Corruption tracker · 21 entries
Tokens, a stablecoin, and a crypto firm launched as he took office, regulated by his own appointees.
Four estimates of the family's crypto money and related gains, each measuring something different. His own filing is the floor; the outside estimates include his relatives and other ventures. They overlap and are not added together.
21 entries, most significant first.
$1.4B+ crypto income reported for 2025
Trump's financial disclosure for 2025 reports crypto as his largest source of income: about $635M in memecoin royalties, more than $520M from World Liberty token sales, and more than $250M from selling stakes in the World Liberty business.
Their response: White House: “Neither the President nor his family has ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest.”
$500M purchase price
The Wall Street Journal reported that a vehicle backed by Sheikh Tahnoon, the UAE's national security adviser, agreed to buy 49% of World Liberty Financial four days before Trump took office, in a deal signed by Eric Trump that was not disclosed at the time. $187M went to Trump-family entities and at least $31M to entities of envoy Steve Witkoff's family.
Their response: World Liberty: “Neither President Trump nor Steve Witkoff had any involvement whatsoever in this transaction.” Trump: “My sons are handling that.”
$350M in sales and fees in three weeks (FT analysis)
Trump-affiliated companies hold 80% of the coin's supply. A Financial Times analysis found Trump-linked entities and partners took in about $350M from sales and trading fees within three weeks.
Their response: White House: it is “absurd” to suggest Trump is profiting off the presidency.
Sources: Financial Times (via Techmeme)
$148M spent on the token by attendees
Trump hosted the coin's biggest holders at his Virginia golf club. Attendees had spent a combined $148M on the token; the top holder was crypto billionaire Justin Sun, and analyses cited by House Democrats found most attendees were likely foreign nationals. A second event followed at Mar-a-Lago in April 2026, and a contest for a third, a dinner on Nov. 22, 2026, opened on Sept. 30, 2026; both are in a separate entry on this page.
Their response: Press secretary Karoline Leavitt: it is “absurd for anyone to insinuate that this president is profiting off of the presidency.”
Sources: CNBC · CREW (April 2026 event) · CNN (November 2026 dinner)
$2B settled in the family's stablecoin
MGX, an Abu Dhabi state-linked investor, paid for its stake in the crypto exchange Binance using USD1, the stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial, which earns interest on the reserves behind it.
Their response: MGX cited the stablecoin's compliance record.
At least $75M in token purchases, $45M of it initially (reported)
Justin Sun put an initial $45M into World Liberty tokens and at least $75M in all, by The Block's count. In February 2025 the SEC asked a court to pause its fraud case against him; in March 2026 it proposed dismissing the claims against him, with his company paying a $10M penalty. (Sun and World Liberty later sued each other over frozen tokens.)
Their response: The SEC says politics had “nothing to do” with its crypto decisions. The purchases and the case's outcome are documented; a connection between them is alleged, not proven.
Sources: The Block · CBS News · BBC News (April 22, 2026)
60%+ of inherited crypto cases eased
The SEC dismissed its cases against Coinbase and Binance in 2025. A New York Times analysis found it eased up on more than 60% of the crypto cases it inherited; of seven dismissed outright, five involved firms with known ties to Trump.
Their response: SEC: the shift was for legal and policy reasons, and favoritism had “nothing to do” with it.
Sources: CNBC · NYT analysis (via Cointelegraph)
$4B+ of USD1 in circulation (August 2026; peak above $5B)
The GENIUS Act created the first federal rules for stablecoins while World Liberty's USD1 was in circulation: $2.2B at signing, a peak above $5B in early 2026, and about $4.1B in late August 2026, by DefiLlama's data. In August 2026 his bank regulator gave World Liberty preliminary approval for a national trust bank; the Journal reported a Tahnoon-linked vehicle owns 49% of its holding company and a Trump-family entity 38%.
Their response: White House: “no conflicts of interest.”
Sources: Axios · CNBC · DefiLlama stablecoin data for USD1 (checked Oct. 14, 2026)
~$660M estimated family proceeds (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg reported World Liberty privately sold 5.9 billion tokens after its public sales, bringing the family's estimated take from token sales to about $1.55B. The company confirmed such “white glove” sales without giving details.
Their response: World Liberty described the sales as “white glove” transactions.
Sources: Bloomberg
$500M to $562M to the family (CNBC; New Yorker)
In August 2025 Nasdaq-listed ALT5 Sigma acquired about $1.5B of World Liberty tokens in two parts: $750M in exchange for its own shares and warrants, and $750M bought with cash it raised by selling stock to investors. The Trump family is entitled to 75% of World Liberty's token-sale proceeds; CNBC put its take from the deal at roughly $500M after fees and expenses, and the New Yorker, taking 75% of the $750M cash sale, at about $562M. ALT5's shares later fell more than 90%, and the company is now called AI Financial Corp. Its later troubles are in a separate entry on this page.
Their response: The White House said there are no conflicts of interest involving the president or his family in these transactions. A Trump Organization spokeswoman: “Neither Eric nor Don have any involvement in ALT5, nor have any visibility to the company.”
Sources: CNBC · Fortune · The New Yorker (Jan. 31, 2026)
$2.5B raised
The president's social-media company sold stock and notes to about 50 institutions to build a bitcoin reserve, two months after he ordered the government to create one. Forbes valued his stake in the company at about $1B in September 2026.
Their response: White House: “no conflicts of interest.”
Sources: SEC filing · White House fact sheet on the bitcoin reserve
~$500M in retail losses (Forbes estimate)
American Bitcoin, co-founded by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., listed on Nasdaq at a $5B+ value. Forbes reported in April 2026 that the shares had fallen 92% from their peak, with retail investors losing an estimated $500M.
Their response: Eric Trump called the Forbes report “Chinese propaganda.”
Case dismissed Sept. 2026
The first lady announced her own memecoin the day before the inauguration. In October 2025, investors suing over other memecoins asked a federal court to add claims that the token was part of a pump-and-dump by its promoters; the proposed complaint did not accuse her of knowing about it. On Sept. 29, 2026 Judge Jennifer Rochon dismissed the case with prejudice and refused to allow the amendment, so the $MELANIA claims were never admitted or tested in court.
Their response: No response from the first lady's office was found.
Sources: Forbes · CourtListener docket, Hurlock v. Kelsier Ventures, S.D.N.Y. (terminated Sept. 30, 2026) · Solana Compass (Oct. 1, 2026)
On August 14, 2026 the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, led by a Trump appointee, gave conditional approval to World Liberty Financial Trust Company, which will be able to issue the family’s USD1 stablecoin directly; an entity affiliated with Trump and his family owns about 38%. The Guardian reported in February 2026, citing the Wall Street Journal, that a company backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, the UAE’s national security adviser, had agreed in January 2025 to buy 49% of World Liberty Financial for $500 million. Bank-regulation experts told the Guardian no president had before held an interest in a bank his own administration approved. The OCC said career staff made the decision.
Their response: The OCC letter: “Approvals of applications such as this are made under authority delegated by the comptroller to career staff.” A World Liberty spokesperson: “Critics are missing the point: World Liberty Financial is running towards regulation and continuous oversight, not away from it.” A White House official said earlier that emoluments claims over the UAE stake were “bogus and irrelevant.”
Sources: The Guardian (Aug. 20, 2026) · The Guardian (Feb. 2, 2026)
$5M in tokens locked per investor; 75% of new sales go to the family (Reuters)
Reuters reported on March 13, 2026 that World Liberty Financial token holders approved a plan, published by the company on Feb. 25, creating “Super Nodes”: investors who stake 50 million WLFI tokens (about $5 million) for six months get what the proposal called “guaranteed direct access to the WLFI team” for partnership talks. Under the company’s terms 75% of new token sales go to the Trump family, so a $5 million purchase effectively sends them $3.75 million, Reuters calculated. After Reuters asked about it, the company removed a “Meet our team” web section that had listed Eric, Donald Jr. and Barron Trump. The firm was at the time seeking a federal bank charter.
Their response: White House Counsel David Warrington: “The President has no involvement in business deals that would implicate his constitutional responsibilities.” World Liberty spokesman David Wachsman said the access is to “business development team and executives - not to specific founders”, and that “Being a Super Node doesn’t guarantee a partnership.”
Sources: Reuters (March 13, 2026)
$136M projected added family income over three years (New Yorker)
The New Yorker reported that USD1, World Liberty’s stablecoin, sat at about $2 billion in circulation for months, most of it held on Binance after the Abu Dhabi deal. Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao in October 2025. On Dec. 11 Binance cut fees for trades in USD1 and on Dec. 23 began paying users a one-month bonus of about 1.7% on up to $50,000 of USD1; circulation passed $3 billion on Dec. 25 and reached about $5 billion by late January 2026. It has since slipped back to about $4.2 billion as of mid-October 2026, by DefiLlama’s data. World Liberty earns interest on the reserves and a Trump-affiliated company is entitled to about 38% of it, which the magazine valued at about $136 million over three years on the added $3 billion. The timing is documented; that the incentives repaid the pardon is a critic’s inference that both companies deny.
Their response: Binance said the services it gave World Liberty “are available to other projects on equal terms”. World Liberty said USD1’s growth “reflects genuine market adoption” and that Binance cannot “exert control or influence over World Liberty Financial”. Crypto critic Molly White called it “a very blatant quid pro quo”.
Sources: The New Yorker (Jan. 31, 2026) · OGE Form 278e, Donald J. Trump, annual report for 2025 (received June 29, 2026) · DefiLlama stablecoin data for USD1 (checked Oct. 14, 2026)
Top 297 holders invited; the coin is down 97%
The company behind the $TRUMP memecoin has again tied access to the president to holdings of the coin. On April 25, 2026 the top 297 holders attended a gala at Mar-a-Lago and the top 29 a VIP reception with Trump, Forbes reported; a watchdog found holders could earn ranking points by buying Trump watches, fragrances and sneakers. On Sept. 30 the company opened a new contest: the top 185 holders get a Nov. 22 dinner at Trump National Golf Club near Washington with Trump as featured speaker, the top 29 a VIP reception and the top four a gold Trump watch. The coin traded at $2.06, down 97% from its high, and nearly a million buyers had reportedly lost $3.81 billion through June, while his own filing shows $635 million in memecoin royalties for 2025.
