President Trump faces intense scrutiny over his cryptocurrency ventures as ethics watchdogs and lawmakers raise alarms about regulatory rollbacks and personal enrichment through memecoin deals.
Trump’s Crypto Push Draws Fire as Profits Soar
Donald Trump is at the centre of a growing political storm after easing cryptocurrency trade regulations while personally profiting billions through ventures including the controversial $Trump memecoin. The revelations, outlined in a detailed investigation by The Guardian, have triggered outrage from ethics experts, academics and lawmakers across the United States.
Last month, crypto tycoon Justin Sun proudly showcased a £75,000 Trump-branded watch he received during a private dinner held at the former president’s Virginia golf club. Sun had secured the top spot among 220 guests by purchasing £15 million worth of the $Trump memecoin — a digital asset launched just before Trump’s latest inauguration.
The event, designed to reward memecoin investors, brought in a staggering $148 million (£110 million) for the president and his partners. Memecoins, known for their volatility and lack of inherent value, have long been seen as risky investments.
Ethics Concerns Mount Over Presidential Profit
Critics swiftly condemned the 22 May dinner and Trump’s involvement in the memecoin market. Paul Rosenzweig, a former federal prosecutor, said: “Self-enrichment is exactly what the founders feared most in a leader – that’s why they put two separate prohibitions on self-benefit into the constitution. Trump profiting from his presidential memecoin is a textbook example of what the framers wanted to avoid.”
Harvard professor Steven Levitsky echoed these concerns: “I have never seen such open corruption in any modern government anywhere.”
Despite the backlash, Trump and his allies remain undeterred. Sun has also invested £56 million in World Liberty Financial (WLF), a crypto platform launched by Trump and his sons last autumn. Since Trump returned to the White House, his administration has rolled back key regulations on the cryptocurrency sector, actions that have significantly boosted the fortunes of industry players.
Industry Booms as Oversight Weakens
Since the beginning of the year, Trump’s crypto assets are estimated to be worth $2.9 billion (£2.15 billion), according to the State Democracy Defenders Fund. WLF, in particular, has raised more than £372 million.
Meanwhile, legal actions against crypto firms, including three linked to Sun, were paused by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in February, citing “public interest”.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have taken note. Senator Richard Blumenthal condemned Trump’s “pay-for-access” dinner, while Senator Jeff Merkley labelled the president’s crypto schemes “the Mount Everest of corruption.” A bill titled the “End Crypto Corruption Act,” co-sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and 22 other Democrats, has been introduced to block federal officials from profiting from crypto activities.
Even some Republicans have expressed dismay. Former congressman Charlie Dent stated: “Nobody should be allowed to use their public positions while in office to enrich themselves.”
From Skeptic to Crypto Advocate
Trump’s current embrace of cryptocurrency is a dramatic departure from his previous stance. In 2021, he called Bitcoin a “scam” and warned in 2019 that crypto could “facilitate unlawful behaviour.” But since re-entering office, he has declared the US “the crypto capital of the planet.”
Critics say his new policies benefit wealthy backers such as Elon Musk, who reportedly contributed millions to Trump’s re-election and holds substantial cryptocurrency investments.
Former envoy Steve Witkoff, a real estate billionaire, helped co-found WLF alongside Trump’s sons, Eric and Don Jr. The fund has become central to the administration’s crypto efforts, raising further concerns about blurred lines between public duty and personal business.
Crypto Risks Remain
Despite Trump’s optimistic vision, the crypto industry remains fraught with risk. Chainalysis reported that North Korean hackers stole £1.1 billion in crypto in 2024 to fund weapons programmes. In 2023 alone, Americans lost $5.6 billion to crypto fraud, a 45% rise from the previous year.
The Department of Justice recently shut down a crypto enforcement team that had targeted criminal activity in the sector, fuelling fears that further scandals may emerge as oversight dwindles.
As investigations unfold and legislation looms, Trump’s deep entanglement with the crypto world is shaping up to be one of the most contentious issues of his presidency.
