John Oliver took aim at President Trump's crypto dealings on Sunday, calling the president's involvement 'flagrantly corrupt and compromised.' The late-night host's criticism arrives as the TRUMP memecoin slides 6% to around $1.48 and Bitcoin dips 2% to $63,460.
What Oliver said about Trump's crypto
Oliver didn't hold back. He described the TRUMP memecoin as a classic pump and dump, with insiders selling while retail investors lost. The segment on Last Week Tonight zeroed in on the conflict of interest inherent in a sitting president personally profiting from crypto ventures. 'It's flagrantly corrupt and compromised,' Oliver said, according to the show's transcript.
Trump's crypto windfall
Trump's first year back in office generated more than $2.2 billion in personal income, with $1.4 billion coming from crypto ventures including NFTs, memecoins, and World Liberty Financial. That's a staggering sum for any president, let alone one who can influence crypto policy. Ethics lawyers argue that a sitting president earning substantial crypto revenue creates a clear conflict of interest — a point Oliver hammered home.
The TRUMP memecoin's slide
The TRUMP token is trading near $1.48, down about 6% over the past day. Oliver's criticism could add to the selling pressure, though some analysts (not quoted here) might argue political headlines could also fuel speculative inflows. The token has been volatile since launch, and the pump-and-dump label isn't helping its reputation.
Bitcoin Hyper's $33M presale
In other crypto news, the article also noted a presale for Bitcoin Hyper, a Bitcoin Layer 2 integrating the Solana Virtual Machine. The project has raised $33 million so far. It's a separate story, but it shows the market's continued appetite for new infrastructure plays even as political drama swirls.
Whether the political noise will fuel speculative inflows for the TRUMP memecoin or trigger regulatory backlash remains an open question. For now, the president's crypto empire is under a harsh spotlight.
