Donald Trump Jr. is distancing himself from his father's meme coin — while defending the family's broader foray into crypto as a response to being frozen out of the traditional banking system. Meme coins are a class of cryptocurrency fueled by social media buzz and celebrity hype rather than real-world utility. They often skyrocket in value before crashing just as quickly — a pattern that's drawn concern from regulators, particularly when high-profile figures are involved. Trump Jr. noted that the token was launched before his father returned to office. The coin went live three days before the Inauguration, eventually soaring to a $15 billion market cap before erasing most of those gains. Still, the project creators get a fee for every trade. The token's code automatically directs a cut of each transaction to these addresses, allowing the team to profit from ongoing activity. The blockchain analytics firm said it stopped tracking the president's meme token in early May, citing a need to refocus resources on paying clients. The Trump family's deepening involvement in crypto has drawn widespread criticism — including concerns that a sitting president with ties to tokens could create new avenues for influence peddling or foreign capital flows. Trump Jr. didn't dispute the potential for abuse but framed blockchain anonymity as a mitigating factor. "You don't know who's actually doing any of these things," he said. "It's hard to influence if you don't actually know where this stuff's coming from." Sun later purchased the president's meme token, winning a contest for top holders, and raising his stake in Trump family-tied tokens to at least $97 million. Trump Jr. emphasized that the family's broader embrace of crypto was not a vanity move, but a response to being debanked after his father's political rise. He said he and his brother saw crypto as a more equitable system — one that could protect even well-established players like themselves from arbitrary exclusion. "I could call any single banker in New York City," he said. "They'd pick up the phone, I'd be able to get a loan for whatever real estate project I was doing across the street. Then we got into politics, and all of a sudden they wouldn't take your call. That shift, he said, pushed the Trumps to explore decentralized alternatives "out of necessity." That philosophy, he added, now underpins the family's stablecoin initiative USD1, launched through World Liberty Finance. Trump Jr. argued that stablecoins like USD1 could support U.S. financial dominance, not threaten it: At nearly $120 billion in U.S. government debt on its books, according to its latest self-attestation, Tether now ranks among the top 20 holders of U.S. Treasurys — ahead of countries like Germany and the UAE. "Stablecoins could be the savior of U.S. currency," he said. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Magic Eden, best known as a non-fungible token marketplace, says it has partnered with the team behind President Donald Trump's meme token to launch an official $TRUMP-branded cryptocurrency wallet. Dubbed the $TRUMP Wallet, the product will feature the president's name and likeness, as well as support trading of $TRUMP and other digital assets including bitcoin. A waitlist for the wallet opened Tuesday at TrumpWallet.com, ahead of a broader launch slated for later this summer, according to a Magic Eden spokesperson. Eric Trump, who has taken on leadership roles across several of his father's crypto ventures, claimed to have no knowledge of the project. @worldlibertyfi $Trump @AmericanBTC," he posted on social media site X. CNBC reached out to Magic Eden for clarification on Eric Trump's denial. Billed as "the first and only crypto wallet for true Trump fans," the project was promoted on X with the promise of a share in $1 million in $TRUMP rewards. Users who sign up and refer friends can climb the waitlist, Magic Eden said in a statement to CNBC. The family's expanding crypto portfolio already includes NFTs, a stablecoin, a decentralized finance platform with its own virtual token, meme coins named after him and the First Lady, as well as plans for crypto exchange-traded funds through Truth Social's new financial arm, TruthFi. Magic Eden, whose CEO attended the president's recent fundraiser dinner for winners of a previous $TRUMP coin contest, appears to be building the wallet on top of Slingshot Finance, a self-custodial trading app it acquired in April. Slingshot's platform features meme tokens such as BONK and FARTCOIN and does not directly collect user identity information. Instead, identity checks are handled by MoonPay, its fiat on-ramp provider. It remains unclear whether the wallet will require its own KYC procedures, or how revenue and responsibilities will be split between Magic Eden and Trump-affiliated entities. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook expressed concern Tuesday with the progress on inflation, saying recent lower readings could reverse after tariffs work their way through the economy. In addition, Cook said she expects President Donald Trump's moves on trade policy could take a toll on the labor market, though she noted that the economy for now is in relatively good shape. "I do not express views on the Administration's policies. But I do study the economic implications, which appear to be increasing the likelihood of both higher inflation and labor-market cooling," the policymaker said in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. On inflation, Cook noted that progress has been made, with core inflation at 2.5% and headline at 2.1% in April, according to a report last week that uses the Fed's preferred measure. However, economists largely expect the tariffs to push costs higher. "Price increases tied to changes in trade policy may make it difficult to achieve further progress in the near term," Cook said. Market-based measures, however, indicate more muted expectations further out. Cook's comments come two weeks ahead of the Fed's next policy meeting on June 17-18. Market expectations overwhelmingly indicate the central bank will be on hold again regarding interest rates, and most statements from policymakers since the last meeting back that up. Traders expect the next Fed cut to come in September. Cook did not specify when she thinks the Fed can ease again, saying current policy is set in a place where she and her colleagues can respond to threats on either side of the Fed's mandate for full employment and low inflation. "I see the U.S. economy as still being in a solid position, but heightened uncertainty poses risks to both price stability and unemployment," she said. "When making decisions, I think it has been valuable to remain a student of economic history. Our recent past has provided some useful lessons for decision-making during periods of high uncertainty and elevated risks to our dual-mandate goals." Earlier in the day, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said he expects just one rate cut this year as "most of the [inflation] measures are still flashing red." Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world Americas+1 212 318 2000 EMEA+44 20 7330 7500 Asia Pacific+65 6212 1000 Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world Americas+1 212 318 2000 EMEA+44 20 7330 7500 Asia Pacific+65 6212 1000 GOP Tax Bill: President Donald Trump attacked fiscal conservative Rand Paul as “crazy” Tuesday morning as he pressed reluctant Republican senators to move forward swiftly with his massive tax and spending package. The Kentucky senator earlier said on CNBC that he wouldn't vote for the president's signature legislation because it would increase the legal US debt limit.

Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world Americas+1 212 318 2000 EMEA+44 20 7330 7500 Asia Pacific+65 6212 1000 Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world Americas+1 212 318 2000 EMEA+44 20 7330 7500 Asia Pacific+65 6212 1000 Scott Bessent Supply Lines is a daily newsletter that tracks global trade. Sign up here. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Beijing has a choice on whether or not to be a dependable partner with the rest of the world, reiterating that China needs to shift to a more consumption-led economy to help ease global imbalances.

President Donald Trump is pausing one of the harshest consequences for student-loan borrowers who default on their debt. On Monday evening, the Department of Education confirmed to Business Insider that it would be pausing Social Security garnishment for defaulted student-loan borrowers after restarting collections on May 5. "The Department has not offset any social security benefits since restarting collections on May 5, and has put a pause on any future social security offsets," Ellen Keast, an Education Department spokesperson, told BI. "The Trump Administration is committed to protecting social security recipients who oftentimes rely on a fixed income," Keast continued. "In the coming weeks, the Department will begin proactive outreach to recipients about affordable loan repayment options and help them back into good standing." This announcement comes after a five-year pause that Trump started during the pandemic, halting negative credit reporting and collections on defaulted student loans. "Borrowing money and failing to pay it back isn't a victimless offense. Debt doesn't go away; it gets transferred to others," McMahon wrote in a May opinion piece. A federal borrower typically enters default after missing payments for more than 270 days. Those who are in default can rehabilitate their loans or consolidate their loans — both of which can be time-consuming — or file for bankruptcy. Some student-loan borrowers previously told BI that they cannot afford to lose their Social Security income if they default on their debt. I'll die on the job," James Southern, a 63-year-old borrower, said. Are you in default, or concerned about defaulting on your student loans?

Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world Americas+1 212 318 2000 EMEA+44 20 7330 7500 Asia Pacific+65 6212 1000 Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world Americas+1 212 318 2000 EMEA+44 20 7330 7500 Asia Pacific+65 6212 1000 The Clinton Power Station in Clinton, Illinois. Photographer: John Dixon/The News-Gazette/AP Photo Constellation Energy Corp. agreed to sell power from an Illinois nuclear plant to Meta Platforms Inc. as artificial intelligence sends power demand soaring. The parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp signed a 20-year contract to buy 1,121 megawatts from the Clinton plant starting in mid-2027, when a state subsidy expires, according to a statementBloomberg Terminal Tuesday. Constellation, the biggest US nuclear operator, and Meta didn't provide financial details.

Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world Americas+1 212 318 2000 EMEA+44 20 7330 7500 Asia Pacific+65 6212 1000 Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world Americas+1 212 318 2000 EMEA+44 20 7330 7500 Asia Pacific+65 6212 1000 Wall Street calls it a golden age for alternative assets. Richard Ennis, who spent decades helping pensions and endowments devise modern portfolios, calls it a costly delusion draining billions from portfolios — one that will come undone in the coming decades. For years, the pitch to institutional investors has been the same: passive returns on stocks and bonds are fine as they go, but to thrive money managers need hedge funds, private assets and other alternative vehicles. Yet after dissecting the data, Ennis — who helped pioneer the art of investment consulting — finds there is surprisingly little evidence it's true.