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Trump has received at least $20 million in publicly reported political contributions from crypto benefactors, plus the over $100 million in Congressional spending, and the benefits to these companies in return have been substantial.
(Newly tracked at https://www.followthecrypto.org/quidproquo)
Edited 63d ago
But far from only doing favors for his crypto industry benefactors, Trump and his family are working fast to personally cash in as Trump now holds the power to shape industry policy and oversight. Here’s an overview of the Trumps’ crypto conflicts:
Trump receives 75% of protocol revenues and owns a 60% stake in the World Liberty Financial crypto business. This has already netted him almost a $400 million claim on token sale revenue, even though no platform has been launched yet.
The project has already faced accusations of insider trading, and is reportedly in talks to work with Binance as Binance is simultaneously petitioning the US Treasury department to remove the compliance monitor as a result of the company’s criminal conviction.
![Allegations of insider trading and quid pro quo deals [I76] have plagued the project, particularly amid reports of unusual token swaps with other cryptocurrency companies. For example, a World Liberty deal to acquire around $2 million of a Movement Labs token coincided with rumors of Movement’s talks with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency about integrating blockchain technology into government operations. (Both World Liberty and Movement Labs denied these allegations.)4 But an April 8 memo from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, citing Trump’s executive order on crypto, dismantled the Department of Justice’s cryptocurrency investigations team and directed the Market Integrity and Major Frauds Unit to “cease cryptocurrency enforcement”. This may well have eliminated any remaining chance of a federal investigation into allegations of malfeasance in a business venture controlled by the president and his family [I81].
As for the stablecoin, the timing is significant: World Liberty Financial announced plans to issue USD1 on March 25, and just ten days later the Securities and Exchange Commission published a statement declaring that "covered" stablecoins fall outside its authority, and that companies issuing stablecoins need not register.5 Meanwhile, a Trump-aligned Congress is working to pass new, friendly stablecoin legislation [I79] with substantial direction from the cryptocurrency industry, which spent over $130 million installing crypto-friendly legislators](/proxy/post_attachment/481369/19275a0c47.png "Allegations of insider trading and quid pro quo deals [I76] have plagued the project, particularly amid reports of unusual token swaps with other cryptocurrency companies. For example, a World Liberty deal to acquire around $2 million of a Movement Labs token coincided with rumors of Movement’s talks with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency about integrating blockchain technology into government operations. (Both World Liberty and Movement Labs denied these allegations.)4 But an April 8 memo from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, citing Trump’s executive order on crypto, dismantled the Department of Justice’s cryptocurrency investigations team and directed the Market Integrity and Major Frauds Unit to “cease cryptocurrency enforcement”. This may well have eliminated any remaining chance of a federal investigation into allegations of malfeasance in a business venture controlled by the president and his family [I81].
As for the stablecoin, the timing is significant: World Liberty Financial announced plans to issue USD1 on March 25, and just ten days later the Securities and Exchange Commission published a statement declaring that \"covered\" stablecoins fall outside its authority, and that companies issuing stablecoins need not register.5 Meanwhile, a Trump-aligned Congress is working to pass new, friendly stablecoin legislation [I79] with substantial direction from the cryptocurrency industry, which spent over $130 million installing crypto-friendly legislators")
![When Trump was inaugurated, he dropped the pretense and took majority control of the company with a 60% stake.2
The project hasn’t launched a trading platform, but the Trumps have discussed a decentralized finance platform for crypto financial services with promises of “democratiz[ing] finance”.2 Recently, World Liberty announced its own stablecoin, USD1 (despite Trump’s past warnings about similar cryptocurrencies, which he described as currencies that “would give a federal government — our federal government — absolute control over your money” [I80]).
