Former U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Timothy Massad has slammed the Trump Organization’s launch of the Official Trump (TRUMP) token ahead of the presidential inauguration, calling it “patently wrong.”
Massad, who served as CFTC chairman from 2014 to 2017, has expressed concerns about the potential conflicts of interest that such tokens could pose and their impact on the broader cryptocurrency industry.
Massad, who currently serves as a research associate at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law School, voiced his disapproval in a recent interview. He argued that the Trump Organization was using the timing of the inauguration for financial gain, potentially opening the door for domestic and foreign organizations to purchase the tokens in an effort to curry favor with the new administration.
“I think it was clearly wrong of them to issue these,” Massad said. “The Trump Organization took advantage of the President’s upcoming inauguration to make money. In addition, they did so in a way that created the potential for further conflicts of interest, because domestic or foreign firms or foreign governments could now purchase these memecoins to curry favor with the administration.”
Massad also criticized the move for undermining efforts to create a responsible regulatory framework for crypto. “The stated purpose of the Executive Order is to support the responsible development of digital assets on the blockchain. I cannot think of an action more contrary to that purpose than issuing these memecoins right as I am taking office,” he added.
During his tenure at the CFTC, Massad played a key role in classifying Bitcoin and Ethereum as commodities. In evaluating this decision, he explained that the legal definition of a commodity extends beyond traditional goods like wheat, cotton, and corn. Bitcoin’s recognition as a commodity was based on its role in financial markets and its use in derivative contracts.
*This is not investment advice.
