Crypto risks exposed by Trump meme coin collapse and Coldcard bug

Livemint.com reports that crypto ads are returning to India after a 2019 tax regime imposed a 1% TDS on crypto transactions, with over 50 platforms registered and an estimated 40 million Indian investors. The article, written by Dhirendra Kumar, highlights two recent events that expose risks for small savers. First, US President Donald Trump disclosed earning over $1.4 billion from crypto ventures, including a memecoin that fell from $74 to below $2, while Trump-linked entities had already earned substantial revenues. The involvement of Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund and Binance, and Trump's pardon of a Binance founder for money-laundering failures, raise ethical concerns.

Second, Canadian firm Coinkite's Coldcard hardware wallet, used to store Bitcoin offline, was found to have a bug that generated guessable secret keys for over five years. On July 30, attackers emptied thousands of wallets, with losses exceeding $100 million. Kumar argues that both cases show investors must blindly trust systems they cannot inspect, unlike regulated markets backed by independent entities. He urges Indian savers to avoid the hype, warning that crypto offers no real protection.