The post Democrat Maxine Waters Calls Out Trump Crypto Project in House DeFi Hearing appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) upheld World Liberty Financial, an upcoming crypto lending platform promoted by Donald Trump and his sons, as an example of heightened risks that consumers face when engaging in decentralized finance (DeFi) on Capitol Hill Tuesday. Last week, Twitter (aka X) accounts belonging to Tiffany Trump (Donald’s daughter) and Republican National Committee Chairwoman Lara Trump (Donald’s daughter-in-law) were hacked. Under the control of bad actors, their accounts touted a fake token linked to World Liberty Financial’s launch in an attempt to scam potential buyers. “Because of the prominence of those behind the project, bad actors took advantage of the opportunity to scam potential users,” Waters said. “Lawmakers have a responsibility to consider strong protections to prevent such scams from moving forward.” According to the former president’s son, Eric Trump, Twitter locked down the compromised social media accounts within a “matter of minutes.” Still, Waters said that people faced real harm as a result of the compromised accounts, purchasing around $1.8 million worth of phony tokens that aren’t actually related to the project. On the campaign trail, Trump has championed digital assets, integrating overtures to crypto owners into his political platform. While his promotion of World Liberty Financial isn’t his first entrepreneurial endeavor in the crypto space, Trump’s promotion of a DeFi lending protocol could have greater consequences for crypto than his NFT trading cards in terms of the industry’s reputation. Waters’ comments came as lawmakers put their heads together during a congressional hearing, trying to wrap their brains around the merits of DeFi. During her remarks, Waters highlighted “hacks, scams, unequal information, and conflicts of interest” as traits defining the space, in her view. The hearing was hosted by the House Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion. The first-of-its kind congressional group was established…

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Filed under: News - @ September 10, 2024 11:13 pm