顿肯尼迪艺术中心，出席一场盛大的黑领结晚宴。

这场晚宴可谓星光熠熠。Chris Yin着前一晚刚买的晚礼服，见到了曾投身硅谷创投圈的美国副总统JD・万斯;他与Teddy Pornprinya还与前对冲基金经理、现任美国财政部长斯科特・贝森特交流;两人甚至与特朗普合影，总统还对着镜头竖起了大拇指。

Chris Yin与Teddy Pornprinya此行，是为他们的初创公司Plume铺路。这家企业正在推进一项颠覆行业的创新计划，试图将加密货币底层技术拓展至更广泛的金融领域。

数月以来，Plume一直寻求美国监管机构的许可，计划打造一个线上交易平台，向客户发行对标现实资产的加密代币，资产标的涵盖上市公司股票、农场、油井等各类实体。

Plume创始人Chris Yin与Teddy Pornprinya在帝国大厦留影

目前，Plume已在海外市场推出这类代币化产品，客户可像交易加密货币一样买卖这些资产代币。但这项被称为资产代币化的业务，在美国却处于法律监管的灰色地带，数十年前出台的证券法，对各类资产的股权发售制定了严格的监管规则，要求发行方披露详细信息，以保护投资者权益。

今年，资产代币化已成为加密货币行业最炙手可热的概念。行业高管声称，代币化股票能让股票交易更高效快捷，打造一个全天候不间断的全球交易市场。美国大型加密货币交易所Kraken已在海外市场为客户推出基于加密技术的股票交易服务。

加密货币行业高管表示，加密货币交易基于公开账本记录，相比传统金融体系更加透明。「所有交易可追溯、可审计。」Kraken首席执行官Arjun Sethi称，「它几乎不存在风险。」

Kraken与Coinbase的代表已与美国证券交易委员会会面，商讨代币化资产的监管规则;与此同时，Plume也在寻求合法路径，以期在美国本土扩张业务。

但这场代币化产品的竞速赛，引发了现任及前任监管机构官员，以及传统金融巨头高管的担忧。

今年9月，美联储经济学家警告称，资产代币化可能导致加密货币市场风险向整个金融体系传导，「削弱政策制定者在市场承压时维护支付系统稳定的能力」。

美国证券交易委员会主席Paul Atkins则对代币化股票持积极态度，称其为「重大技术突破」。「根据证券法，委员会拥有广泛的自由裁量权，可为加密货币行业提供监管支持。我决心推动这项工作落地。」Atkins在今年5月的一场资产代币化行业圆桌会议上表示。

为推动公司业务合规化，Chris Yin与Teddy Pornprinya采取了一系列举措。今年5月，两人与美国证券交易委员会加密货币专项工作组会面;他们还为白宫加密货币行业报告提供图表支持;并在帝国大厦77层设立Plume美国总部。

At that Black Tie Ball in Washington during the summer of this year, Trump’s staff showed significant interest in the two founders. “They knew about the company Plume,” recalled Teddy Pornprinya. “Everyone had some understanding of our business.” A few weeks later, Plume announced a key partnership with World Liberty Financial, a subsidiary of the Trump family.