Spot Ethereum ETFs may begin trading by July 2 — Bloomberg analyst

After weeks of speculation among crypto enthusiasts and news outlets, Tron founder Justin Sun has claimed he owns the wallet that purchased the largest amount of Donald Trump’s memecoin, allowing him to qualify for a dinner and reception with the US president.In a May 19 X post, Sun said he had received an invitation to attend Trump’s dinner at his golf club outside Washington, DC, as part of a reward for the top 220 memecoin holders. The Tron founder claimed he controlled the top wallet on the TRUMP token leaderboard under the username “Sun,” which held roughly $19 million worth of the memecoin at a price of $13.20.According to Sun, he plans to network at the May 22 memecoin dinner, “talk crypto,” and “discuss the future” of the industry. It’s unclear why the Tron founder chose to announce his planned presence at the event now, when the leaderboard was finalized on May 12. Cointelegraph reached out to a spokesperson for Sun for comment, but had not received a response at the time of publication.Source: Justin SunThough not a surprise to many who speculated that Sun was the individual behind the memecoin purchases, his attendance at the dinner only deepens his ties to the Trump administration and the president’s family. In addition to the dinner for the 220 tokenholders, Trump said he would hold a reception and “VIP tour” for the top 25 wallets on the leaderboard.Related: What to expect at Trump’s memecoin dinnerSun spent $75 million on tokens through World Liberty Financial, the crypto platform backed by Trump’s three sons, including a $30 million investment a few weeks after the 2024 election. The Tron founder is also an adviser to the company.Before Trump won the November election, Sun had been facing a lawsuit from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed in 2023 over the alleged “orchestration of the unregistered offer and sale, manipulative trading, and unlawful touting of crypto asset securities.” In February, roughly a month after Trump took office and appointed Commissioner Mark Uyeda as acting chair of the SEC, the regulator and Sun jointly filed a motion for a federal judge to stay the case, which was granted.Memecoin’s potential conflicts of interest are affecting CongressSun’s and others’ involvement in Trump’s crypto ventures has prompted calls for investigations and oversight among many Democratic lawmakers, who argued that some individuals could use digital assets to essentially purchase influence with the president. The concerns initially slowed progress on a bill to regulate stablecoins in the Senate, the GENIUS Act, complicated by World Liberty Financial’s own stablecoin, USD1. The chamber voted to move forward on the bill on May 19, a few hours before Sun’s announcement.“How convenient: the day after the Senate advances the GENIUS Act, Justin Sun — a major investor in the Trump family crypto venture — announces he’s getting a private dinner as the president’s top crypto buyer,” said Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, according to Bloomberg. “It’s critical that everyone understands the GENIUS Act doesn’t stop this type of corruption — it greenlights it.”At a May 20 oversight hearing, Maryland Representative Glenn Ivey questioned SEC Chair Paul Atkins on Sun’s case being stayed, as well as his investments in World Liberty Financial and Trump’s memecoin. Though the case was stayed before Atkins was sworn in as chair, Ivey expressed concern about the timeline between Sun’s investments and the SEC not pursuing its own enforcement action.The memecoin dinner applicants are likely still subject to background checks before meeting Trump in person. As of May 20, those planning to attend included Kronos Research chief investment officer Vincent Liu, Hyperithm co-CEO Oh Sangrok, Synthetix founder Kain Warwick, a consultant named Vincent Deriu, crypto user Morten Christensen, a World Liberty Financial adviser going by the pseudonym “Ogle,” and a representative from the startup MemeCore.Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Paul Atkins appeared before lawmakers in one of his first hearings since becoming chair of the financial regulator, addressing questions about his plans for the cryptocurrency industry.In a May 20 hearing discussing oversight of the SEC, Atkins reiterated his pledge to make regulating digital assets a “key priority” while chair. In response to questions from North Carolina Representative Chuck Edwards, the SEC chair did not directly answer how much of the regulator’s funds were used to support the crypto task force headed by Commissioner Hester Peirce, and said its findings were “still under development.”“We should be having something here in the next few months with proposed steps forward,” said Atkins in response to the task force’s first report. The SEC chair’s appearance at the oversight hearing was one of his first since being sworn into office in April. Nominated by Donald Trump, Atkins, also a former commissioner, was seen by many lawmakers and those in the digital asset industry as someone who could radically change the SEC’s approach to crypto. Related: Paul Atkins: ‘Crypto markets have been languishing in SEC limbo’This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

Argentine President Javier Milei has dissolved a task force established to investigate the fallout from LIBRA, the scandalous cryptocurrency project the head of state promoted on his social media channel before it crashed to zero. The Investigative Task Force (ITU) was dissolved via a May 19 decree signed by Milei and Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona, government documents revealed. “The Research Task Unit is dissolved” after completing its mandate, the translated version of the decree read.The task force is being dissolved despite pressure from opposition groups, which are seeking to activate an investigative commission as soon as May 20, local media outlet Clarin reported. A screenshot of Milei’s tweet endorsing LIBRA. Source: TRM LabsGovernment officials established the UTI on Feb. 19, mere days after President Milei promoted LIBRA on his official X account. His endorsement briefly sent LIBRA soaring from practically worthless to $5 a token and a nearly $5 billion market capitalization, before quickly crashing to zero in what appeared to be a classic pump-and-dump scheme. The fallout from LIBRA sparked allegations of insider trading and manipulation, with President Milei caught in the crosshairs.In addition to facing an investigation, Milei’s credibility suffered at home, with nearly 58% of Argentinians saying they no longer trust the president for his role in the scandal.Related: Argentine President Javier Milei denies promoting failed LIBRA memecoin“I didn’t promote it, I shared it”In a televised interview on Todo Noticias, Milei denied any wrongdoing for promoting the project, claiming that he merely shared information about a project that sought to help entrepreneurs access funding options. Source: tier10k“I saw a tool that could finance entrepreneurs, and I spread the word. I acted in good faith and took a hit,” he said, according to a translation of the interview. Milei also downplayed investors’ losses, claiming that “at most” 5,000 people were affected — the vast majority of whom were Chinese and American. He claimed that only “four or five” Argentinans suffered losses. Nevertheless, blockchain data reviewed by Cointelegraph revealed that more than 15,000 wallets sold LIBRA at a profit or loss of more than $1,000. More than 86% of wallets reported a loss totaling $251 million. Magazine: Influencers shilling memecoin scams face severe legal consequences