Illinois Governor JB Pritzker Slams Donald Trump For Letting ‘Crypto Bros’ Shape Policy

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker slammed US President Donald Trump for allowing “crypto bros” to drive his digital asset policies while signing two bills to regulate digital assets in the state.

After signing the legislation yesterday, Pritzker said on X that while Trump lets “crypto bros write federal policy,” Illinois is implementing “common-sense protections for investors and consumers.” 

Since Republicans won the US Election in November, there has been a divide with regards to crypto policy at the state level. 

Some states, such as Texas and Arizona, have opted to embrace crypto, while Democrat-dominated states such as Illinois try to hold the line.

Illinois Seeks To Protect Investors From Growing Crypto Fraud

The first bill that was signed by Pritzker is The Digital Assets and Consumer Protection Act (SB 1797), which passed the Senate in April this year. It grants the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation the authority to oversee exchange platforms and business in the digital asset space. 

Under that bill, crypto companies and exchanges are required to keep adequate financial resources, provide investment disclosures, implement cybersecurity and anti-fraud measures, as well as follow customer services standards that are followed by traditional financial services.

The second bill signed by the governor is the Digital Asset Kiosk Act (SB 2319). This legislation focuses specifically on crypto ATMs, or kiosks, and establishes the requirements for operators in the state.

That includes registering with the state’s regulators, capping transaction fees at 18%, limiting daily transactions for new customers to $2,500, and providing full refunds to victims of scams. 

Both bills come after a report from the FBI found Illinois-based crypto investors lost around $272 million last year. This ranked the state as the fifth-highest nationwide for crypto fraud losses.  

“At a time when fraudsters continue to evolve, and consumer protections are being eroded at the federal level, Illinois is sending a clear message that we won’t tolerate taking advantage of our people and their hard-earned assets,” ​Pritzker said in a statement issued by his office.

Trump Busy “Deregulating” Crypto Space, Says Illinois Governor

In the statement, the governor’s office also said that the Trump administration has “actively deregulated the crypto industry,” leaving consumers increasingly at risk of being defrauded in the digital asset space.

More specifically, the office referred to Trump’s signing of a bill in April that stripped the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of its ability to regulate decentralized crypto brokers. 

They went on to add that federal legislation for crypto “has largely been driven by industry lobbying efforts.” This is after crypto-focused Political Action Committees (PACs) plowed $131 million into congressional races in the last election cycle in an effort to help elect dozens of pro-crypto lawmakers.

That funding continued after Trump won the 2024 Presidential Election in November, with firms in the digital asset space pouring another $18 million into Trump’s inauguration. The biggest contribution came from XRP’s parent company, Ripple, who donated $4.9 million into his inaugural fund.

Not only is the Trump Administration’s policy allegedly influenced by crypto lobbyists. According to the governor’s office, the Administration’s new rules also accommodate “industry preferences for limited regulatory oversight over consumer protections,“ while restricting any prohibitions against conflicts of interest in the industry.

Trump’s Potential Conflicts Of Interest In The Crypto Space

In recent months, lawmakers have repeatedly voiced their concerns regarding Trump’s conflicts of interest in the crypto space given his ability to drive policy in the US. This is as the President and his family become increasingly involved in crypto via a series of ventures.

That includes their World Liberty Financial (WLFI) platform, which Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Maxine Waters called an “unprecedented conflict of interest.”  

In March, the DeFi platform also launched its own stablecoin called World Liberty Finance USD (USD1). 

Largest stablecoins by market cap (Source: CoinMarketCap)

In May, Trump also hosted a dinner for the top holders of his TRUMP meme coin, with controversial crypto billionaire Justin Sun emerging as the token’s biggest investor. 

Lawmakers expressed concerns about the dinner, which they argued let foreign nationals essentially buy access to the US President.