Arkham launches points program to woo derivatives traders  

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

United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing reciprocal tariffs on trading partners and a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from all countries.The reciprocal levies on will be approximately half of what trading partners charge for US imports, Trump said. For example, China currently has a tariff of 67% on US imports, so US reciprocal tariffs on Chinese goods will be 34%. Trump also announced a standard 25% tariff on all automobile imports.Trump told the media that tariffs would return the country to economic prosperity seen in previous centuries:“From 1789 to 1913, we were a tariff-backed nation. The United States was proportionately the wealthiest it has ever been. So wealthy, in fact, that in the 1880s, they established a commission to decide what they were going to do with the vast sums of money they were collecting.”“Then, in 1913, for reasons unknown to mankind, they established the income tax so that citizens, rather than foreign countries, would start paying,” Trump said.Full breakdown of reciprocal tariffs by country. Source: CointelegraphTrump presented the tariffs through the lens of economic protectionism and hinted at returning to the economic policies of the 19th century by using them to replace the income tax.Related: Bitcoin rally to $88.5K obliterates bears as spot volumes soar — Will a tariff war stop the party?Trump proposes eliminating federal income tax and replacing it with tariff revenueTrump proposed the idea of abolishing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and funding the federal government exclusively through trade tariffs while still on the campaign trail in October 2024.According to accounting automation company Dancing Numbers, Trump’s plan could save each American taxpayer $134,809-$325,561 in taxes throughout their lives.US President Donald Trump addresses the media about reciprocal trade tariffs at the April 2 press event. Source: Fox 4 DallasThe higher range of the tax savings estimate will only occur if other wage-based taxes are eliminated at the state and municipal levels.Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who assumed office in February, also voiced support for replacing the IRS with the “External Revenue Service.”Lutnick said that the US government cannot balance a budget yet consistently demands more from its citizens every year. Tariffs will also protect American workers and strengthen the US economy, he said.Magazine: Elon Musk’s plan to run government on blockchain faces uphill battle

California Representative Maxine Waters, ranking member of the US House Financial Services Committee, used her opening statement at a markup hearing to criticize President Donald Trump’s business and ethical entanglements with the crypto industry, including the launch of a stablecoin by a family-backed company.Addressing lawmakers at an April 2 hearing, Waters said Trump had used his position as president to leverage “multiple crypto schemes” for profit, including a US dollar-pegged stablecoin launched by World Liberty Financial (WLFI) — the firm backed by his family. The California lawmaker pointed to Trump’s memecoin launched in January, his plans to establish a national cryptocurrency stockpile, and “his own stablecoin,” referring to WLFI’s USD1 token launched in March.Rep. Maxine Waters addressing the House Financial Services Committee on April 2. Source: GOP Financial Services“With this stablecoin bill, this committee is setting an unacceptable and dangerous precedent, validating the president and his insiders’ efforts to write rules of the road that will enrich themselves at the expense of everyone else,” said Waters, adding:“Trump likely wants the entire government to use stablecoins from payments made by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to Social Security payments, to paying taxes. And which coin do you think Trump would replace the dollar with? His own, of course.”Waters does not stand alone in her criticism of Trump’s crypto ventures, with many lawmakers and experts across the political spectrum suggesting potential conflicts of interest. Committee Chair French Hill, who spoke on stablecoins before Waters, also reportedly said that the Trump family’s involvement in the industry makes legislation “more complicated.”“If there is no effort to block the President of the United States of America from owning his stablecoin business […] I will never be able to agree on supporting this bill, and I would ask other members not to be enablers,” said Waters. Related: Crypto has a regulatory capture problem in Washington — Or does it?Representative Bryan Steil, who introduced the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy, or STABLE Act, did not immediately address Waters’ concerns about Trump’s stablecoin but referred to establishing safeguards for consumers. Hill did not mention Trump in his opening statement but said there needed to be a “clear federal framework” for payment stablecoins.Crypto legislation moving through CongressThe committee will consider amendments to the STABLE Act, as well as bills to combat illicit finance using emerging financial technologies and blocking the US government from issuing a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. The markup hearing was a necessary step before the committee could vote on whether to advance the bills to the House of Representatives. Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions