Policy and Business Unite, Presidential Power Leverages the Crypto Market.

Author: Financial Times

Translation: Deep Tide TechFlow

During the peak of legal disputes last year, Donald Trump claimed he was out of money. If a $500 million civil fine could not be reduced to about $100 million, the president stated in court documents that he would have to sell his remaining real estate assets at a low price.

Just a few months later, the re-elected U.S. president experienced a dramatic turnaround politically and financially. While previous occupants of the White House made minimal financial sacrifices for the presidency, Trump's wealth has significantly increased since taking office. His family business has struck deals both domestically and internationally, showing no concern for conflicts of interest.

After earning millions from selling branded Bibles, perfumes, sneakers, and signed guitars, the president also received tens of millions in compensation from social media and news companies. These companies reached settlement agreements with Trump, and many legal experts believe these lawsuits were almost baseless. His wife Melania signed a $40 million documentary deal with Amazon, far exceeding industry standards.

However, the core of Trump's newfound wealth is a rapidly growing cryptocurrency empire built by the president and his family. According to a Financial Times investigation, this business has generated over $1 billion in pre-tax profits in the past year, partly driven by the crypto boom fueled by the government's own industry-friendly policies.

The revenue from these crypto projects only accounts for realized profits. Trump's cryptocurrency business has also added billions to his net worth on paper. For example, his stake in Trump Media & Technology Group—which is the parent company of Truth Social and a Bitcoin reserve business—is now valued at $1.9 billion.

When asked by the Financial Times whether the estimate of his family's profits was roughly accurate, Eric Trump stated that the actual number "could be more."

This cryptocurrency empire is built on a vast, opaque network that encompasses digital trading cards, memes, stablecoins, tokens, and so-called decentralized finance platforms—all of which claim close ties to the presidential family.

These projects have attracted massive funding from billionaire foreign investors, institutions linked to state entities, and at least one individual who has been investigated by U.S. authorities.

All of this occurred as Trump fulfilled his promise of becoming the "first cryptocurrency president." He has called for the creation of a national Bitcoin reserve and appointed pro-crypto leaders in major U.S. regulatory agencies. Under the new leadership, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has halted investigations into large cryptocurrency companies.

In the past nine months, Bitcoin prices have reached new highs; companies that fled the U.S. during the Joe Biden administration are now making a strong return; cryptocurrency executives have been warmly welcomed in Trump's White House.

"We will develop further, faster than people imagine," Trump said this summer when discussing the cryptocurrency industry. "This is a very hot industry."

The White House stated that during his first term, Trump was the only president to lose money while in office.

"The fact is, President Trump had already built a business empire before entering politics—he was the wealthiest presidential candidate in history at that time," White House spokesperson Kush Desai said. "His only motivation for running for president was to save our country and its people, sacrificing a luxurious life."

However, many observers believe that the president's embrace of high profits from cryptocurrency—part of a broader intertwining of his business and political interests—is unprecedented in modern American history.

"Since the Civil War, every president has avoided significant financial conflicts with their official duties," said Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer during the George W. Bush presidency. He believes Trump should divest all financial interests that could conflict with his official responsibilities.

Painter pointed out that Jimmy Carter placed his peanut farm in a blind trust, while George W. Bush sold his stake in the Texas Rangers before becoming president. "Even Nixon did not have financial interests that we know of that conflicted with his official duties."

Trump was not an early advocate of cryptocurrency. In the years leading up to the 2024 presidential campaign, he referred to cryptocurrency as "something out of thin air" and called Bitcoin a "scam." He also portrayed cryptocurrency as contrary to American interests because it could compete with the dollar.

However, starting from last year's campaign, Trump's attitude underwent a sudden shift. At that time, Trump vehemently criticized Wall Street banks, claiming his businesses were denied banking services for political reasons. The Trump family stated that this was one of the reasons they turned to the cryptocurrency industry.

"We were targeted and had to look for alternatives to traditional finance," Eric Trump told the Financial Times in June.

During last year's campaign, Trump promised to end Biden's "anti-cryptocurrency campaign," firing skeptical SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on his "first day" in office and establishing a U.S. Bitcoin reserve.

"The rules will be set by people who love your industry, not by those who hate your industry," he said at a cryptocurrency conference in Nashville in July 2024.

This strategy stands in stark contrast to the Biden administration, which has taken a more cautious approach to cryptocurrency, concerned about price volatility risks and potential scams. During Biden's presidency, some of the largest companies in the cryptocurrency industry have been sued or charged by U.S. law enforcement, while FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to prison for fraud and money laundering.

In May, protests erupted in Washington against Trump's cryptocurrency dealings. Trump received millions in campaign funding and inauguration funds from cryptocurrency companies.

© Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Public Citizen

Trump's embrace of cryptocurrency has garnered him millions in campaign support, as well as subsequent donations from U.S. cryptocurrency companies for his inauguration fund, including Coinbase, Ripple Labs, and Circle. In 2023, cryptocurrency investors formed a Super PAC called "Fairshake," raising $260 million to support pro-cryptocurrency congressional candidates: the committee's spending in support of Republican candidates was nearly double that for Democratic candidates. source

Trump almost immediately pushed cryptocurrency into the mainstream upon returning to the White House.

On Trump's inauguration day, Gary Gensler resigned. The president appointed cryptocurrency supporter Paul Atkins to replace him. Since then, the SEC has terminated or reached settlements with several presidential inauguration donors, including Coinbase, Ripple Labs, and Consensys.

Trump ordered the Justice Department to reduce investigations into cryptocurrency companies. The Justice Department stated in April that, under a presidential executive order, it would "not charge non-intentional regulatory violations in cases involving digital assets."

He also signed an order allowing Americans to invest a portion of their retirement savings in cryptocurrency, a significant boon for the industry. Meanwhile, new legislation established a regulatory framework for stablecoins. Regulations limiting mainstream banks' participation in cryptocurrency were also revoked.

Additionally, the president pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, and employees of the BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange, moves that were widely welcomed in the industry.

Investors cheered this new policy, causing Bitcoin prices and those of other lesser-known tokens to soar to historic highs.

Meanwhile, Trump's family business purchased Bitcoin and other tokens and made several investments to capitalize on the price surge.

Just days before Trump took office, he launched memecoins related to himself and his wife Melania. Analysis by the Financial Times indicated that these tokens had no other purpose than speculation but generated about $427 million in sales and transaction fee revenue.

The specific distribution of profits from these memecoin projects remains unclear. The official "Get Trump Memes" website states that the $TRUMP token is "co-owned" by Trump's related companies, which hold 80% of the project. The only company mentioned on the $MELANIA website is Trump's family business MKT World.

Trump leveraged the aura of the presidency to promote his cryptocurrency projects. Earlier this year, the price of $TRUMP saw a decline, but after Trump announced a private dinner for the top 220 holders of the memecoin at his golf club in May, the price rebounded.

Trump personally earned hundreds of millions from a company called World Liberty Financial, founded by his son and the son of envoy Steve Witkoff. The company operates two tokens—one is a tradable "governance" token called WLFI, allowing holders to vote on certain policies of World Liberty Financial; the other is a stablecoin pegged to the dollar, USD1.

According to the Financial Times, this business has so far earned $550 million from the sale of WLFI tokens and $2.71 billion from the sale of USD1 stablecoins. A spokesperson for World Liberty Financial, David Wachsman, declined to comment.

To maintain the value of USD1, the company must hold assets as reserves to back the tokens, so the revenue from these token sales has not immediately translated into profits. However, if the proceeds from sales are invested in short-term U.S. debt, World Liberty Financial has so far earned about $40 million in interest and fees from the assets backing its USD1 stablecoin.

Trump's family company, DT Marks DEFI LLC, initially held a 75% stake in World Liberty Financial but later reduced its stake to 38%. It is currently unclear to whom the Trump family sold part of its shares and at what price.

According to Trump's latest financial disclosure, he received $57.3 million in personal income from World Liberty Financial in the 2024 calendar year.

Trump also earned millions from selling digital cards featuring him in superhero costumes or riding motorcycles.

Even Trump companies, which previously had little connection to the cryptocurrency industry, have profited from embracing the sector. Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) lost $401 million in 2024, but after pivoting to cryptocurrency this year, the company raised billions to purchase tokens and launched multiple Bitcoin funds. This shift generated over $3 billion in cash revenue, more than half of which belongs to Trump, as he holds nearly 53% of the company.

Most of Trump's cryptocurrency projects are managed by a revocable trust overseen by Donald Trump Jr. The White House claims this protects the president from any wrongdoing.

However, unlike most recent former presidents, Trump has not placed his interests in a "blind trust" managed by independent parties. Instead, he is the sole beneficiary of the trust and can access its funds at any time after leaving office.

Many of the Trump family's most notable cryptocurrency actions have taken place in the public eye, but they have not sparked widespread outrage, except from some Democratic lawmakers and ethics activists.

According to a Financial Times-commissioned poll conducted by Public First US among Trump voters, more than half of respondents believed the president earned less than $100 million during his time in office, while nearly a third thought he had not profited at all from the presidency. Additionally, over 40% of respondents stated they had never heard of Trump's memecoin or his family's cryptocurrency platform.

