Renowned economist and market commentator Peter Schiff called for a Congressional investigation Monday into President Donald Trump’s recent cryptocurrency announcements, citing potential insider trading and manipulation.
What Happened: In an X post, Schiff wanted clarity on several questions tied to Trump’s strategic cryptocurrency reserve declaration on Sunday.
“Who authored the two Sunday afternoon posts on the President’s Truth Social account? Who knew about the first post in advance, and when were they first informed of the wording of the post and the timing of its release,” Schiff asked.
Notably, Trump announced the inclusion of XRP XRP/USD, Cardano ADA/USD, and Solana SOL/USD in the first post, sending the altcoins skyrocketing.
However, after a couple of hours, Trump said Bitcoin BTC/USD and Ethereum ETH/USD would be at the “heart” of the reserve, causing a rally in the two blue-chip coins as well.
Additionally, Schiff sought details of how much those with “advance notice” spent on the five cryptocurrencies, as well as how profit they made selling them.
“We also need all emails or text messages that involve any members of the President’s staff, his or their family or friends, his campaign donors, or Truth Social employees, that relate to either of the two Sunday Truth Social posts,” Schiff added.
Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci shared Schiff’s concerns. saying, “This hurts and doesn't help the industry.”
The White House and Trump’s son Eric Trump didn’t immediately return Benzinga’s request for comment.
See Also: Bitcoin Is Digital Gold But ‘What’s The Rationale For An XRP Reserve’, Asks Peter Schiff: Cardano Founder Charles Hoskinson Says Trump Made The Right Decision
Why It Matters: Trump’s strategic cryptocurrency reserve declaration was marred by controversies, with the focus shifting to a 50x leveraged long trade on Bitcoin and Ethereum that closed just before Trump’s post.
The announcement of the cryptocurrency reserve led to a short-lived rally, with Bitcoin reaching above $95,000. However, Trump’s tariff announcements sent cryptocurrencies spiraling down a day later, with Bitcoin dropping to an intraday low of $85,081,
Financial analysts like Tom Lee have indicated that Bitcoin’s short performance would continue to be impacted by tariff-related developments. His firm set a downside target of $62,000 for Bitcoin by the end of March.
Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was exchanging hands at $83,362.10, crashing 10.44% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
Image via Shutterstock
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