Trump says there is ‘nothing wrong’ with family’s crypto windfall

• President Trump defended the more than $1.4 billion he earned from crypto-related ventures last year, saying in a White House CNBC interview that there was “nothing wrong” or illegal about the income and that he wants the U.S. to lead in digital assets.
• Disclosures show Trump became the largest crypto earner in U.S. politics, with hundreds of millions tied to a self-branded memecoin, the World Liberty Financial platform he co-founded with his sons, and a stablecoin venture linked to Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

President Donald Trump said there is 'nothing wrong' with the money his family has made in crypto, responding to financial disclosures that showed he earned at least $1.4 billion from the industry last year.

Asked in a CNBC interview on Thursday at the White House whether he knew about the ventures, Trump said "I could know about it. I didn't." He said that there was nothing illegal about his involvement and that his goal was for the U.S. to lead in crypto.

Trump handed day-to-day control of his businesses to his two eldest sons before taking office, and did not divest his assets.

The disclosure, released this week by the federal Office of Government Ethics, made Trump the largest crypto earner in U.S. politics.

It showed about $636 million tied to his eponymous memecoin, which was launched on the eve of his return to office, roughly $594 million from World Liberty Financial, the crypto firm he co-founded with his sons and nearly $197 million from a stablecoin venture.

The windfall has grown even as the market turned. Bitcoin is down roughly 50% from the record above $126,000 it set in October, and the sector has spent the first half of the year in a slump.

Read more: Trump's World Liberty Financial uses 5 billion WLFI to borrow $75 million from a platform its adviser co-founded

Disclosure & Polices: CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of Bullish (NYSE:BLSH), an institutionally focused global digital asset platform that provides market infrastructure and information services. Bullish owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets and CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish equity-based compensation.