FinTech moves fast. News is everywhere, clarity isn’t.
FinTech Weekly delivers the key stories and events in one place.
Click Here to Subscribe to FinTech Weekly's Newsletter
Read by executives at JP Morgan, Coinbase, BlackRock, Klarna and more.
A federal panel voted unanimously on Thursday to approve a 24-karat gold commemorative coin bearing President Donald Trump's image. Every member of that panel was appointed by Trump. The Treasury Secretary who authorised the coin is the same official responsible for implementing the United States' new stablecoin regulatory framework. Senate Democrats have been arguing for months that this combination of roles requires explicit legal guardrails.
The Commission of Fine Arts, whose membership was reconstituted earlier this year with Trump supporters, approved the design without objection. The coin's obverse features Trump leaning over a desk, inscribed with "LIBERTY" and the dual dates 1776-2026. The reverse carries a bald eagle and the words "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" and "E PLURIBUS UNUM." A US Mint official confirmed at the meeting that Trump personally reviewed and selected the design. The production size and denomination remain undecided, with commissioners advocating for the largest format available — up to three inches in diameter.
Federal law prohibits living presidents from appearing on US currency. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent bypassed that prohibition by invoking a separate statutory authority that grants the Treasury Secretary power to authorise the minting of 24-karat gold commemorative coins.
The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, a broader federal panel that independently reviews coin designs, declined to consider any designs featuring the president — its acting chair removed them from the agenda entirely.
"The statutory mechanism Bessent used to authorise it is separate from his authority over stablecoin regulation. The institutional overlap is not."
The Treasury Department sits at the centre of every significant digital finance development currently moving through Washington. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), a Treasury bureau, published a 376-page proposed rulemaking in late February implementing the GENIUS Act's stablecoin framework — including proposed rules on yield that would extend the prohibition beyond issuers to cover affiliates and third parties, a question that sits directly at the heart of the CLARITY Act negotiations in the Senate Banking Committee.
Stablecoin yield negotiations may be 99% resolved — but the ethics provisions remain open.
At this week's DC Blockchain Summit, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said explicitly that the CLARITY Act must include language preventing the president, vice president, members of Congress, and senior administration officials from personally issuing or profiting from crypto assets. Republicans have treated that demand as difficult to accept. The White House has maintained that Trump's involvement in digital asset ventures does not constitute a conflict of interest.
The gold coin approved on Thursday is not a crypto asset. It is a commemorative financial instrument, authorised by Treasury authority, bearing the likeness of a sitting president who personally approved its design, reviewed by a panel composed entirely of his own appointees, over the objection of the independent advisory body that declined to participate.
The statutory mechanism Bessent used to authorise it is separate from his authority over stablecoin regulation. The institutional overlap is not.
Editor's note: We are committed to accuracy. If you spot an error, a missing detail, or have additional information about any of the companies or filings mentioned in this article, please email us at [email protected]. We will review and update promptly.
