Rep. Maxine Waters warns crypto legislation opens door for Trump corruption, financial crisis

“These bills are a gift-wrapped invitation for Trump to continue his full-scale crypto con,” warned the longtime congresswoman and ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee.

The U.S. House of Representatives is set to pass landmark cryptocurrency legislation, sending the nation’s first federal regulatory framework for stablecoin digital currencies to the desk of President Donald Trump.

Ahead of Wednesday’s historic vote on the GENIUS Act, U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., led a group of House Democrats in opposition to the crypto legislation, warning that it would open the floodgates for financial corruption and further enrichment of the wealthy class, most especially Trump and his family.

Waters, the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, called the GENIUS Act and two other related crypto bills, the CLARITY Act and CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, “dangerous pieces of legislation.”

“These bills are a gift-wrapped invitation for Trump to continue his full-scale crypto con. They don’t protect consumers, they don’t protect our national interest. They don’t increase transparency,” said the senior congresswoman during a press conference. Waters said the bill “legitimizes Trump actively building the most corrupt self-dealing crypto environment this country has ever seen.”

The GENIUS Act, initially passed in the U.S. Senate with bipartisan support (68-30), establishes a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins, including who can issue the digital assets. While the stablecoin market is subject to oversight by federal regulators through the U.S. Treasury and state regulators, the bill does not establish stablecoins as securities–meaning they will not be subjected to statutory regulation under the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC.

In April, the Republican-led SEC concluded that stablecoins are not securities, to the chagrin of some Democrats. Days later, Trump’s Department of Justice disbanded the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team established by the Biden administration to investigate and prosecute criminal misuses of cryptocurrency.

Trump has a personal stake in the cryptocurrency market, as he has reportedly made at least $620 million in his first six months in office through the sale of his $TRUMP memecoin. Waters argued the legislation would also create a “back door for foreign interests to buy influence over United States policy.” A tech firm with ties to China reportedly invested $300 million in Trump’s obscure memecoin.

As a result of Trump’s personal stake in the crypto market, Waters introduced amendments to the bill, also known as the “Stop TRUMP in Crypto Act,” which would establish stricter regulation on cryptocurrency, namely assets owned by a sitting U.S. president, vice president, members of Congress, and their immediate families.

“A vote for these bills is a vote to give Trump the pen and write rules to help him put more money in his family’s pockets,” said Waters.

U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., whose district includes Silicon Valley, told theGrio that while he supports Waters’ amendments, he supports the crypto legislation before Congress.

“I am for a regulatory framework,” he said, adding, “Ultimately, I think that the legislation is needed right now. There’s total lack of clarity and it’s totally unregulated.”

Some Democrats say the actions taken by the Trump administration, coupled with the landmark crypto legislation, are a recipe for financial disaster. Congresswoman Waters warned that the U.S. is facing another financial crisis similar to the 2008 crisis caused by financial mismanagement in the banking industry.

“I will never forget the families who lost their homes, their jobs, and their life savings–many never recovered,” said Waters. “It’s absolutely appalling that Republicans are indeed repeating the same mistakes by attempting to deregulate crypto and usher in a catastrophic financial crisis.”

Crypto stocks saw a boost during what Republicans have dubbed “Crypto Week” as Congress votes on the landmark legislation. Ironically, Trump was once skeptical of the entire cryptocurrency market, calling it “highly volatile.” However, after receiving millions of dollars in campaign donations from crypto-related billionaires–as well as $10 million to his presidential inaugural fund–Trump has changed his tune.

After hosting the Digital Asset Summit at the White House in March, Trump vowed, “Together we will make America the undisputed Bitcoin superpower and the crypto capital of the world.” He added, “It’s so big. It’s, I think, as big as you can get.”

In her remarks on Wednesday, Congresswoman Waters noted that the crypto legislation also comes just weeks after Trump signed his “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which critics and experts say will largely benefit wealthy Americans and corporations. Waters called the tax and spending law a “big, billionaire bailout.”

She added, “These [crypto] bills follow the same playbook; rig the rules so [the] rich get richer, while hardworking Americans are left simply holding the bag.”