Trump family’s $7bn crypto empire cracks as self-dealing and corruption allegations mount

When US President Donald Trump entered office in January, his political opponents were quick to allege his crypto dealings raised conflict of interest concerns.

Now, those accusations are mounting.

On Tuesday, House Democrats published a new report that they say presents extensive evidence of presidential self-dealing, foreign influence, and obstruction of justice stemming from his crypto conduct.

“Donald Trump has turned the Oval Office into the world’s most corrupt crypto startup operation, minting staggering personal fortunes for him and his family in less than a year,” Jamie Raskin, a Democratic Representative for Maryland, said in the report.

At the same time, the value of the Trump family’s enterprises, many of which are implicated in the alleged crypto corruption, are plummeting.

Shares of American Bitcoin Corp, the Bitcoin mining firm spun up by Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr, are down over 40% since the start of October, despite the firm’s revenue growing over the previous three months, per its third quarter financial results.

Trump Media and Technology Group, which holds $2 billion worth of Bitcoin on its books, has seen its shares drop 33% in the same period.

Elsewhere, the token tied to World Liberty Financial, the Trump family’s DeFi project, has slid 50% from its all-time highs, while Trump and his wife Melania’s memecoins have collapsed more than 91% and 99% respectively.

Despite the rout, Trump’s net worth, which his crypto ventures contribute significantly to, sits at $6.7 billion, according to Bloomberg News’ Billionaires Index.

Quid pro quo

The corruption accusations put increased pressure on the president and his family.

The White House has repeatedly stated that Trump’s assets are in a trust managed by his children, and that there are no conflicts of interest.

But critics argue that Trump is the sole beneficiary of that trust, and that he still benefits from any deals or income generated by his family’s businesses during his time in office.

Also mentioned in the report are the recent allegations of a quid pro quo deal between Trump and Changpeng Zhao, founder and former CEO of crypto exchange Binance.

On November 17, a 60 Minutes investigation tied a $2 billion investment deal between Binance and Abu Dhabi’s MGX to Zhao’s recent presidential pardon.

Critics say the deal, which was conducted with USD1, a stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial, was done as a favour in exchange for the pardon.

Binance CEO Richard Teng, and Zhao’s lawyer Teresa Goody Guillen, have both dismissed claims that the exchange helped boost USD1 before Zhao received the pardon.

Foreign influence

It’s not the only accusation to implicate World Liberty Financial, either.

The House Democrats’ report also alleges dozens of foreign nationals and the firms, many with governmental ties, invested in the project’s WLFI token sale conducted between October and March, which raised $550 million.

They include Aqua 1, a UAE-based fund allegedly run by David Jia Hua Li, a 30-year-old Chinese-Brazilian finance professional who also works for the China National Petroleum Corporation, a Chinese state-owned energy enterprise.

Another prominent investor in WLFI was DWF Labs, a crypto market maker and investment firm run by Andrei Grachev, who has a criminal history and “extensive ties to the Russian government,” per the report.

Grachev did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

There’s also Justin Sun, a Chinese-born businessman and founder of the $26 billion Tron blockchain.

Sun bought $75 million worth of WLFI tokens between November 2024 and January this year. In February, the US Securities and Exchange Commission paused its ongoing case against the crypto billionaire.

Sun was previously accused of artificially inflating trading volumes of TRX, the native token of the Tron blockchain. He previously said the SEC’s case “lacks merit.”

“The shady nature of these foreign investors raises significant legal, ethical, and practical

Concerns,” the report said. “Foreign entities might attempt to buy Trump tokens to curry influence with the Administration.”

Swaying policy

It’s a similar situation with Trump’s memecoin.

He launched the token on January 17, three days before his inauguration. It quickly shot up to a $8.8 billion market value before cratering 50% in just over a week.

On April 23, Trump announced he planned to hold an exclusive dinner for the largest 220 holders of the memecoin, while the top 25 holders would receive an exclusive VIP reception

and a White House tour.

According to the Trump memecoin’s website, two Trump-affiliated companies own 80% of the token he had just encouraged people to purchase. The value of the memecoin jumped by more than 70% after the announcement.

Of the 25 VIP guests who attended the event, 19 were foreign nationals, the report said. They included He Tianying, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body that seeks to broaden the Chinese Communist Party’s influence.

While it’s not clear which, if any, of the guests bought Trump’s memecoin in a bid to curry favour with the president, other buyers have been more explicit.

On April 30, Freight Technologies, a logistics firm that operates in the US, Mexico and Canada, announced plans to acquire $20 million of the memecoin.

“We believe that the addition of the Official Trump tokens are an excellent way to diversify our crypto treasury, and also an effective way to advocate for fair, balanced, and free trade between Mexico and the US,” Javier Selgas, the firm’s CEO, said.

Tim Craig is DL News’ Edinburgh-based DeFi Correspondent. Reach out with tips at tim@dlnews.com.