Trump's Crypto Pardon: Ignorance or Intentional? Who Cares Anymore?
Trump's "Who?" Act: Please, Spare Me
So, Trump pardoned crypto dude Changpeng Zhao – CZ, whatever – who pleaded guilty to, ya know, enabling money laundering. And now he's playing dumb, telling 60 Minutes he has "no idea who he is." Right. Just like he didn't know anything about Stormy Daniels. Give me a break. 'I don't know who he is,' says Trump after pardoning crypto tycoon
The level of gaslighting is almost impressive at this point. He claims it was a "witch hunt" by Biden. Karoline Leavitt, his press secretary, echoed the sentiment, calling it an "overly prosecuted case." Okay, so a guy admits to facilitating money laundering, but he's the victim? Am I taking crazy pills here?
The Swamp Keeps on Swampin'
Of course, CZ's companies have ties to Trump's own ventures. Dominari Holdings, where Trump's sons are advisors, partnered with Binance. And let's not forget Justin Sun getting a fraud case halted after investing in the Trump family's crypto firm, World Liberty Financial. Coincidence? Yeah, and I'm the Queen of England.
It's the same old story, ain't it? Rich guys scratch each other's backs, and the rest of us get stuck footing the bill. The Trump administration also pardoned founders of BitMEX (money laundering charges, naturally) and Ross Ulbricht of Silk Road fame. What do these guys all have in common? They're all involved in the shady underbelly of the digital economy.
Trump says he supports crypto and wants the US to lead in the industry. Fine. But pardoning guys who admit to crimes? That's not leadership; that's just enabling the Wild West to get even wilder. He even had the gall to proclaim "the war on crypto is over" after the CZ pardon. As if criminal accountability is some kind of "war."
And while we're at it, let's talk about these "bot wars" on the Ethereum blockchain. These MIT-educated brothers, the Peraire-Buenos, allegedly swiped $25 million with some fancy bot scheme. Is it fraud, or just smart play? I don't even know anymore. It's like trying to understand quantum physics while drunk. Can the feds tame Ethereum's bot-eat-bot hellscape? Looming verdict for MIT's 'crypto brothers' could help decide.
Crypto: The New Wild West
This whole crypto thing feels like a giant con job half the time. I mean, are we really supposed to believe that these blockchains are going to revolutionize finance, or is it just a way for a few people to get rich quick while everyone else loses their shirts?
The DOJ is trying to crack down on individual fraudsters and money launderers – which is good, I guess. But it's like playing whack-a-mole. You shut down one scam, and ten more pop up. And honestly, even when they win, it's not exactly a clean sweep. The Eisenberg case got dismissed, and a jury couldn't even agree on the Tornado Cash CEO's guilt.
Maybe it's just too complicated for juries to understand. Explaining the intricacies of blockchain technology to a bunch of regular folks? Good luck with that.
Who Cares Anymore?
It's all just so exhausting. The hypocrisy, the corruption, the endless stream of scams and lies... I'm starting to think that the whole system is rigged, and we're all just along for the ride. Trump says he doesn't know CZ? Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't. At this point, does it even matter?
