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US President Donald Trump recorded around $1.2 billion in income from his family's cryptocurrency activities during his first year back in office. The massive earnings come from his ties to the startup World Liberty Financial and the $TRUMP cryptocurrency.
The president's crypto activities are the main reason for the near tripling of his personal fortune, which rose from $2.3 billion to $6.5 billion between 2024 and 2026, according to Forbes. World Liberty Financial, co-founded in September 2024 by Trump's sons and Steve Witkoff, the son of Trump's Middle East special envoy, issued its own cryptocurrency, WLFI, whose initial sale brought in $550 million. Since becoming tradable in September 2025, its value has plummeted from 46 cents per unit to its current price of 6 cents. Trump and his three sons also obtained, via an intermediary company, DT Marks Defi, an additional 22.5 billion WLFI, currently worth around $1.3 billion. But the earnings don't stop there.
According to the 927-page document released by the US Office of Government Ethics on Tuesday, Trump received nearly $550 million from his ties to World Liberty Financial in 2025. The filings also mention $635 million in royalties received under a licensing agreement related to the $TRUMP cryptocurrency, launched just hours before the president's inauguration in January 2025. But the president's assets are held in a trust managed by his son, Donald Trump Jr. And, by its bylaws, the entity can be dissolved at any time.
The trust bylaws stipulate that the entity can be dissolved at any time, which means the billionaire could regain control of it as soon as his second term ends in 2029. Vice President JD Vance also saw significant earnings since becoming Trump's deputy. He reported royalties of between $1 million and $5 million from his 2016 memoir 'Hillbilly Elegy.' The White House has dismissed any ethical concerns, stating that the president and his family have never engaged in conflicts of interest.
'Neither the President nor his family has ever engaged — or will ever engage — in conflicts of interest,' Principal Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement. Kelly added that Trump had 'proudly made the United States the crypto capital of the world.' But the massive earnings have raised eyebrows, with some questioning the timing of the president's cryptocurrency activities.
The president has invested in several publicly listed companies active in cryptocurrencies, including the Coinbase exchange platform. He has also earned millions of dollars from shares in various other companies and from Trump-branded goods, including clothing, bumper stickers, and more than $208,000 from bibles sold in partnership with country singer Lee Greenwood. The former real estate developer is regularly accused of conflicts of interest, particularly for having invested in the cryptocurrency industry while as president taking several measures to deregulate the sector, causing asset prices to soar.
The president's cryptocurrency activities have sparked controversy, with some accusing him of using his position to further his family's financial interests. But the White House has maintained that the president's actions are in the best interest of the American people. And the president's net worth has surged, rising from $2.3 billion to $6.5 billion between 2024 and 2026, according to Forbes. But the future of the president's cryptocurrency ventures remains uncertain.