Crypto: Senate Urged to Investigate Donald Trump Jr.’s Business Dealings

Donald Trump Jr. finds himself at the center of a new offensive in the U.S. Senate. Republican John Curtis, elected from Utah, is asking the judiciary committee to investigate the potential use of family ties to the presidency for financial purposes. He also wants Donald Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden to be subpoenaed to testify. For Donald Trump’s son, the senator notably cites his crypto activities, his links with predictive markets, and certain benefits received from foreign personalities. At this stage, it is a request for investigation, not a conclusion about possible offenses.

Crypto: John Curtis requests that Donald Trump Jr. testifies

This time the move comes from a Republican. For several months, the Trump family’s crypto activities had mainly been challenged by Democratic lawmakers. John Curtis wrote to the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley, as well as to Democrat Dick Durbin. He is asking them to examine whether members of presidential families have used their proximity to power to obtain financial benefits, privileged access, or preferential treatment.

The senator wants to hear from Donald Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden under subpoena. In the case of the president’s son, Curtis mentions his active promotion of cryptocurrency projects supported by the Trump family. He also cites his financial interests and his advisory roles with predictive market platforms subject to oversight by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The letter also mentions a gift related to Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding, offered by Umar Kremlev, a Russian businessman. Donald Trump had stated the previous week that his son had repaid this gift. 

The Trump family’s crypto activities resurface in the case

Curtis’ request comes after several months of controversies around the Trump family’s financial interests in digital assets.

World Liberty Financial is frequently at the center of these debates. Earlier this year, Democratic senators notably asked for an examination of a $500 million investment linked to the United Arab Emirates in the company.

However, Curtis does not present his letter as an investigation solely focused on crypto. He requests the same examination regarding Hunter Biden, whose business activities with foreign companies have been the subject of numerous congressional investigations. Hunter Biden has denied involving his father in his business. Joe Biden had granted him a pardon in December 2024 covering certain offenses committed or potentially committed during the previous decade.

Curtis explains that he wants to apply the same standard to Democratic and Republican families.

Dick Durbin has already responded favorably to this request. On September 22, he stated that he would support Curtis’s request with the judiciary committee. Durbin also recalled that Hunter Biden had already testified under oath before Congress, unlike Donald Trump Jr. on the facts now mentioned. A request supported by both parties does not, however, mean that a subpoena has already been issued.

The case comes just after the failure of the CLARITY Act

The timing is remarkable for the American crypto sector. One week before Curtis’s letter, the Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act, the major legislation intended to establish a federal framework for the digital asset market. The motion had 49 votes in favor and 50 against, while 60 were needed to move to the next stage.

Donald Trump’s crypto interests were among the topics discussed during the negotiations. The president had accepted certain additional ethical provisions before the vote, but several Democrats found them insufficient. Cointribune had detailed the failure of the CLARITY Act in the Senate and the disagreements surrounding the vote. Curtis’s letter now brings Donald Trump Jr. directly back into this debate. It does not accuse him of committing a specific offense. Rather, the senator asks Congress to establish the facts and determine whether current rules on ethics, transparency, or the fight against corruption are sufficient.