Author: Claude, Deep Tide TechFlow

Deep Tide Introduction: Trump's 2025 financial disclosure shows that his cryptocurrency business earned approximately $1.2 billion over the year, surpassing most of his real estate portfolio built over decades. The money comes from two sources: World Liberty Financial generated over $500 million from sales of governance tokens and other new products, while another company, CIC Digital, secured approximately $635 million from royalties on the meme coin TRUMP. At the same time, TRUMP's price plummeted from $74 at the time of its initial listing to $1.68, with World Liberty Financial's token down 80% since opening, leaving retail investors with significant losses.

In the first year of Trump's presidency, the cryptocurrency business became his most profitable venture.

According to the Associated Press, the U.S. government's ethics office released Trump's 2025 financial disclosure report on June 30. This 927-page document reveals that the Trump family's cryptocurrency business earned nearly $1.2 billion over the year. In comparison, former President Obama's last disclosure report was only 8 pages long, Biden's was 11 pages, and Vice President Pence's report this year was 17 pages.

These cryptocurrency companies were startups when they took office, but now their revenues have surpassed most of the real estate portfolio Trump accumulated over decades. The Associated Press directly pointed out that several billionaire investors and Trump's own policy shift, which halted federal regulation crackdowns on the cryptocurrency industry, drove their rise.

Two sources of revenue: World Liberty Financial made $500 million, $TRUMP meme coin made $635 million

This $1.2 billion did not come from one pocket; the disclosure document breaks it into two parts.

The first part comes from World Liberty Financial, a DeFi project co-owned by Trump's family and real estate mogul Steve Witkoff, founded with the participation of Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. According to the Associated Press, Trump earned over $500 million from selling new cryptocurrency products (including "governance tokens") through World Liberty Financial. Governance tokens are not like stocks; buying them does not represent ownership of company shares, only the right to vote on certain company matters, and they are difficult to value—before the tokens were sold, regulators had issued risk warnings. Additionally, the disclosure document shows that over $290 million was classified as revenue from cryptocurrency wallets associated with World Liberty Financial, along with a sale of over $65 million in equity from World Liberty Financial Holdings.

The second part comes from a company named CIC Digital LLC, which earned over $600 million from the sale of meme coins featuring Trump's likeness. This refers to $TRUMP, a meme coin issued on the Solana chain just days before Trump's second inauguration in January 2025, listed in the disclosure document under the term "Celebration Coins," with an amount of approximately $635 million, classified as royalties.

It should be noted that these two amounts combined are approximately $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion, a figure commonly cited in the market; if the previously mentioned $290 million in wallet income and $65 million in equity sales are also included, some media reports may give a higher total, reaching the $1.4 billion range. The total amount fluctuates by criteria, but there is no dispute that "cryptocurrency earnings exceeded $1 billion for the year."

Trump made a fortune while retail investors lost money

The disclosed documents only report revenue, not profit, so it is impossible to know exactly how much net profit Trump made. However, the price trends of the tokens and meme coins clarify another calculation for those who took over.

TRUMP soared above $74 shortly after its listing but now sells for only $1.68. World Liberty Financial's token has dropped 80% since it began trading last September. According to independent data, the vast majority of meme coin buyers have lost money; approximately 80% of TRUMP's token supply is still held by entities associated with Trump under a vesting schedule.

Among the buyers is a well-known billionaire, Justin Sun, born in China. According to the Associated Press, he spent $75 million on World Liberty Financial's governance tokens WLFI and $200 million on meme coins. A federal lawsuit last February alleging he deceived investors was briefly suspended and settled last month with a $10 million fine. Justin Sun has consistently denied any connection between his spending on Trump's business and his federal case, and World Liberty Financial has also denied any conflict of interest.

On one side, Trump locked in profits, while retail investors were left trapped.

Cryptocurrency has overshadowed real estate and become Trump's flagship business

Trump entered the White House by virtue of his reputation as a real estate winner, but the rise of his cryptocurrency business has overshadowed real estate, a point worth noting—especially since his real estate business also saw significant gains last year.

According to the Associated Press, Trump earned tens of millions from a new batch of overseas hotels, resorts, and apartment projects last year, marking the largest real estate expansion in the history of this century-old family business. In these countries, many are negotiating important matters with the U.S. regarding tariffs, military aid, and more. A property in the UAE earned $10.4 million, while a property in Saudi Arabia (built by a real estate developer closely connected to the ruling family) transferred $9 million to Trump's company. Romania's Bucharest and Qatar each sent $5 million. His domestic Mar-a-Lago estate earned $77 million last year, a 50% increase compared to the previous year when he was still an ordinary citizen.

Forbes estimates Trump's net worth at $6 billion, up from $2.3 billion in 2024.

White House: Trump acts only in the public interest, no conflict of interest

In response to conflict of interest concerns, the White House repeatedly stressed that Trump has placed his business in a trust managed by his sons, eliminating any conflict, and that he acts solely for the national interest. Trump's umbrella company, the Trump Organization, stated that its overseas transactions are made with private companies, not governments.

However, the Associated Press pointed out that in countries led by authoritarianism, royalty, or a single party, it's challenging to determine what constitutes "private." For example, regarding a new Trump resort in Vietnam, the disclosure document shows Trump earned $5 million from it last year, while the New York Times reported that the ruling party in Vietnam sent a deputy prime minister to endorse the deal and even displaced farmers from their land to make way for the project.

Whether these transactions have led to adjustments in U.S. policy is nearly impossible to verify, but these countries did indeed get what they wanted: Vietnam received tariff reductions, Qatar obtained previously restricted advanced U.S. technology, and Saudi Arabia acquired coveted U.S. fighter jets.

Regulation in this area is ongoing. Prior to World Liberty Financial selling governance tokens, regulators had warned about the risks of these new types of cryptocurrency assets. After Trump took office, he reversed Biden's administration's tough stance on the cryptocurrency industry, opting instead for industry-friendly policies—loosening regulations while his family made over $1 billion from cryptocurrency; this disclosure document places both of these on the same page.