While the cryptocurrency industry welcomed the arrival of the self-proclaimed “crypto president” to the White House, his initiatives have since sparked controversy. Between the launch of numerous memecoins, deregulation, and personal enrichment, Donald Trump’s maneuvers have raised doubts… Even leading to accusations of conflicts of interest and corruption. We take a closer look at the murky world of Donald Trump and his family’s crypto business, and what it says about his commitments.
Companies linked to the Trump family in the cryptocurrency sector
In 2019, Donald Trump claimed he was “not a fan of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies,” accusing them of facilitating illegal activities. Six years later, the president has made a complete U-turn. He has repeatedly praised crypto assets in the campaign that brought him to power, even launching a cryptocurrency-related company through his sons.
Created in 2024, World Liberty Financial (WLFI) is a decentralized finance protocol managed by Donald Trump’s sons and Zach Witkoff. The project raised $550 million through the sale of its governance token, WLFI, of which Donald Trump and his sons hold tens of billions. The cryptocurrency entitles holders to 75% of the platform’s future revenues.
According to his June 2025 financial statement, Trump has already made $57 million in gains by selling some of these WLFI. In addition, in March 2025, World Liberty Financial launched its USD1 stablecoin, backed by US Treasury bills, on the Ethereum blockchain and the BNB Chain. This is therefore a second cryptocurrency linked to the president’s family.
World Liberty Financial recently distributed $47 in USD1 to each WLFI holder and is also preparing to launch a proprietary wallet. Together (platform, token, stablecoin, wallet), they form an ecosystem that heavily uses the image of the US president for promotional purposes.
TRUMP and MELANIA memecoins and the president’s murky game
Beyond this venture, the president is also linked to several “memecoins” or supposedly humorous cryptocurrencies. A few days before his inauguration, Donald Trump launched another crypto asset, the Official Trump (TRUMP). Heavily promoted by the president, its capitalization exploded, briefly entering the top 10 largest cryptocurrencies at the time.
A day later, his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, launched her own token, MELANIA. Also controversial, it has been criticized for its links to Hayden Davis, the man behind the LIBRA scandal that affected Argentine President Javier Milei.
The TRUMP cryptocurrency poses several problems. The biggest is, of course, the accusations of promotion by the president, who launched an asset just before taking office, thereby contributing to its rise. Beyond that, the cryptocurrency has been criticized for several limitations.
It is highly concentrated in very few hands. The main holders are directly linked to the Trump clan: CIC Digital LLC, a company managed on behalf of Donald Trump, and Fight Fight Fight LLC, another company created in January 2025 around the president’s slogan, own approximately 80% of the 1 billion TRUMP tokens issued.
Furthermore, the token does not seem to have any real use. This has led to accusations from the opposition that it was launched for the sole purpose of enriching Donald Trump… or even buying his influence.
This accusation was made after an “exclusive dinner” hosted by the US president at his Mar-a-Lago resort. The largest holders of his cryptocurrency were invited, and those who enjoyed an exclusive meeting with the president came from a variety of countries. For some, Donald Trump was therefore trading exclusive access to himself for cryptocurrencies.
The transparency group Accountable.US called the May 22, 2025 dinner “the most blatantly corrupt personal enrichment scheme in American presidential history.” Since then, some members of Congress have been calling for an investigation into the president’s cryptocurrency activities.
Between WLFI, USD1, TRUMP, and MELANIA, it is difficult to know how much cryptocurrency the president of the United States holds. He also receives indirect income based on the promotion of these assets. In other words, the financial flows related to Donald Trump’s cryptocurrencies are not entirely clear at this stage.
Indirect investments through other companies
In addition to these direct investments by Trump and his family, the US president has more indirect investments in digital assets. This is particularly the case with his company Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), which operates the social network Truth Social.
In June 2025, the latter filed an application with the SEC to create an ETF that would track the price of Bitcoin and Ether simultaneously. In addition, at the end of May 2025, the SEC approved a $2.5 billion Bitcoin purchase mandate by TMTG. In a letter to shareholders, the company also mentioned the possible release of a “utility token.” So while Truth Social originally had nothing to do with cryptocurrencies, it is also being used for investment in this sector.
Other companies linked to Donald Trump are also active in this field. CIC Digital LLC, the Trump Org. subsidiary mentioned above, owns Trump NFTs. These are offered for sale to fans of the US president. They are a kind of digital derivative based on blockchain technology, which are sold as collectible cards.
Is Donald Trump shaping laws to suit himself?
Another point to highlight, and perhaps the one that could cause Donald Trump the most legal trouble, is that the US president appears to be shaping executive orders and legislative proposals based on his investments.
The Genius Act bill is a glaring example of this. The law, which is set to be approved in June 2025 and has already been passed by the Senate, regulates stablecoins, i.e., cryptocurrencies that track the dollar. If it passes the House of Representatives, it will transform World Liberty Financial, the issuer of USD1, into a regulated entity with greater potential market penetration. Donald Trump therefore benefits financially from this law.
But the most surprising proposal in the Genius Act is that the President and Vice President of the United States are exempt from regulation with regard to stablecoins – which opens the door to stablecoin payments to Donald Trump without any verification or limits. Several opponents have noted that this opens the door to potential corruption, including Elizabeth Warren:
The GENIUS Act will accelerate Trump’s corruption by boosting the USD1.
There is another area where Donald Trump appears to be benefiting financially from his position, albeit indirectly. The president said during his campaign that the government would invest in cryptocurrency. This caused the price of cryptocurrencies to rise, as well as the price of his TRUMP token after his inauguration. More broadly, this gives cryptocurrencies unparalleled backing thanks to the support of the president of the world’s leading power—it should be remembered that this was widely seen as the starting point of the latest “bull run.”
Donald Trump’s very pro-crypto stance is therefore also leading to higher prices and greater wealth for him. Beyond that, there are also links between the US president and major local crypto companies, including Coinbase (one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges) and Ripple (the company behind XRP), which met with Donald Trump after he took office. Furthermore, crypto companies are among those that contributed the most financially to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, notably the Winklevoss brothers (Gemini), Jesse Powell (Kraken) and Stuart Alderoty (Ripple).
Finally, it is also worth noting that the people running the US institutions responsible for regulating cryptocurrencies are now very supportive of Donald Trump. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) now has a new director who has been quick to drop several lawsuits against crypto companies.
In addition, Brian Quintenz, who is expected to be confirmed as chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), is a cryptocurrency millionaire. As for the country’s vice president, JD Vance, he was a big supporter of cryptocurrencies before his rise to power. Rumor has it that this is one of the reasons why Donald Trump chose him.
While these actions are not illegal, they reveal a network of pro-crypto figures and lawmakers now surrounding the president. They are clearly contributing to his enrichment in the cryptocurrency sector by removing several safeguards.
