‘Nothing Wrong’: Trump Defends Family’s Growing Crypto Wealth
President Donald Trump is standing firmly behind the eye-popping Trump crypto windfall that has made him the biggest crypto earner in American political history. Speaking to CNBC on Thursday from the White House, Trump was asked directly whether he was aware of how much his family’s crypto ventures were pulling in. His answer was blunt: “I could know about it. I didn’t.” He added that nothing about the arrangement was illegal, and that his real focus is making sure the United States leads the world in digital assets.
The numbers behind the Trump crypto windfall are staggering. Fresh disclosures from the federal Office of Government Ethics show the president raked in at least $1.4 billion in crypto-related income last year alone. About $636 million of that came from his own self-branded memecoin, which launched just before he returned to the White House. Another $594 million flowed from World Liberty Financial, the crypto platform he co-founded with his sons. A further $197 million came from a stablecoin venture tied to Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Trump handed off day-to-day control of his businesses to his two eldest sons before taking office, but notably did not divest his assets, a decision that has fueled ongoing criticism from ethics watchdogs who argue he’s cashing in on the presidency while his own administration shapes the very rules governing the crypto industry.
What makes the windfall even more striking is the timing. Bitcoin has slumped roughly 50% from its October peak above $126,000, and the broader crypto market has spent much of the year struggling. Yet somehow, Trump’s personal crypto earnings kept climbing even as the wider industry cooled off.
Critics say the situation raises serious questions about conflicts of interest at the highest level of government, especially as regulators work to finalize rules that could directly affect the value of the president’s own holdings. For now, though, Trump shows no sign of stepping back, doubling down instead on his vision of American crypto dominance.