Their response: Press secretary Karoline Leavitt, after the first such dinner in 2025, said Trump is “abiding by all conflict-of-interest laws that are applicable to the president”. Ethics lawyer Richard Painter called the April event “a dangerous conflict of interest”.
Sources: Forbes (Oct. 1, 2026) · The Guardian (April 23, 2026) · CREW (April 22, 2026) · CNBC (June 30, 2026) · OGE Form 278e, Donald J. Trump, annual report for 2025 (received June 29, 2026)
$45M initial token purchase by the plaintiff (BBC); at least $75M in all (The Block)
Justin Sun, the crypto billionaire who put an initial $45 million into World Liberty Financial tokens after the 2024 election (at least $75 million in all, by The Block’s count) and later bought $100 million of the $TRUMP memecoin, sued the company in San Francisco federal court on April 21, 2026. He alleges it froze all his tokens, stripped his voting rights and threatened to destroy his holdings in an “illegal scheme”. World Liberty says its terms disclosed the power to freeze tokens, accuses Sun of misconduct and on May 4 sued him for defamation in Florida. The token had fallen about 72% since it began trading in September 2025. Both suits were still pending in mid-June 2026 reports.
Their response: Zach Witkoff, World Liberty’s chief executive: “His claims are entirely meritless, and World Liberty looks forward to getting the case thrown out promptly.” Eric Trump: “The only thing more ridiculous than this lawsuit is spending $6m on a banana duct-taped to a wall.” Sun called the countersuit “a meritless PR stunt”.
Sources: BBC News (April 22, 2026) · The Guardian (May 4, 2026) · The Guardian (April 15, 2026) · The Block (March 5, 2026)
$500M to $562M to the family from the $750M cash sale (CNBC; New Yorker)
Alt5 Sigma, the Nasdaq-listed firm that in August 2025 sold about $750 million of stock to buy World Liberty tokens, took another $750 million of tokens in exchange for its own shares and warrants (about $1.5 billion in all) and took on Zach Witkoff as chairman, ran into trouble within months, the New Yorker reported: it missed the deadline for its third-quarter report, removed its chief executive in October, ended the employment of its finance chief in November, and changed auditors twice. A Rwandan court had found a subsidiary criminally liable for money laundering in May 2025, before the deal, and stock-market regulators required Eric Trump to be replaced as a director. Its shares fell from more than $8 to about $2. By the magazine’s arithmetic the family’s 75% cut of the $750 million cash sale was about $562 million; CNBC, allowing for fees and expenses, put it at roughly $500 million. The deal itself is a separate entry on this page, and the company is now called AI Financial Corp.
Their response: Alt5 Sigma said it remains “excited about our future and our ongoing partnership with World Liberty Financial”. World Liberty’s spokesman said Alt5’s original board decided independently to buy the token before Witkoff became chairman.
Sources: The New Yorker (Jan. 31, 2026) · CNBC (June 9, 2026)
$250,000 bonus pool paid in the family’s stablecoin
Two days before the June 14, 2026 mixed martial arts card on the South Lawn, held on the president’s birthday, the UFC announced that World Liberty Financial would be “Presenting Partner” of a new $250,000 bonus pool and that the bonuses would be paid in USD1, the dollar-pegged token the family firm issues. World Liberty had been named an official sponsor of the event days earlier. The sum is small; the significance is that a product the president’s family profits from was promoted at an event staged on government property, while the firm had a bank charter application pending with a federal regulator.
Their response: White House spokesman Davis Ingle said there was no conflict of interest because Trump’s assets are in a trust managed by his children: “The Fake News’ continued attempts to fabricate conflicts of interest are irresponsible and reinforce the public’s distrust in what they read.”
Sources: The Guardian (June 14, 2026)
No dollar figure; industry-wide guidance
On March 17, 2026 the SEC and CFTC jointly published a “token taxonomy” that classifies most crypto assets as commodities, collectibles, payment tokens or “digital tools” rather than securities; only tokenized stocks and bonds stay under securities rules. Lawyers told the Guardian that memecoins such as $TRUMP become “digital collectibles” overseen by neither agency, and that the USD1 stablecoin and the WLFI governance token are also confirmed as non-securities. SEC chair Paul Atkins, a Trump appointee, called it a bridge until Congress passes a market-structure law. The guidance applies to the whole industry; the benefit to Trump’s ventures is the experts’ reading, not a finding.
Their response: World Liberty Financial: “Compliance has always been the top priority for World Liberty Financial and, like every leading company in the industry, we will continue to follow the rules set forth by regulators and lawmakers.” It said it did not correspond with the agencies about the rules beforehand.
Sources: The Guardian (March 22, 2026)