US Congress to Grill Rep. Madison Cawthorn Over Alleged Involvement in Crypto Scheme

Madison Cawthorn, former Republican Congressman of North Carolina, has been accused by some of being involved in insider trading

article-image

US Capitol Building | Credit: Shutterstock

share

key takeaways

  • Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina will face allegations he was involved in a crypto pump and dump scheme
  • Cawthorn is also being investigated over allegations he had an “improper relationship” with a congressional staff member

An investigation of Republican Congressman Madison Cawthorn is expected sometime this year that will determine the extent of his alleged involvement in a crypto pump and dump scheme.

According to a statement on Monday, Cawthorn will face four members of Congress in a subcommittee over his alleged involvement in promoting what is suspected to be the Let’s Go Brandon crypto scheme.

“The Committee notes that the mere fact of establishing an Investigative Subcommittee does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred,” the statement reads.

The US House Ethics Subcommittee, to be chaired by Texan Democrat Veronica Escobar, will look at whether or not Cawthorn abused his position and promoted the project while determining whether he may have had an “undisclosed financial interest” in it.

Cawthorn is also being investigated over his alleged “improper relationship” with a congressional staffer.

The project, known as Let’s Go Brandon, touts itself as an ERC-20 decentralized meme token “inspiring positivity and patriotism.” The project also purports to feature an “anti-whale” dumping mechanism that prohibits foundation supporters and large bag holders from selling the token within a sixth-month timeframe.

Since April 23, the token has shed 83% of its value and was last seen trading for a fraction of a cent, near zero. The token represents the Let’s Go Brandon movement which is a stand-in, among right-wing circles, and a reference to US President Joe Biden. Its true meaning stands for “F—- Joe Biden.”

A class-action lawsuit against the token’s founders, brought forward by one jilted investor, is accusing the founders of orchestrating a pump-and-dump scheme.

Cawthorn, who has taken to social media on several occasions to promote the token, has been caught up in allegations he “swindled” people and willingly promoted the scheme. Republican senator Thom Tillis called on Congress last month to investigate instances of insider trading and demanded Cawthorn answer to North Carolinians.

Loading Tweet..

The 26-year-old, who became one of Congress’ youngest members, lost the party primary contest last week in the Republican-held rural 11th district of North Carolina by a tight margin of around 1,500 votes.

Dubbed a political firebrand by many critics and proponents, Cawthorn was once hailed as a rising star within the far-right faction of the Republican Party who rode on the coattails of Trumpism when he was elected in 2020.

Cawthorn fell out of favor with his Republican colleagues when he insinuated that some Republican members of Congress had invited him to an orgy.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

Ethena Labs is leaping from its flagship synthetic dollar, USDe, to a full product suite—USDtb, iUSDe, and the Arbitrum-based Converge Chain—designed to marry crypto-native yields with TradFi-grade compliance. Our analysis shows how expanding into CME, ETF options, and tokenized Treasuries could lift protocol revenue from sub-$500 million in a bear case to several billion dollars if favorable regulation and institutional adoption align.

article-image

Doing one thing well and leaving everything else out is often what disruptive technologies do best

article-image

Why an analyst is kicking off COIN coverage with “buy” rating

article-image

“Bitcoin does not require a strong equity rally to move higher,” YouHodler markets chief Ruslan Lienkha said

article-image

President Trump’s comments that he will not look to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell sent stocks higher in after-hours trading Tuesday

article-image

The trading card game will use Immutable’s zkEVM chain