And not having any actual platform to speak of has of course not limited World Liberty Financial from raking in money — it raised $550 million in its initial $WLFI token sale, putting Trump’s 75% cut at almost $400 million. $75 million came from Justin Sun, a crypto entrepreneur with a shady past [I71] who, as a foreign national, couldn’t contribute to Trump’s campaign. He was, at the time, facing a lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging fraud. Recent reporting also suggests he was under investigation by the Justice Department, at least as of late 2024.3 With his investment, he earned an advisory position with World Liberty Financial, and shortly after Trump was inaugurated, the SEC case against him and his company was stayed pending potential resolution [I78].](/proxy/post_attachment/481368/27fd24bda8.png "When Trump was inaugurated, he dropped the pretense and took majority control of the company with a 60% stake.2
The project hasn’t launched a trading platform, but the Trumps have discussed a decentralized finance platform for crypto financial services with promises of “democratiz[ing] finance”.2 Recently, World Liberty announced its own stablecoin, USD1 (despite Trump’s past warnings about similar cryptocurrencies, which he described as currencies that “would give a federal government — our federal government — absolute control over your money” [I80]).
And not having any actual platform to speak of has of course not limited World Liberty Financial from raking in money — it raised $550 million in its initial $WLFI token sale, putting Trump’s 75% cut at almost $400 million. $75 million came from Justin Sun, a crypto entrepreneur with a shady past [I71] who, as a foreign national, couldn’t contribute to Trump’s campaign. He was, at the time, facing a lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging fraud. Recent reporting also suggests he was under investigation by the Justice Department, at least as of late 2024.3 With his investment, he earned an advisory position with World Liberty Financial, and shortly after Trump was inaugurated, the SEC case against him and his company was stayed pending potential resolution [I78].")
Trump owns 53% of the Trump Media company, which has recently announced it’s getting into crypto. Three days after Trump Media announced a partnership with Crypto.com, Crypto.com got the news that the SEC was dropping its investigation into their company.
![Truth Social and Truth.Fi
Trump Media & Technology Group, behind Trump’s Truth Social platform, is also newly exploring the cryptocurrency world. Trump owns about 53% of the shares, estimated to be worth around $2 billion, in the publicly traded company, which recently submitted filings to allow the trust holding his shares (controlled by Donald Trump Jr.) to sell them [I81].
In January, the company announced it would enter the fintech space with a brand called Truth.Fi, focusing on “America First investment vehicles”.6 On March 24, TMTG announced a partnership with Singapore-based crypto exchange Crypto.com — a company under SEC investigation, that had in August 2024 received a Wells notice informing them of an impending enforcement action [I68]. On March 27, only three days after the partnership announcement, Crypto.com revealed that the SEC had dropped its investigation [I81].
Simultaneously with its announcement about entering fintech, TMTG announced it would allocate up to $250 million of its cash reserves into investment vehicles including bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.7 By investing in crypto, the company (and thus Trump) stands to profit from Trump’s own actions to pump crypto prices, including announcing a bitcoin strategic reserve to “elevate this critical industry”, and exploring avenues to use government money to buy bitcoin [I80].](/proxy/post_attachment/481370/55ff574d0c.png "Truth Social and Truth.Fi
Trump Media & Technology Group, behind Trump’s Truth Social platform, is also newly exploring the cryptocurrency world. Trump owns about 53% of the shares, estimated to be worth around $2 billion, in the publicly traded company, which recently submitted filings to allow the trust holding his shares (controlled by Donald Trump Jr.) to sell them [I81].
In January, the company announced it would enter the fintech space with a brand called Truth.Fi, focusing on “America First investment vehicles”.6 On March 24, TMTG announced a partnership with Singapore-based crypto exchange Crypto.com — a company under SEC investigation, that had in August 2024 received a Wells notice informing them of an impending enforcement action [I68]. On March 27, only three days after the partnership announcement, Crypto.com revealed that the SEC had dropped its investigation [I81].
Simultaneously with its announcement about entering fintech, TMTG announced it would allocate up to $250 million of its cash reserves into investment vehicles including bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.7 By investing in crypto, the company (and thus Trump) stands to profit from Trump’s own actions to pump crypto prices, including announcing a bitcoin strategic reserve to “elevate this critical industry”, and exploring avenues to use government money to buy bitcoin [I80].")
