On May 21, according to Theblock, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins was questioned by lawmakers at a congressional hearing, involving MEME coins related to President Trump and whether his relationship with crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun could pose a problem.
Atkins, who has been in office for less than a month, attended a hearing of the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, which is responsible for overseeing federal agency funding. Lawmakers inquired about his stance on cryptocurrency regulation, the SEC's suspended fraud case against Justin Sun, and recent digital asset activities related to Trump.
Maryland Democratic Representative Glenn Ivey mentioned a series of events before Trump's inauguration in January, including Tron, Justin Sun's company, purchasing tokens worth $30 million from World Liberty Financial. The company is a decentralized financial institution claiming to be inspired by President Trump's ideology.
Subsequently, the SEC decided to suspend the fraud case against Justin Sun and his companies, including TRON. The case is currently on hold. Meanwhile, Trump himself has a MEME coin in circulation and will host a dinner for the top 220 MEME coin holders later this week. Justin Sun posted on X platform earlier Tuesday, claiming to be one of these "top fans".
In response, Ivey said: "Honestly, this whole thing smells off. My hope is that the SEC will investigate this matter." Atkins responded that Justin Sun's case remains an "ongoing case" and pointed out that the SEC has made it clear that MEME coins are not considered securities.
