Reuters news agency has conducted an extensive investigation into the Trump family’s crypto income. The conclusion is staggering: the presidential family raked in at least $2.3 billion in profits, while ordinary investors lost billions. How exactly does that money machine work?
Journalist at HLN
The business model behind Trump’s four crypto projects is as simple as it is ingenious and copied directly from Trump’s real estate empire: lend your name, don’t put in a cent yourself, but collect the millions.
While the founding costs for a project like crypto company World Liberty Financial are estimated at less than $1 million, it has already generated more than $1.4 billion for the Trumps. Trump licenses his name and image in exchange for 75% of the token revenue.
To sell the crypto coins, the presidential PR machine is working overtime.
To sell the crypto coins, the presidential PR machine is working overtime. Sons Eric and Donald Jr. promote the projects worldwide as the ultimate opportunity to “democratize” the financial world. They do this for World Liberty Financial as well as for the listed companies American Bitcoin and AI Financial Corp (the former ALT5 Sigma).
The president himself also boosted sales with messages such as “GET YOUR $TRUMP NOW”. Millions of savers bought in blinded.
Tokens blocked until 2030
As soon as the small investor is on board, the trap snaps shut. World Liberty Financial introduced a controversial blockade. Investors will only be able to redeem as many as 80 percent of their tokens from 2030. They cannot possibly sell, while the currency value is in free fall. An affected investor calls this to Reuters “a complete sham” to squeeze the market as much as possible.
The result is a financial bloodbath for private investors. The $TRUMP memecoin plunged 97 percent after early birds took their profits. The total net loss for more than a million investors across the four Trump projects was exactly $2.3 billion at the end of April 2026.
Conflict of interest
Ethicists speak of an unprecedented conflict of interest, since Trump, as president, helps determine regulations in the crypto sector. However, the Trump camp waves away any criticism. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly states that everything is done “in the interest of the American people.” The spokesperson for World Liberty Financial calls the suggestion that they should not be allowed to do business “un-American”.