There's a bill moving through Congress that the cryptocurrency industry has been pushing for years. But now it's hitting a major snag – and it has everything to do with Donald Trump's family getting deeper into the crypto business.
Democrats have been frustrated for a while about Trump's connections to cryptocurrency. But things just got a lot more complicated. News broke that an Abu Dhabi royal family member invested a whopping $500 million in a Trump-connected crypto company called World Liberty Financial. This deal is making Democrats dig in their heels – they're now insisting that any crypto bill must include rules to keep the Trump family's business interests in check.
Here's the thing: Republicans need Democratic votes to pass this legislation. So Democrats suddenly have some real bargaining power to push for the ethics rules they've wanted all along.
Senator Cory Booker from New Jersey, who actually supports crypto, put it bluntly: "The Trump administration has demonstrated the grossest, most egregious corruption from the White House we have ever seen." Senator Adam Schiff from California agreed, saying the bill needs to treat the president like any other government employee when it comes to ethics rules.
This is turning into a real test of whether Democrats and Republicans can actually work together during Trump's presidency. Both sides say they want to pass this bill, but Democrats who've been vocal about their concerns over Trump's crypto deals now have to figure out if they can compromise with a White House that insists there's no conflict of interest.
Making things even more complicated: the crypto industry has raised massive amounts of money to support politicians who back their agenda – and oppose those who don't. One crypto super PAC has over $190 million ready to spend on the 2026 midterm elections. That kind of money could pressure Democrats to support the bill even without the ethics provisions they want.
The proposed bill would establish clear rules for how crypto trading is regulated in the United States. Industry leaders say this would finally give digital currencies the legitimacy they need to become mainstream. But Democrats are saying: not so fast – not without protections against conflicts of interest.
Negotiations have been going on for months, but they've stalled. Republicans have mostly dismissed concerns about Trump family businesses, though some have shown willingness to make a deal on ethics rules if that's what it takes to get Democratic support.
Senator Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming who supports crypto, called concerns about the Abu Dhabi investment "just another attack on Trump that is pretty baseless." She questioned how separated parents need to be from their adult children's financial decisions.
But here's what's got people concerned: The Abu Dhabi deal gave Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan's company a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial for that $500 million – and $187 million of that went to Trump-affiliated entities.
A World Liberty spokesperson said Trump wasn't involved in the deal and has no current role with the company. The White House insists Trump only acts in America's best interests and handles his duties ethically.
But that hasn't calmed Democrats down. Many see this as categorically different from past Trump business controversies. Even Republican megadonor Ken Griffin raised eyebrows, saying the administration has made choices that have been "very, very enriching" to officials' families, which "calls into question: Is the public interest being served?"
One House Democrat has launched an investigation into the deal. Meanwhile, some Republicans are saying Congress has no business writing presidential ethics rules beyond what's in the Constitution.
The ethics issue isn't the only problem with the bill – there are also disputes between banks and crypto companies that need resolving. But as the bill moves forward, the Trump family's crypto dealings will likely stay front and center.
Senator Elizabeth Warren summed up the frustration: supporters of the crypto bill have been looking the other way on ethics issues, but this latest deal from the UAE "means that crypto supporters now have to overlook an even taller steaming pile of corruption."