Donald Trump earned more than $1.4bn from cryptocurrency ventures in his first year back in the White House – a sum that dwarfs his income from real estate and branded merchandise, and has triggered accusations of “brazen crypto corruption” from senior Democrats.
The president’s total income last year was at least $2.2bn, according to a 927-page financial disclosure released on Tuesday by the US Office of Government Ethics. The document, required of all federal officials, showed that Trump received $635m in royalties from an entity called Celebration Coins, believed to be behind the $TRUMP meme coin that has plunged in value since its launch days before his inauguration. He also reported more than $500m from World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm founded by his own sons and the children of his special envoy, Steve Witkoff.
“Donald Trump earned over $1.4bn from cryptocurrency ventures in his first year back in office, sparking accusations of corruption.”
The White House denied any conflict of interest. “Neither the President nor his family has ever engaged – or will ever engage – in conflicts of interest,” said deputy press secretary Anna Kelly in a statement. She added that Trump had proudly made the US “the crypto capital of the world”.
But Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate banking committee, said the figures showed why Congress needed to act. “The crypto legislation heading to the Senate floor must prevent the president, vice-president, senior administration officials, members of Congress, and their families from profiting off the crypto industry,” Warren said. “If it does not, it will only turbocharge Donald Trump’s brazen crypto corruption.”
Illinois lieutenant governor Juliana Stratton called Trump’s “infinite greed is disgusting”, adding that he “uses the office of the president to make billions while American families struggle to afford their basic needs”. California governor Gavin Newsom said Trump “got richer” while his “crypto supporters got rug-pulled”. Minnesota governor Tim Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice-presidential nominee, labelled Trump “the most corrupt president in American history”.
Trump himself waved off the scrutiny on Wednesday. “I made a lot of money before I became president,” he told reporters, adding that he was profiting because “the stock market’s going up, everybody’s profiting”. He said he did not get involved with his personal finances, with funds that run his money.
The president’s embrace of cryptocurrency marks a dramatic reversal. In 2021 he called Bitcoin a “scam” and a “disaster waiting to happen”. But during his 2024 campaign, he vowed to make the US “the crypto capital of the planet”, and one of his first acts after returning to the White House was an executive order to “support the responsible growth” of the industry. Richard Painter, the former chief White House ethics lawyer under George W Bush, told the BBC the disclosures raised serious questions about the intersection of Trump’s business interests and his policy agenda.