@molly0xfff It's all insider trading! Arrest them now! And throw away the key.
Trump is reportedly exploring launching a crypto game, which is a sector that has faced regulatory scrutiny. SEC lawsuits naming crypto gaming tokens as securities have been dropped, and Rs in Congress just voted to overturn a CFPB consumer protection rule for game assets.
![A crypto game
Fortune recently reported that Trump plans to release a blockchain-based real estate-themed game similar to Monopoly.8 Unlike many traditional games where players use in-game currencies that can’t be transferred outside of the game, crypto games often aim to use cryptocurrencies for game economies, attracting players with promises of earning real money simply by playing a video game. Blockchain games, sometimes dubbed “play-to-earn” games, have a troubled history, struggling to balance in-game economies where wealthier players can simply pay to win, poorer players can’t afford to play at all, and more and more new players must constantly join to sustain token prices.b Games like Axie Infinity, which surged in popularity in late 2021, spawned a form of digital sharecropping where wealthier individuals leased in-game assets to those in the Philippines and other lower-wage areas, who were promised they could earn more playing these video games than from other local jobs.9 Other moral issues arose from children playing games with gambling-like mechanics, where they were encouraged to spend (and often later lose) real money on new characters or items. Then, of course, there was the record-breaking $625 million Axie Infinity exploit by North Korean hackers in March 2022 [W3IGG], which caused players’ tokens to plummet in value and never recover.
Before the second Trump administration, play-to-earn games faced new regulatory scrutiny. In its lawsuits against Coinbase](/proxy/post_attachment/481371/d8bb0bff27.png "A crypto game
Fortune recently reported that Trump plans to release a blockchain-based real estate-themed game similar to Monopoly.8 Unlike many traditional games where players use in-game currencies that can’t be transferred outside of the game, crypto games often aim to use cryptocurrencies for game economies, attracting players with promises of earning real money simply by playing a video game. Blockchain games, sometimes dubbed “play-to-earn” games, have a troubled history, struggling to balance in-game economies where wealthier players can simply pay to win, poorer players can’t afford to play at all, and more and more new players must constantly join to sustain token prices.b Games like Axie Infinity, which surged in popularity in late 2021, spawned a form of digital sharecropping where wealthier individuals leased in-game assets to those in the Philippines and other lower-wage areas, who were promised they could earn more playing these video games than from other local jobs.9 Other moral issues arose from children playing games with gambling-like mechanics, where they were encouraged to spend (and often later lose) real money on new characters or items. Then, of course, there was the record-breaking $625 million Axie Infinity exploit by North Korean hackers in March 2022 [W3IGG], which caused players’ tokens to plummet in value and never recover.
Before the second Trump administration, play-to-earn games faced new regulatory scrutiny. In its lawsuits against Coinbase")
![Since his inauguration, Trump has been hard at work bulldozing regulatory or legal barriers for crypto companies that could require registration with financial regulators, more burdensome oversight, customer support programs and recourse for players whose in-game and/or crypto assets are stolen, and limits on gambling mechanisms in games — all things that would cut into crypto gaming companies’ profits. The Securities and Exchange Commission has practically broken the sound barrier in its race to drop investigations and enforcement actions (including the lawsuits involving Binance and Coinbase naming the gaming tokens as securities). They’ve also declared most cryptocurrency assets exempt from its authority, and invited crypto executives and lobbyists to write their own rules. The Trump administration has been working to shut down the CFPB entirely, with vocal support from crypto industry executives [Debanking]. Meanwhile, Congress is chipping away CFPB regulations where both the House and Senate recently voted to overturn the CFPB’s rule on crypto games, which also would have applied broader protections for crypto holders outside of the gaming sector. These votes fell along party lines, with all Democrats and Independents opposing the removal of the rule and all Republicans except for one token Senator supporting its nullification.1213 All that remains is for Trump to sign the bill eliminating the rule, in a move that will personally profit him.](/proxy/post_attachment/481372/a0d775b34b.png "Since his inauguration, Trump has been hard at work bulldozing regulatory or legal barriers for crypto companies that could require registration with financial regulators, more burdensome oversight, customer support programs and recourse for players whose in-game and/or crypto assets are stolen, and limits on gambling mechanisms in games — all things that would cut into crypto gaming companies’ profits. The Securities and Exchange Commission has practically broken the sound barrier in its race to drop investigations and enforcement actions (including the lawsuits involving Binance and Coinbase naming the gaming tokens as securities). They’ve also declared most cryptocurrency assets exempt from its authority, and invited crypto executives and lobbyists to write their own rules. The Trump administration has been working to shut down the CFPB entirely, with vocal support from crypto industry executives [Debanking]. Meanwhile, Congress is chipping away CFPB regulations where both the House and Senate recently voted to overturn the CFPB’s rule on crypto games, which also would have applied broader protections for crypto holders outside of the gaming sector. These votes fell along party lines, with all Democrats and Independents opposing the removal of the rule and all Republicans except for one token Senator supporting its nullification.1213 All that remains is for Trump to sign the bill eliminating the rule, in a move that will personally profit him.")
