Trump Crypto Ventures Face Investigation Over Fraud, Bribery, and Conflicts Of Interest

By: cryptopotato|2025/05/16 06:00:15
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Top House Democrats have launched an inquiry into President Donald Trump’s crypto ventures, citing concerns over potentially illegal fundraising, foreign influence, and abuse of political power.In line with this, they have requested all suspicious activity reports (SARs) connected to Trump’s fundraising efforts.The AllegationsIn a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Democrats Gerald Connolly, Joseph Morelle, and Jamie Raskin, senior members from three House committees, said:“We write regarding the potential misuse of certain politically oriented fundraising ventures for fraudulent, corrupt, or other illegal purposes.”The inquiry targets the Republican fundraising platform WinRed, multiple political action committees, including Elon Musk’s America PAC, the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial (WLF), and meme coins linked to the president and first lady.The lawmakers were specifically interested in World Liberty’s WLFI token sale. After failing to meet initial fundraising targets, WLF received a $75 million purchase from Justin Sun. The Tron founder has been under SEC scrutiny since 2023 but recently secured a pause in the case as discussions with regulators continued, raising suspicions of bribery.The House Democrats also mentioned the TRUMP and MELANIA meme coins. According to them, entities affiliated with the president control 80% of the former’s supply and have earned over $100 million in trading fees.Foreigners, some allegedly Chinese nationals, are also said to have made substantial profits selling the meme token early, while later investors lost more than $2 billion. These patterns have fueled accusations of possible insider trading and pump-and-dump activity.The letter also addresses concerns about national security and foreign influence, given that coin buyers remain anonymous and most WLF tokens were sold to foreign investors. Connolly and company argued that this left room for non-natives to possibly gain influence over U.S. policy.In March 2025, WLF announced plans to launch a stablecoin called USD1. Later, a fund backed by Abu Dhabi revealed it would use the stablecoin for a $2 billion investment in the Binance crypto exchange, which was previously convicted of violating U.S. anti-money-laundering laws.The letter highlights that the timing and nature of this deal show the dangers of Trump’s conflicts of interest and the ethics of mixing business and presidential power.Trump Faces Ongoing ScrutinyThe three legislators are demanding that all relevant SARs from January 1, 2023, to the present be made available to their committees by May 30. Their request comes amid increased pressure from Democrats seeking to regulate political involvement in crypto.Last week, Rep. Ritchie Torres introduced a bill to ban sitting presidents and members of Congress from profiting off meme coins and stablecoins. In April, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff also called for an ethics probe after a Trump-hosted gala dinner promised exclusive invitations for top holders of his Solana-based meme coin.Separately, Congress voted down the GENIUS Act, a bill that aims to regulate stablecoins, citing unresolved conflicts linked to Trump’s crypto dealings.The post Trump Crypto Ventures Face Investigation Over Fraud, Bribery, and Conflicts Of Interest appeared first on CryptoPotato.

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DDC Enterprise Limited Announces 2025 Unaudited Preliminary Financial Performance: Record Revenue Achieved, Bitcoin Treasury Grows to 2183 Coins

On March 4, 2026, DDC Enterprise Limited (NYSE American: DDC) today announced preliminary, unaudited full-year financial performance for the year ended December 31, 2025. The company expects to achieve record revenue and record positive adjusted EBITDA, primarily driven by continued growth in its core consumer food business and overall margin improvement. The final audited financial report is expected to be released in mid-April 2026.


2025 Full-Year Financial Highlights


Revenue: Expected to be between $39 million and $41 million, reaching a new company high.


Organic Growth: Excluding the impact of the company's strategic contraction of its U.S. operations, core revenue is expected to grow 11% to 17% year over year.


Gross Profit Margin: Expected to be between 28% and 30%, reflecting continued operational efficiency improvements.


Adjusted EBITDA: The company expects to achieve a positive full-year result in 2025, a significant improvement from a $3.5 million loss in 2024, mainly due to rigorous cost controls and a higher-margin sales mix.


Core Consumer Food Business Performance


In 2025, DDC's core consumer food business maintained strong operational performance.


The company also disclosed Core Consumer Food Business Adjusted EBITDA, a metric that further excludes costs related to its Bitcoin reserve strategy and non-cash fair value adjustments related to its Bitcoin holdings from adjusted EBITDA to more accurately reflect the core business performance.


In 2025, Core Consumer Food Business Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $5.5 million and $6 million.


Bitcoin Reserve Update


In the first half of 2025, DDC initiated a long-term Bitcoin accumulation strategy, holding Bitcoin as its primary reserve asset.


As of December 31, 2025: The company holds 1,183 BTC.


As of February 28, 2026: Holdings increased to 2,118 BTC


Today's additional purchase of 65 BTC brings the company's total holdings to 2,183 BTC


DDC Founder, Chairman, and CEO Norma Chu stated, "We are proud to have closed 2025 with record revenue and positive adjusted EBITDA, demonstrating the steady growth of the company's consumer food business and the ongoing improvement in profitability. We are building a disciplined, growth-oriented food platform and strategically allocating capital to Bitcoin assets with a long-term view, aligning with our core beliefs. We believe that this dual-track model of 'Steady Consumer Business + Strategic Bitcoin Reserve' will help DDC create lasting long-term value for shareholders."


Adjusted EBITDA Definition
For the full year 2025, the company defines "Adjusted EBITDA" (a non-GAAP financial measure) as: Net income / (loss) excluding the following items:· Interest expense· Taxes· Foreign exchange gains/losses· Long-lived asset impairment· Depreciation and amortization· Non-cash fair value changes related to financial instruments (including Bitcoin holdings)· Stock-based compensation


About DDC Enterprise Limited


DDC Enterprise Limited (NYSE: DDC) is actively implementing its corporate Bitcoin Treasury strategy while continuing to strengthen its position as a leading global Asian food platform.


The company has established Bitcoin as a core reserve asset and is executing a prudent, long-oriented accumulation strategy. While expanding its portfolio of food brands, DDC is gradually becoming one of the public company pioneers in integrating Bitcoin into its corporate financial architecture.


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