Trump Coin Backlash Crippled U.S. Crypto Policy: Hoskinson

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has sharply criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s crypto policy, arguing that the industry is in a weaker position today than it was under former President Joe Biden — a reversal from Hoskinson’s early optimism in late 2024.

In a recent wide-ranging interview, Hoskinson said the Trump administration’s approach to digital assets has been “extractive,” disorganized, and politically damaging, pointing to the rollout of Trump’s own memecoin as a critical turning point that derailed bipartisan crypto momentum in Washington.

Trump Coin Backlash and the Collapse of Bipartisan Support

Hoskinson said early enthusiasm evaporated almost immediately after Trump’s election win when the administration rolled out the Official Trump memecoin ahead of the January 2025 inauguration. 

The token, which is now down more than 81% from its peak, was marketed alongside a separate coin promoted by Melania Trump, triggering a wave of imitators, scams and eventual meltdown in the memecoin subsector.

TRUMP Coin price (Source: CoinGecko)

“The very first thing he did is launch Trump Coin and it just felt like the extractiveness has now been institutionalized,” Hoskinson said. “The U.S. government is participating in it as opposed to some Pump.Fun person.”

He argued that the launch poisoned what had been a rare bipartisan opening for crypto legislation. If Trump and his allies had waited, Hoskinson said, Congress may have passed both the GENIUS Act and the Clarity Act, the two cornerstone bills that sought to bring structure to the U.S. crypto industry.

Instead, he said, Democrats grew concerned over Trump’s business ties to the sector, and support collapsed. 

“Crypto equals Trump equals bad, you know, amongst the left,” Hoskinson said. “You can’t alienate half the country and then expect them to show up.”

Regulation Stalls as Senate Faces a Deadline

Congress is now scrambling to salvage what remains of the legislative push. A key Senate committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on Thursday to advance crypto market structure legislation. But it is unclear whether the votes are there — and Trump’s involvement is one of the sticking points.

Some industry leaders argue the delay may be inevitable in the wake of the 2024 Supreme Court decision overturning the Chevron deference, which for decades allowed federal agencies to interpret vague laws. Without it, lawmakers must draft extremely detailed bills.

“It’s really hard to legislate today in a post-Chevron era,” said CoinFund President Chris Perkins, who believes the Clarity Act will likely be broken into smaller pieces. “I don’t know if we’re going to have this one big crypto bill.”

That modular outcome may already be unfolding. On Monday, Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden introduced the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act as a standalone measure protecting developers who build tools later used for illicit activity.

Perkins, who works regularly with regulators, said he has seen the opposite of Hoskinson’s experience. He described the CFTC and SEC under Trump as “supportive of innovation” and “180 degrees different” from the Biden era.

A “Predatory Free-for-All” and Internal Turmoil

Hoskinson said his disillusionment is rooted in what he described as chaos, inconsistency, and poor coordination within the administration. Invitations to White House events were issued and withdrawn without explanation, he said. When Trump claimed ADA, XRP and Solana were part of an official “crypto reserve,” Hoskinson said his company was never informed.

“We had nothing to do with it,” he said. “We never discussed it with them.”

He criticized the appointment of venture capitalist David Sacks as crypto czar, calling him unqualified and arguing he failed to unite the industry. “If we can’t get the Clarity Act passed this year, David Sacks should resign,” he said.

The result, he argued, is a vacuum of leadership and an environment in which crypto has become politically weaponized.

“There’s no accountability. There’s no respect for the rule of law,” he said. “Crypto equals corruption. It’s a wealth-transfer mechanism for Trump and his friends. And that didn’t help any of us.”

With the legislative window closing, Hoskinson warned meaningful reforms may now be off the table until 2029, leaving the industry adrift for years.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment.