President Donald Trump once dismissed cryptocurrency as a “scam,” but during his second term, the president’s attitude towards the currency has changed dramatically.
The change goes beyond rhetoric, too, with the president now personally profiting from a technology he once believed had no place in the U.S. economy.
Since leaving office and returning to the White House, the president looks to have made at least hundreds of millions of dollars through a variety of projects ranging from memecoins and NFTs to the launch of an independent crypto firm.
$TRUMP Memecoin
In January 2025, President Trump launched his own memecoin, a kind of cryptocurrency developed not to serve a specific or particularly useful purpose, but to generate revenue and interest in the personality, or personalities, behind the project.
The coin was launched through his company CIC Digital LLC, which retained 80% of the coin’s supply upon launch. The value of the coin skyrocketed very quickly following online promotions and the promise of exclusive events, including a dinner with top coin holders.
Entities linked to the president have reportedly earned at least $320 million from token sales and related transaction fees.
The president has publicly acknowledged the coins on many occasions and used his large social media following to promote the coin, and has even held events with top investors. However, the president’s understanding of the currency could be limited.
Does Trump Get Crypto?
During a May 4, 2025, interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, Trump was asked whether he had directly profited from the coin. The president initially said that he was “not profiting from anything,” which surprised viewers given the coin’s meteoric rise upon launch. Moments later, however, the president walked back the claim and said that he hadn’t checked to see if he had made any money.
Following the successful launch of the coin, Team Trump quickly followed up with a $MELANIA memecoin, and while any direct profits to the Trump family derived from this project are not disclosed, one group of traders reportedly made almost $100 million through early access and trading of the coin.
World Liberty Financial
The president’s investment in cryptocurrency goes beyond memcoins. President Trump and his family own a 60% stake in World Liberty Financial (WLF), a crypto firm that launched the stablecoin USD 1. WLF secured significant deals, including a $2 billion investment from Abu Dhabi’s MGX fund into Binance, which utilized USD 1.
In April, 2025, a Reuters report revealed how WLF had raised more than $500 million in just a few months, and that the Trump family controlled the bulk of the business and was entitled to around $400 million in fees and 75% of revenues from token sales.
It’s hard to say how much the president has made from cryptocurrency since his decision to embrace the technology and industry, but it’s clear that his family and business have profited substantially.
It’s hard to know if Trump is now embracing cryptocurrency politically, and proposing that it form an important part of the U.S. economy into the future, based on a genuine belief in its utility or on his recent profits.
Nonetheless, crypto enthusiasts would argue that, even if his decisions are based on the latter, it will ultimately prove beneficial for the United States as global economies adopt the technology.
About the Author:
Georgia Gilholy is a journalist based in the United Kingdom who has been published in Newsweek, The Times of Israel, and the Spectator. Gilholy writes about international politics, culture, and education.
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