Cryptocurrency billionaire Justin Sun invested $75 million in World Liberty Financial three months after the SEC suspended his fraud case.

© Ore Huiying/Bloomberg

Among the many intersections between Trump and the cryptocurrency world, one example did not attract widespread national attention. Chinese-born cryptocurrency billionaire Justin Sun, who was investigated by the SEC for fraud and market manipulation, invested $75 million in World Liberty Financial shortly after the last election. However, this event did not receive much national news coverage.

Three months later, the SEC, now controlled by the Trump administration, suspended the fraud case against Sun to "explore potential resolutions." Sun responded to the news with a series of handshake emojis.

He then dined with President Trump at a golf club in Virginia in May and became one of the most prominent promoters of the $TRUMP memecoin, pledging to buy an additional $100 million worth of tokens.

Sun stated that his interest in Trump-related projects reflects his optimism about the U.S. government's hands-off approach to cryptocurrency regulation and the president and his cabinet's support for the technology. Meanwhile, the Trump White House claims it is supporting an emerging technology that has been unfairly vilified by Democrats, attempting to make the U.S. the "global cryptocurrency capital."

Despite this, members of the Trump family continue to actively promote the connection between their projects and the president.

Eric Trump told the Financial Times in June that $TRUMP is "the most successful memecoin to date," partly because the industry "has shown tremendous support for my father."

How the Financial Times investigated the Trump memecoin controversy

© Daniel Garrahan

Foreign governments and other investors linked to state entities have also participated in Trump's cryptocurrency projects. Earlier this year, the Abu Dhabi-owned investment firm MGX purchased $2 billion worth of Trump-backed stablecoins. The Chinese company GD Culture Group announced it raised $300 million to invest in Bitcoin and Trump's memecoin $TRUMP.

In June, a UAE fund calling itself Aqua 1 Foundation purchased $100 million worth of digital tokens issued by World Liberty Financial, becoming its largest known investor.

Meanwhile, Trump continues to gain political benefits from cryptocurrency donations. In just the first half of 2025, Trump's Super PAC received at least $41 million in donations from the cryptocurrency industry, helping him build a war chest to support candidates loyal to his agenda in the upcoming midterm elections.

World Liberty Financial itself is also supporting a new organization called the Digital Freedom Fund PAC, aimed at "advancing President Trump's cryptocurrency vision." Cryptocurrency billionaire Winklevoss twins stated they donated $21 million worth of Bitcoin to the organization, while cryptocurrency exchange Kraken reported a $1 million donation.

Many cabinet members have also benefited from the cryptocurrency resurgence. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's brokerage firm Cantor Fitzgerald (now run by his son Brandon) holds significant Bitcoin positions. More importantly, the firm is the primary custodian of billions of dollars in U.S. Treasury bonds held by the world's largest stablecoin company, Tether.

The U.S. Department of Commerce stated, "The Secretary has fully complied with the divestment and recusal provisions of the ethics agreement."

According to government financial disclosure documents, Vice President JD Vance, who attended a Bitcoin conference, also personally holds cryptocurrency, as does Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte.

Donald Trump Jr., Zach Witkoff, Eric Trump, and Zak Folkman of World Liberty Financial rang the Nasdaq opening bell in August to celebrate their financial partnership.

©Getty Images

Trump's longtime friend, Steve Witkoff, appointed as the U.S. Middle East envoy, along with his sons Zach and Alex, co-founded World Liberty Financial and currently holds 3.75 billion WLFI tokens, valued at approximately $530 million. The Witkoff family and another company will receive 25% of the platform's revenue.

White House legal advisor David Warrington stated that Witkoff is working with ethics officials "to ensure he fully complies with these regulations, including taking all necessary legal steps to divest."

Despite Eric Trump’s promise last year that there would be "a very large wall of separation" between his family business and the U.S. government, Trump's sons have been the most public in leveraging their father's position. They have traveled to cities like Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, and Singapore to attend meetings, promote the benefits of cryptocurrency, and attract investment for their projects.

Donald Trump Jr. emphasized the personal interests of the Trump administration in the cryptocurrency industry. At the Bitcoin conference in Las Vegas in May, he stated that those drafting cryptocurrency laws are now "investing in cryptocurrency themselves," adding, "This will be very beneficial for the entire community."

In the same month, Eric Trump assured cryptocurrency speculators that Washington would hoard "a large amount of Bitcoin," later predicting that Bitcoin, currently valued at about $110,000, could one day be worth $1 billion.

"The acceptance of the Bitcoin community for my father is something I have never seen before," Eric Trump recently said in Hong Kong. "I hope this acceptance will yield rich rewards."

George Steer and Jill R Shah contributed reporting from New York.

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