US President Donald Trump has made an estimated $2.4 billion from cryptocurrency-related activities since entering the industry in 2022, according to The New Yorker. The profits reflect the Trump family’s diversification into crypto and raise concerns about a head of state directly overseeing an industry in which he has a financial interest.
The report said Trump's income comes from many channels:
$14.4 million from NFT collectibles.
$412.5 million from token sales via World Liberty Financial.
$243 million from cryptocurrency deals with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
$13 million from Bitcoin mining company American Bitcoin.
$1.3 billion from Trump Media and Technology Group – a company that holds a large amount of Bitcoin in its reserves.
$385 million from memecoin TRUMP.
Together, these activities account for 43.5% of the disclosed personal wealth Trump has amassed during his political career. However, the report also notes that not all of them are directly managed by Trump; many projects are managed by advisers or family members.
This is particularly notable given that Trump has previously expressed skepticism towards the cryptocurrency industry. In 2019, he publicly criticized crypto for its high volatility and the risk of being used for illegal activities.
Risk of conflicts of interest and political backlash
Trump’s crypto activities are raising new concerns about conflicts of interest. Many Democrats have objected, especially regarding the TRUMP memecoin and the USD1 stablecoin, calling for investigations and even impeachment, although the latter is unlikely in a Republican-controlled Congress.
In May, after Trump announced plans to host a dinner in Washington, D.C. for the largest TRUMP holders, two Democratic senators warned that the move could violate multiple federal laws and constitutional provisions, including anti-bribery laws and the “emoluments” clause that prohibits accepting foreign favors.
“Moreover, this raises the disturbing possibility that foreign powers could use this memecoin as a conduit to buy influence with President Trump and his associates, without publicly revealing their identities,” the senators stated.
Under Trump, government agencies’ policies toward the cryptocurrency industry have changed dramatically. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dropped or suspended multiple investigations into crypto companies like Coinbase and Uniswap, while pushing to end banks’ refusal to serve crypto businesses nationwide.