- The Blockchain Association says memecoins are prevalent in policy debate.
- Donald Trump's memecoin is raising eyebrows.
- Runaway market is having an impact.
Haliey Welch’s 15 minutes of fame seemingly knows no end.
Yet the latest stage for the internet celebrity behind the “Hawk Tuah” memecoin, is unexpected — Capitol Hill.
This week, Welch has become a topic of conversation among lawmakers who are growing increasingly anxious about the explosion of memecoins.
That includes TRUMP, the memecoin offering from the president himself.
“Two years ago, when [legislation] was getting drafted, talks about how you regulate memecoins were never a thing,” Ron Hammond, the senior director of government relations for the Blockchain Association, told DL News on Thursday.
“Now they’re mentioned within the first five minutes of conversations.”
Two key bills
The development may become a surprising obstacle in the push by lawmakers and the White House to roll out legislation that will bring long-desired “regulatory clarity” to the $3.3 trillion digital assets industry.
The speculative nature of memecoins has drawn fire from several quarters, including longtime crypto supporters.
“There’s a question if it’s beneficial to anyone and beneficial to the market as a whole,” Hammond said.
Two bills in particular — one addressing crypto market structure and another on stablecoins — may be affected by wariness on both sides of the aisle in Congress, Hammond said.
“That does affect these conversations behind the scenes we’re having with market structure and even stablecoins,” said Hammond.
“Even though they’re not related, there is a question about where do memecoins come into play for stablecoin regulations.”
‘These market developments do have a very direct impact on how bill text is being drafted.'
— Ron Hammond, Blockchain Association
The market structure bill — called FIT 21 — would grant the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, greater jurisdiction over the sector.
The CFTC is considered to be friendlier to crypto. And this week President Donald Trump nominated Brian Quintez, a former CFTC commissioner and policy head at Andreessen Horowitz, the crypto-loving VC firm, to head the agency.
As for stablecoins, three bills are in play, and each would provide clearer rules of the road for banks and non-banks to begin issuing dollar-pegged stablecoins.
Both sets of legislation would be a boon for crypto, which is why the Blockchain Association, the industry’s most influential lobbying organisation, and other stalwarts are watching closely to see if memecoins gum up the works.
Careful campaign
Memecoins, of course, have long been a fixture in the crypto market.
But their sheer volume — there are thousands, and their market value exceeds $80 billion — is roiling the carefully planned campaign to finally establish legal definitions and regulations for the industry.
In other words, just as cryptocurrencies are finally being taken seriously in Washington, they’re being dragged by jokes and stunts.
Few more than Welch’s offering.
In December, Welch joined other internet celebrities to convert her raunchy “Hawk Tuah” meme into crypto riches.
HAWK soared to $500 million after its launch, before plummeting to $50 million in just 30 minutes, leaving many public investors in the lurch.
Hammond also highlighted the surprise TRUMP memecoin launched in January as another catalyst for Congressional concern.
Days before his inauguration, Trump’s team introduced a cryptocurrency with no intrinsic value or utility beyond its ties to the then-incoming president.
Those ties were enough to send the token to $24 billion overnight.
Wackiest corner
While some cheered the move as more validation for the industry, many decried the launch as a base cash grab.
The launch brought with it fresh scrutiny to crypto’s wackiest corner.
On January 24, Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat and crypto critic, called on the US Ethics Committee and numerous other agencies to address the unprecedented concerns around the Trump family’s memecoins.
Direct impact
Hammond said that in Republican circles, the primary concern revolves around the concentration of tokens in one entity.
The coin’s issuer, CIC Digital, holds more than 80% of the TRUMP tokens, according to the company’s website.
“These market developments do have a very direct impact on how bill text is being drafted, how members of Congress are having conversations with the White House and industry,” said Hammond.
“Very fluid. Very, very fluid.”
Liam Kelly is a Berlin-based reporter for DL News. Got a tip? Email him at liam@dlnews.com.