Year One of the Crypto President
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Happy Thursday! Bloomberg reports that billionaires at Davos have been scammed (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-20/davos-2026-scammers-target-billionaires-seeking-access-to-trump?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc2OTAwMjA4OSwiZXhwIjoxNzY5NjA2ODg5LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUOTVLM1VUOTZPU0kwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJCNjFFOTJEOEIwNjc0OEREODdMDk3MkQ0RTA4RUU1NSJ9.2wAcC6cLASnFz_kVj0ys5NBogSK8sDXvmEvSZ6pPmDo) by people claiming to be able to get them access to President Donald Trump. The Nigerian prince who keeps emailing us must be kicking himself for not thinking bigger.
Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
Trump Chills on Greenland
President Donald Trump announced (https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115934734335579278) yesterday that he agreed to a “framework of a future deal” with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, which he said would apply to the “entire Arctic Region,” in addition to Greenland. He also said he would suspend his planned tariff hikes on eight European countries that opposed his efforts to acquire the Danish island. The details of the framework have yet to be made public, but CNN reported (https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-administration-news-01-21-26?post-id=cmkoln1cu00003b6rnw9nxz7s) that it would include renegotiating the terms of a 1951 U.S.-Greenland defense agreement that established U.S. military presence on the island. Axios reported that the U.S. would also maintain (https://www.axios.com/2026/01/21/greenland-deal-trump-denmark-sovereignty) recognition of Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland. Several outlets (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/us/politics/trump-greenland-threats-diplomacy-force.html) also reported (https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-administration-news-01-21-26?post-id=cmkol3hij0000356sweqrt756) that NATO leaders had discussed a deal to allow the U.S. to build more military bases in Greenland on land that would be considered American territory. To learn more about Trump’s pursuit to acquire Greenland, read the January 15 issue of TMD (https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/morning/will-trump-take-greenland/) .
- While speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump ruled (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-nation-secure-greenland-us-davos-speech/story?id=129417816) out using military force to seize Greenland, but emphasized the U.S. intended to acquire the island. “It’s the United States alone that can protect this giant, massive land,” Trump said.
- Trump mistakenly referred (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/us/politics/trump-greenland-iceland-confusion.html) to Greenland as Iceland throughout his speech, and also said that people who “rigged (https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/21/trump-2020-election-prosecutions-00738778?utmcontent=politico/magazine/Politics&utmsource=flipboard) ” the 2020 presidential election “will soon be prosecuted for what they did.”
Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in Lisa Cook Case
The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard (https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/01/supreme-court-appears-inclined-to-prevent-trump-from-firing-fed-governor/) oral arguments for an interim docket case involving Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook’s legal challenge to Trump’s effort to remove her from the central bank over alleged mortgage fraud. Trump attempted to fire Cook in August, citing allegations she committed mortgage fraud by listing two properties as her “primary residence” on loan applications in 2021—a claim Cook denies and which bank documents appear to contradict. Cook sued in federal court, arguing Trump violated the Federal Reserve Act’s “for cause” removal provision and deprived her of due process by firing her without notice or a hearing. Lower courts ruled in her favor and blocked her removal, prompting the administration to seek Supreme Court intervention. A majority of Supreme Court justices appeared inclined to rule against the Trump administration’s arguments that the White House was legally able to fire her, and that federal courts lacked the authority to reinstate her. To learn more, read Amy Howe’s reporting at SCOTUSblog (https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/01/supreme-court-appears-inclined-to-prevent-trump-from-firing-fed-governor/) .
- Justice Brett Kavanaugh asked U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer, who is representing the Trump administration, why the government is opposed to granting advanced notice and a hearing for officials fired for cause, stating, “What’s the fear of more process here?”
- Justice Amy Coney Barrett asked Sauer why the administration had invested resources into the case against Cook when it could’ve sought a hearing as a more efficient alternative.
- Chief Justice John Roberts questioned the validity of Cook’s mortgage fraud allegations, noting that the government’s evidence was “contradicted by other documents in the record.”
ICE Memo Leaks
The Associated Press obtained (https://apnews.com/article/ice-arrests-warrants-minneapolis-trump-00d0ab0338e82341fd91b160758aeb2d) an internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) memo, disclosed to Congress via a whistleblower complaint, which states that federal immigration agents are legally permitted to forcibly enter the home of a suspected illegal immigrant if a judge has ordered a “final order of removal” against the resident. The memo, written by acting ICE Director Todd Lyons in May, claimed (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/us/politics/ice-warrant-whistleblower.html) that an administrative warrant—which gives legal authority for federal agents to arrest individuals ordered by a court to be deported—also provides legal cover for ICE agents to enter their homes without a judicial warrant. According to the whistleblower complaint filed by Whistleblower Aid, the memo has been shown only to “select DHS officials” and is being used to train new ICE officers despite contradicting the agency’s own written training materials on Fourth Amendment requirements. “The officers issuing these administrative warrants also have found probable cause,” Homeland Security Department spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ice-policy-officers-enter-homes-immigration-without-judicial-warrant-rcna255305#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20officers%20issuing%20these%20administrative%20warrants%20also%20have%20found%20probable%20cause%2C%E2%80%9D%20McLaughlin%20said.%20%E2%80%9CFor%20decades%2C%20the%20Supreme%20Court%20and%20Congress%20have%20recognized%20the%20propriety%20of%20administrative%20warrants%20in%20cases%20of%20immigration%20enforcement.%E2%80%9D) , adding (https://apnews.com/article/ice-arrests-warrants-minneapolis-trump-00d0ab0338e82341fd91b160758aeb2d?utmcampaign=trueAnthem%3A+New+Content+%28Feed%29&utmmedium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter#:~:text=She%20said%20the,so%2C%20how%20often.) that both Congress and the Supreme Court have “recognized the propriety of administrative warrants in cases of immigration enforcement.”
- The Homeland Security Department announced a new federal immigration enforcement operation (https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/01/21/ice-immigration-operation-maine/) targeting suspected illegal immigrants residing in Maine, which the agency has called “Operation Catch of the Day.”
- A federal appeals court on Wednesday struck (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/us/minnesota-injunction-protest-appeal.html) down a federal district judge’s temporary order barring ICE officials from using pepper spray and other anti-riot gear against peaceful protesters.
- An autopsy report by the El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office found (https://apnews.com/article/ice-immigration-detention-death-texas-f04b5cb76f175255e58b947f0e14bc12) that Geraldo Lunas Campos—one of three detainees who have died at the Camp East Montana ICE facility in just over a month—died by homicide due to asphyxia.
The European Parliament Delays South America Trade Deal
The European Parliament, the EU’s legislative body, on Wednesday voted (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/us/politics/mercosur-trade-deal-eu.html) to delay a trade deal between the EU and four South American countries—Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay—which was intended to be a hedge against American protectionism and growing Chinese influence in Latin America. EU and South American officials had initially signed (https://www.reuters.com/world/eu-lawmakers-vote-whether-launch-legal-challenge-mercosur-trade-deal-2026-01-21/) the deal in Paraguay on Saturday, to make one of the world’s largest free trade zones, but the agreement had not yet obtained official approval from the European Parliament at the time. European legislators voted 334-324 (with 11 abstentions) to send (https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-mercosur-trade-deal-stalled-as-meps-send-it-for-judicial-review/) the trade proposal to the European Court of Justice for review on whether its terms aligned with pre-existing EU treaties. However, that legal review could last up to two years, and the European Parliament will not be allowed to vote on its approval again until the court’s process is completed.
- European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen had said (https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/files/document/print/en/speech26141/SPEECH26141_EN.pdf) that “The geopolitical importance of this agreement cannot be overstated.”
- The European Parliament also voted (https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/eu-trade-deal-trump-greenland-tariff-rcna255199) to pause formal approval of a U.S.-EU trade deal signed in July.
Judge Blocks Federal Government from Accessing Reporter’s Materials
A federal magistrate judge barred (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/business/media/washington-post-reporter-search-first-amendment.html) the federal government from accessing the phones, computers, or other materials belonging to a Washington Post reporter that were seized after authorities raided (https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/14/fbi-washington-post-search-00727375) her house last week. The search was linked to an ongoing federal investigation into alleged breaches of classified information. The Washington Post requested (https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/21/media/washington-post-hannah-natanson-fbi-doj-devices) a “standstill order” to temporarily block the Justice Department from analyzing digital devices or other items that officials took from the reporter’s home, which Magistrate Judge William Porter—who had signed the warrants authorizing last week’s search—granted on Wednesday, writing in a two-page order that the news organization established “good cause … to maintain the status quo.”
- The news outlet’s legal representation argued (https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/21/washington-post-search-warrant-00740096#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20government%20has%20commandeered%20Natanson%E2%80%99s%20reporting%20records%20and%20tools%2C%20thereby%20preventing%20her%20from%20contacting%20her%20more%20than%201%2C100%20sources%20and%20receiving%20their%20tips%2C%20and%20generally%20impairing%20her%20ability%20to%20publish%20the%20stories%20she%20otherwise%20would%20have%20published%20but%20for%20the%20raid%2C%E2%80%9D%20the%20attorneys%20wrote.) that the government took “reporting records and tools” the reporter needed to contact sources and continue her journalistic work, emphasizing that it hindered “her ability to publish the stories she otherwise would have published but for the raid.”
Chain Reaction
President Joe Biden’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), led by Chairman Gary Gensler, was no friend of the crypto industry. Following several high-profile blowups—notably the collapse (https://apnews.com/article/ftx-bankruptcy-binance-timeline-c519d50b9059aa8bff0ce8b6cd26c40e) of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange in 2022—Gensler waged an aggressive (https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=2e581be8-77c2-4efd-b56f-5142e4854cd2) crackdown on the entire industry, bringing actions against the biggest players in the space. Ask a crypto enthusiast who the industry’s biggest villain was, and Gensler’s name would be on their lips. And so, ahead of the 2024 election, the industry mounted a massive lobbying effort to change the status quo.
The nonprofit government accountability group OpenSecrets reported that the three largest pro-crypto super PACs—predominantly funded by the crypto exchanges Coinbase and Ripple, and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz—spent more than $133 million (https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2024/11/the-crypto-trio-how-the-cryptocurrency-industry-has-made-its-mark-on-2024-elections/) on pro-crypto candidates during the 2024 cycle. “This is pretty novel,” Hilary Bragseth, executive director of OpenSecrets, told TMD. “We have not seen anything to this level of aggression in terms of how quickly [the crypto lobby] has grown to be an extremely powerful lobby in D.C.” And that investment paid off.
But with one year passed under the self-described “crypto president (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6nwo5hIC7tM) ,” what has the industry actually gained?
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