Two of Trump’s sons are involved in a new bitcoin mining venture called American Bitcoin in which an existing bitcoin mining firm, Hut8, essentially donated 20% of their company to the Trumps in exchange for getting in on their profitable self-dealing.
![Bitcoin mining
In late March, Trump’s sons Eric and Donald Jr. announced their investment in a bitcoin mining company called American Bitcoin [I81], where Eric Trump also took the Chief Strategy Officer role. The company was created through a deal with existing American bitcoin mining firm Hut8, which contributed “substantially all” of its bitcoin mining machines. This deal raised eyebrows among observers including VanEck analyst Matthew Sigel, who commented, “I don’t fully understand the rationale of selling 61,000 miners in exchange for an 80% stake in a subsidiary that they previously owned 100% of.”14 It seems to me that Hut8 determined a 20% donation to the Trump family was worth the benefits of getting looped into the Trump crypto empire.
Eric Trump announced plans for the company to go public and hinted at a future partnership with World Liberty Financial. They also intend to stockpile some of the bitcoin they mine, again adding potential upside if Trump successfully boosts bitcoin prices.15](/proxy/post_attachment/481374/b60cd33098.png "Bitcoin mining
In late March, Trump’s sons Eric and Donald Jr. announced their investment in a bitcoin mining company called American Bitcoin [I81], where Eric Trump also took the Chief Strategy Officer role. The company was created through a deal with existing American bitcoin mining firm Hut8, which contributed “substantially all” of its bitcoin mining machines. This deal raised eyebrows among observers including VanEck analyst Matthew Sigel, who commented, “I don’t fully understand the rationale of selling 61,000 miners in exchange for an 80% stake in a subsidiary that they previously owned 100% of.”14 It seems to me that Hut8 determined a 20% donation to the Trump family was worth the benefits of getting looped into the Trump crypto empire.
Eric Trump announced plans for the company to go public and hinted at a future partnership with World Liberty Financial. They also intend to stockpile some of the bitcoin they mine, again adding potential upside if Trump successfully boosts bitcoin prices.15")
The Trumps have cashed out around $390 million from their memecoins. A month after their launch, the SEC stated that memecoins do not fall under SEC authority.
