Crypto Pardons and Trump's "Who?": What the Hell is Going On?

Trump pardons CZ, claims ignorance? Yeah, and I'm the Queen of England.

Okay, so Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the Binance dude, right? The guy who pleaded guilty to enabling money laundering. And then Trump has the nerve to say, "I don't know who he is"? Give me a freakin' break. This is either peak Trumpian gaslighting or… well, actually, it's definitely peak Trumpian gaslighting.

The Amnesia Defense

The quote, "I don't know who he is," is just… insulting. We're supposed to believe that the guy who's neck-deep in crypto ventures, including ones tangentially tied to his own family (Dominari Holdings, anyone?), suddenly draws a blank when CZ's name comes up? Please. 'I don't know who he is,' says Trump after pardoning crypto tycoon

Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, is calling Zhao's prosecution a "war on cryptocurrency." Oh, so that's what it is? Not, you know, a crackdown on money laundering. It's always a "witch hunt" or an "overly prosecuted case," never any actual accountability. And people eat this stuff up.

It's like that Justin Sun situation all over again – the guy who had fraud charges dropped after investing in the Trump family's crypto firm. Coincidence? I think not. You scratch my back (with a hefty investment), I'll scratch yours (with a pardon). That's how it works, ain't it?

Crypto's Murky Waters

And let's not forget the Peraire-Bueno brothers, the MIT grads accused of a $25 million crypto heist. The article asks if their scheme was fraud or "fair play." Fair play? Since when is exploiting vulnerabilities in the blockchain "fair"? These guys are basically digital bank robbers, and their defense is, "Hey, it's the Wild West out there!"

Speaking of the "Wild West," what's up with the SEC suddenly going soft on crypto investigations? Coinbase, OpenSea, Robinhood, Kraken… all getting a pass? It's like someone flipped a switch, and suddenly, the regulators are looking the other way. Makes you wonder who's pulling the strings, doesn't it?

I'm starting to think this whole crypto thing is one giant grift, and we're all just along for the ride. Or getting taken for one. And the fact that Trump is so cozy with these crypto bros just confirms my suspicions.

Offcourse, the Wisconsin Investment Board selling off their Bitcoin ETF position is being spun as "disciplined fiduciary management." But let's be real, it's probably because someone finally realized that betting public pension money on magic internet beans is a terrible idea.

The Inevitable Pivot

I read that the DOJ is shifting its focus to individual fraudsters and money launderers, which sounds good on paper, but I'll believe it when I see it. They're already 0-for-2 in cases involving the blockchain itself, and juries are having a hard time wrapping their heads around this stuff. Explaining the intricacies of cryptocurrency to a jury of regular people? Good luck with that. It's like trying to explain quantum physics to a goldfish.

Honestly, sometimes I wonder if I'm just getting old and out of touch. Maybe crypto is the future, and I'm just too cynical to see it. But then I remember all the scams, the hacks, the rug pulls, and I think, nah, I'm good. I'll stick with my boring old stocks and bonds. At least I know where my money is (relatively) safe.

So, What's the Real Story?

It's the same old story: power, money, and a whole lot of smoke and mirrors. Trump's "ignorance" is just a convenient excuse, and the crypto world is still a shady place where anything goes. Color me shocked.