Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized the SEC’s recent settlement with Tron founder Justin Sun, saying any crypto legislation in Congress should address corruption. In a Thursday statement, Warren accused the SEC of “giving a free pass” to Sun after he “poured $90 million” into crypto ventures tied to former President Donald Trump and his family. The SEC settled an unrelated enforcement action against Sun and his companies for $10 million.
Warren highlighted Sun’s investments through token purchases in the Trump family’s crypto platform, World Liberty Financial, and said the SEC should not act like “a lap dog for Trump’s billionaire buddies.” She urged that pending crypto legislation include measures to prevent what she called “the President’s crypto corruption.”
While Warren did not name the market-structure bill currently under Senate consideration, the legislation—passed by the House as the CLARITY Act and advanced by the Senate Agriculture Committee—has been a focal point for the White House and pro-crypto lawmakers. The bill was referred to the Senate Banking Committee, where Warren is the committee’s ranking Democrat.
Key topics in the market-structure bill include tokenized equities, ethics provisions, and rules around stablecoin rewards. The White House has held meetings with industry and banking representatives, but it was unclear whether those discussions had altered the bill’s content. Some banking groups have warned that stablecoin reward provisions could pose risks to credit and deposit stability.
Political pressure has intensified: both Donald Trump and his son Eric publicly criticized banks this week for their stance on the bill. The Senate Banking Committee postponed a planned markup in January after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the exchange could not support the bill “as written.” That markup has not been rescheduled, a step needed to resolve securities law concerns before a potential full Senate vote.
As debate continues, lawmakers and industry observers are watching whether ethics and anti-corruption language will be strengthened in any final package to address the kinds of financial ties Warren highlighted.