Trump's crypto deals: And it made money

Whether what is currently happening in the USA under Donald Trump's leadership constitutes corruption is something that independent courts may later decide. But no court is necessary for the following statement: Trump's family is clearly benefiting financially from his office. And in many cases, this is not done particularly subtly. For example, Trump is currently planning to accept a €400 million luxury jet from Qatar, which will serve as the new Air Force One and will be transferred to the Trump Library Foundation after his term in office. When asked by reporters whether this could be seen as unethical, Trump simply replied, "Someone give me a plane, of course I'll accept it, I'm not stupid."

The Trump family's crypto business is more complicated, but presumably also lucrative. It was recently announced that a previously relatively unknown company wants to acquire Trumpcoins for up to $300 million. Trumpcoin is a publicly tradable cryptocurrency managed by the Trump clan, which Trump promoted shortly before his inauguration. The value of the shares subsequently skyrocketed, briefly reaching a combined value of $14 billion. Since then, it has plummeted to around $2.5 billion, which is still a lot of money for a fun currency created out of thin air.

The Trump clan still holds 80 percent of the shares through the company that manages the currency and can sell them whenever it wants. This makes sense whenever the price is high. This is ethically, morally, and legally problematic because foreign governments could now buy Trumpcoins on a large scale. No money flows directly to Trump or his family. However, with these purchases, investors would support the currency's price, while the family could sell shares.

This is exactly what could happen now through the aforementioned company, GD Culture Group. Although it is based in Nevada, it reportedly conducts its business primarily through a subsidiary in Shanghai. Business – according to the New York Times, it is involved in e-commerce and TikTok – appears to be doing rather poorly. The total value of all the company's shares is only around €30 million; according to a stock exchange announcement, it hardly generates any revenue and has no cash on hand. Nevertheless, an unknown investor is said to have purchased shares for $300 million so that the company can invest this money in Trumpcoins. $300 million for shares in a company worth $30 million: Once again, money seems to have been created out of thin air. Or to put it in the words of a German fairy tale: Here, a group of people has found a way to spin gold from straw.

There are many interesting aspects of the deal, including the fact that the creators of Trump's currency always insist, apparently for regulatory reasons, that Trumpcoin is not an investment . At the same time, there are now (at least on paper) US companies that want to invest all their uncommitted capital in the currency as a strategic investment. At least one of the two sides is clearly wrong.

The timing of the large donation is also interesting. A competition that also had the potential to keep the currency's price up just ended. Trump announced a few weeks ago that he would invite the 25 top investors in his currency to the White House. Another 200 or so top investors will be invited to a dinner, which Trump is expected to attend. The deadline for this expired on Monday. During the competition, buyers worldwide spent $140 million acquiring Trumpcoins, as reported by CBS. Many of the purchases were reportedly processed through platforms that do not accept US customers. This means that this could become a gateway for foreign influence. Meanwhile, the price rose by around 40 percent.

Trumpcoin is perhaps the most bizarre case in the Trumpian crypto world. Melania also has her own coin. However, Trump's sons Eric and Donald Jr. are likely to bring home the most money. They sit on the management board of the crypto platform World Liberty Financial (WLF) – together with Zach Wittkoff, the son of top Russia negotiator Steve Witkoff. The Trump Organization – something like the commercial arm of the Trump family – holds 60 percent of WLF, and three-quarters of the profits go to the Trumps. And no matter how well Trumpcoin performs, WLF has the greatest potential to make the Trumps even richer.

WLF launched a so-called stablecoin in March: USD1. These currencies are intended to act as a lubricant between the banking and crypto worlds and are very lucrative for those who issue them. They not only profit from purchase fees, but also invest the money directly in government bonds and other safe investments. The accrued interest or capital gains also remain with the stablecoin issuers from the Trump clan. Money out of thin air—there seems to be some kind of pattern here.

Things are off to a promising start for USD1. The Trump brothers just announced that an Emirati investment firm intends to use the Trump stablecoins for a two-billion-dollar investment in the crypto platform Binance. And unlike the Trump or Melania coin, the stablecoin business promises growth. The two billion from Abu Dhabi is actually peanuts; the total stablecoin market was worth more than $220 billion in March 2025. Market leaders Tether and Circle currently control around 90 percent of this, and Tether earned more than $7 billion in interest income alone in 2024. It wouldn't be surprising if the market share shifted slightly toward USD1 by the end of the Trump presidency. The Trumpian crypto world is fascinating.