Trump’s trade war pressures crypto market as April 2 tariffs loom  

The US House Financial Services Committee has passed a Republican-backed stablecoin framework bill, which will now head to the House floor for a full vote.The Committee passed the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy, or STABLE Act, with a 32-17 vote on April 2. The bill would provide rules around payment stablecoins, a type of crypto token tied to a currency such as the US dollar, and aims to ensure issuers give information about their business and how they back their tokens.Related: Lawmaker alleges Trump wants to replace US dollar with his stablecoinOther stablecoin-related bills are also working their way through Congress, including the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, which lays out oversight and reserve rules for issuers.This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025

Cryptocurrency exchange OKX reportedly hired former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to advise it over the federal probe that resulted in the firm pleading guilty to several violations and agreeing to pay $505 million in fines and penalties.Cuomo, a New York-registered attorney, advised OKX on legal issues stemming from the probe sometime after August 2021 when he resigned as New York overnor, Bloomberg reported on April 2, citing people familiar with the matter.“He spoke with company executives regularly and counseled them on how to respond to the criminal investigation,” Bloomberg said.The Seychelles-based firm pled guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business in violation of US Anti-Money Laundering laws on Feb. 24 and agreed to pay $84 million worth of penalties while forfeiting $421 million worth of fees earned from mostly institutional clients.The breaches occurred from 2018 to 2024 despite OKX having an official policy preventing US persons from transacting on its crypto exchange since 2017, the Department of Justice noted at the time.A spokesperson for Cuomo, Rich Azzopardi, told Bloomberg that Cuomo has been providing private legal services representing individuals and corporations on a variety of matters since resigning as New York governor.“He has not represented clients before a New York city or state agency and routinely recommends former colleagues for positions,”  Azzopardi added.OKX reportedly wasn’t willing to comment on its relationships with outside firms.Cuomo also influenced OKX to make executive appointments: BloombergCuomo, who is now running for mayor of New York City, also advised OKX to appoint his friend US Attorney Linda Lacewell to OKX’s board of directors, Bloomberg said.Lacewell, a former superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, was added to the board in 2024 and was named OKX’s new chief legal officer on April 1, according to a recent company statement.Source: Linda LacewellRelated: New York bill aims to protect crypto investors from memecoin rug pullsAfter the investigation concluded, OKX said it would seek out a compliance consultant to remedy the issues stemming from the federal probe and bolster its regulatory compliance program.“Our vision is to make OKX the gold standard of global compliance at scale across different markets and their respective regulatory bodies,” OKX CEO Star Xu said in a Feb. 24 X post.Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again

Two Democratic lawmakers in the US Senate and House of Representatives have called on acting Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Mark Uyeda to preserve information regarding World Liberty Financial, the crypto firm backed by President Donald Trump’s family.In an April 2 letter, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Maxine Waters — ranking members of the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee, respectively — asked Uyeda to provide information to Congress based on Trump’s ties to World Liberty Financial (WLFI). The two lawmakers suggested the SEC may be being influenced by the firm, and “this conflict of interest may be interfering with its mission to protect investors and maintain fair and orderly markets.”“The Trump family’s financial stake in World Liberty Financial represents an unprecedented conflict of interest with the potential to influence the Trump Administration’s oversight — or lack thereof — of the cryptocurrency industry, creating an obvious incentive for the Trump Administration to direct federal agencies, including the SEC, to take positions favorable to cryptocurrency interests that directly benefit the President’s family,” said the letter.April 2 letter to acting SEC chair Mark Uyeda. Source: House Financial Services CommitteeThe letter came roughly a week after WLFI announced it had launched a stablecoin, USD1, on the BNB Chain and Ethereum blockchain. However, since January, Trump has followed through with several crypto policies and projects with potential conflicts of interest, including plans to establish a national cryptocurrency stockpile and the launch of a TRUMP memecoin.Related: Crypto has a regulatory capture problem in Washington — Or does it?According to Warren and Waters, Americans deserved transparency about Trump’s crypto ventures and how they could potentially influence policy at the SEC, a financial regulatory agency largely intended to be independent of the administration. The two called on Uyeda to preserve records and communications related to WLFI from Trump and his family, as well as communications with the SEC.“The American people deserve to know whether their financial markets are being regulated impartially or whether regulatory decisions are being made to benefit the President’s family financial interests,” wrote the Democratic lawmakers.The letter reiterated arguments Waters made in an April 2 House Financial Services Committee hearing. The California lawmaker said that without oversight and accountability, Trump could install WLFI’s stablecoin for government payments and profit directly from his position as president. Many other lawmakers and financial experts across the political spectrum have expressed concern over Trump’s potential conflicts of interest with the crypto industry.SEC leadership under TrumpSince Trump appointed Uyeda as acting chair, the SEC has dropped investigations and enforcement actions into several crypto firms, including those with executives who contributed directly to the president’s 2024 campaign. Paul Atkins, Trump’s pick to chair the SEC after Uyeda, is expected to face a vote in the Senate Banking Committee on April 3. If Atkins’ nomination moves out of committee, the full chamber will decide whether to confirm him.Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions