CHARLES HOSKINSON: TRUMP'S MEMECOIN DERAILED CRYPTO REGULATION Charles Hoskinson says crypto was on track for a bipartisan regulatory win, until TrumpCoin changed the optics. According to Hoskinson, the CLARITY Act was expected to pass with broad support in late 2024. Around 70 senators were projected to vote yes, and crypto had backing across both parties after the Gensler era. Then $TRUMP launched. Hoskinson argues the timing mattered. Launching a personal crypto project before a clear regulatory framework gave critics an easy narrative: crypto became “Trump = corruption” instead of a neutral technology issue. That shift made it politically harder for Democrats to support the bill. Voting for crypto suddenly looked like endorsing Trump himself, which turned CLARITY into a midterm campaign weapon instead of bipartisan legislation. He says the fallout wasn’t just political, it distorted the market. Bitcoin pushed to new highs, but altcoins stayed suppressed as regulatory uncertainty froze risk-taking and capital rotation. Hoskinson’s takeaway is blunt: if the framework had passed first, TrumpCoin could have launched later with legal clarity, less backlash, and likely more success. Instead, crypto lost momentum at a critical moment, not because of tech or demand, but because of timing and optics.