![Memecoins
Days before Trump’s inauguration, he dropped the $TRUMP memecoin, horrifying even some of his most devoted crypto industry supporters who described the cash-grab as “absolutely preposterous … plumbing new depths of idiocy” [I75]. Shortly after, the Trump family launched a $MELANIA memecoin, seemingly seeking a second windfall. While memecoin valuations are challenging to calculate accurately, the Financial Times estimated in early March that he and his team had profited at least $350 million from the stunt.16 On April 15, the Trump-controlled wallet appeared to cash out an additional $4.6 million.17
The $MELANIA token team also appeared to cash out around $4.5 million in late March and early April.17 On April 7, Bubblemaps reported insiders had moved more tokens, notionally worth around $30 million, from project’s designated “community” wallets and began selling them.18 This followed reports that the $MELANIA token team is the same group involved in malfeasance around $LIBRA, a token affiliated with Argentina’s president Milei, and a widespread insider trading scandal involving Solana-based memecoins [I77].](/proxy/post_attachment/481375/dae3c2bef4.png "Memecoins
Days before Trump’s inauguration, he dropped the $TRUMP memecoin, horrifying even some of his most devoted crypto industry supporters who described the cash-grab as “absolutely preposterous … plumbing new depths of idiocy” [I75]. Shortly after, the Trump family launched a $MELANIA memecoin, seemingly seeking a second windfall. While memecoin valuations are challenging to calculate accurately, the Financial Times estimated in early March that he and his team had profited at least $350 million from the stunt.16 On April 15, the Trump-controlled wallet appeared to cash out an additional $4.6 million.17
The $MELANIA token team also appeared to cash out around $4.5 million in late March and early April.17 On April 7, Bubblemaps reported insiders had moved more tokens, notionally worth around $30 million, from project’s designated “community” wallets and began selling them.18 This followed reports that the $MELANIA token team is the same group involved in malfeasance around $LIBRA, a token affiliated with Argentina’s president Milei, and a widespread insider trading scandal involving Solana-based memecoins [I77].")
@molly0xfff More corruption and pump and dump of the stock market in massive manipulations for shit ass money schemes. Arrest them all!
There’s of course also the NFTs, the bitcoin branded sneakers, and the Trumps’ personal crypto holdings, which are not well known.
And there’s also the substantial risk of insider trading in crypto, mirroring similar concerns we’ve seen raised recently about insider trading in traditional assets surrounding Trump’s tariff announcements.
![Crypto holdings
While the specifics of the Trump family’s crypto holdings remain largely unknown, financial disclosures and blockchain records shed some light. In August 2024, Trump reported holding $1 million to $5 million in ETH,21 which matched with a publicly disclosed Ethereum wallet then holding around $2.28 million worth of the token. Trump later sold sizable portions of those tokens beginning in December 2024.22
The personal crypto holdings of Trump family members who stand to benefit from market movements under Trump have not been publicly disclosed. Some seem keen to experiment with moving markets themselves, with Eric Trump tweeting “In my opinion, it’s a great time to add $ETH. You can thank me later” in February, right around the time World Liberty Financial was moving a substantial amount of ETH to Coinbase [I76].](/proxy/post_attachment/481377/26e5470141.png "Crypto holdings
While the specifics of the Trump family’s crypto holdings remain largely unknown, financial disclosures and blockchain records shed some light. In August 2024, Trump reported holding $1 million to $5 million in ETH,21 which matched with a publicly disclosed Ethereum wallet then holding around $2.28 million worth of the token. Trump later sold sizable portions of those tokens beginning in December 2024.22
The personal crypto holdings of Trump family members who stand to benefit from market movements under Trump have not been publicly disclosed. Some seem keen to experiment with moving markets themselves, with Eric Trump tweeting “In my opinion, it’s a great time to add $ETH. You can thank me later” in February, right around the time World Liberty Financial was moving a substantial amount of ETH to Coinbase [I76].")
While there have been some attempts by Democratic Senators to sound the alarm with various agencies, these agencies are largely under Trump’s control. If there’s been any action on their letters, it hasn’t publicly materialized.
This is a dangerous convergence of the president’s financial interests and his power to shape policy, and it poses serious risks to all of us.
For those who prefer it, don’t forget there’s an audio version of these newsletters! There’s an embedded player in the article, or find it in the Citation Needed audio feed wherever you get your podcasts. 100% real human voice, no text-to-speech. https://pod.link/1719025552
@molly0xfff Is anyone doing a comprehensive corruption tracker? Haven't they already hauled in several billion dollars? Would be great if there were an eye candy infographic going all the way back to their inheritance.
