Donald Trump makes money from crypto. In the last nine months, just before the elections, he has launched new business ventures, new currencies and... has created a dorm.
All of this brings money to the president, but how much? About $1 billion, according to Forbes calculations, bringing his net worth to about $5.6 billion. dollars.
Cryptocurrencies provided the US president with the liquidity he desperately needed. A year ago, he was short of cash: $400 million on his balance sheets and more than $500 million in compensation. dollars from pending court decisions against him. Today, Trump has about $900 million. In cash, with about 50% coming from crypto.
And there are hundreds of millions, maybe billions, still on the way. World Liberty Financial, one of Trump's ventures, is now on the rise. His memecoin that was launched shortly before he was sworn in as president now brings tokens to Trump and his associates. So far, they have received about 8% of their allotted amount. With the remaining 92% "expected," it's no wonder why the president is inviting people who are willing to buy his cryptocurrency to dinners.
"The team that helps him is very experienced," says Jeff Dorman, head of investment at digital asset firm Arca.
Cryptocurrency market insiders are making estimates of what Trump can offer his investors. "The Trumps have opened a new private club in Washington — maybe investors will have exclusive access," notes Dylan Bane, an analyst at cryptocurrency firm Messari. "Maybe they have some kind of access to Mar-a-Lago. At any of Trump's hotels or resorts or golf courses. Perhaps they have preferential rights to invest in other Trump businesses. The possibilities are unprecedented."
Especially when we are talking about a president who does not hesitate to use power to make money.
Trump's entry into cryptocurrencies began with absurdity. "BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!" he wrote in December 2022 on the Truth Social platform, another business that allows him to capitalize on his political influence. "Donald Trump's official collection of digital trading cards is here!" An image in the post showed Trump dressed as a superhero, wearing a red-white-blue cape and a gold title belt at his waist. "GET YOUR CARDS NOW!" he wrote. "Only $99 each!" Even Trump's most ardent supporters disapproved. "Madness," commented former White House deputy aide Sebastian Gorka. "I can't participate in this," added former strategic adviser Steve Bannon.
Digital asset enthusiasts, however, loved it. They bought $4.4 million worth of cards in one day, leading to additional rounds of sales. Trump, who had entered into a licensing agreement to advertise the "product," received at least $7 million dollars in cash and cryptocurrencies. And he gained something even more valuable – the knowledge that cryptocurrencies, an industry that had previously described it as "extremely volatile and 'air-beaten,'" could provide him with a lot of money.
Trump's assessment
NFTs: 7 million dollars
After taxes: 4 million euros dollars
Shortly before the 2024 elections, Trump launched another venture, World Liberty Financial, by taking to the Truth Social platform to present the decentralized finance project. "I promised to make America great again, this time with cryptocurrencies," he said. "#WorldLibertyFi will help make America the world capital of cryptocurrencies"! Or, at least, for Trump to make a few more dollars. The project started by selling tokens that did not promise a share of future profits.
After token sales worth 30 million euros. Trump's company would keep 75 percent of the rest. Few buyers showed up at first. But Trump won the election, and Justin Shann, who was facing charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, "pushed" $30 million. And Trump could receive a share of all subsequent dollars placed in the tokens. On January 19 of this year, San announced another placement of 45 million euros. Bringing in other buyers who placed a total of $550 million. Of which about 390 million dollars. went to Trump's coffers. The president earned 246 million euros. dollars after taxes, according to Forbes calculations.
Trump's assessment
7 million euros (NFT)
+ 390 million (World Liberty tokens)
Total: 397 million dollars | Estimate after taxes: 250 million euros dollars
A few days before taking office, Trump announced a new memecoin: $TRUMP. The "fine print" warned buyers that it was "not meant to be... an investment opportunity". Still, many people in the new memecoin, bringing Trump and his associates $350 million in revenue. dollars, according to the company Chainalysis. Trump's exact share in this endeavor remains unclear. If Trump took 90 percent of the money that ended up with him and his associates, as he had done with Truth Social's parent company, he would receive $315 million. dollars.
About double what his real estate empire brought him in operating profits during the most lucrative year of his first term.
Trump's assessment
7 million euros (NFT)
+ 390 million (World Liberty tokens)
+ 315 million dollars Dollars (Memecoin Earnings)
Total: 712 million dollars | Estimate After Taxes: $449 Million
The crypto industry dropped over $100 million. in the 2024 presidential election, acknowledging that it was dependent on government decisions. By launching his own memecoin, Trump sent the signal that he would not be the "overseer" of the party – in fact, he wanted to participate in the party. The frenzy spread to Washington, D.C., with an event at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium that preceded the inauguration, attended by industry figures such as Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Snoop Dogg. "It's time to celebrate everything we stand for," the president-elect said, "WINNING!"
The 315 million euros The dollars Trump earned from the memecoin was just the beginning. The president and his associates initially circulated 200 million euros. tokens, but they structured the situation in such a way as to "cut" another 800 million tokens. along the way. These memecoins began unlocking in mid-April, increasing the president's net worth. So far, Trump and his associates have released about $64 million. tokens.
Trump's memecoin is currently trading at $11, so the tokens he recently "unlocked" are worth about $700 million. dollars. However, industry insiders wonder if someone can collect so much money, given that there may not be enough interest to buy all 64 million euros. tokens. One way to measure the market is to look at the value of 200 million euros. tokens that were launched at the beginning, which are now worth a total of 2.2 billion dollars. dollars.
Forbes divides this capitalization by the approximately 264 million euros. tokens that can now be traded freely, giving a presumptive value of 525 million euros. for the tokens that became available recently. Add in a 10% discount, as Forbes usually does for assets with dubious liquidity, and we reach a value of 475 million euros. dollars. If Trump owns 90 percent, his personal fortune will amount to about $430 million. dollars. Every day, tokens worth more than 3 million euros are released. Dollars.
Trump's assessment
7 million euros dollars (NFTs)
+ 390 million, dollars (World Liberty tokens)
+ 315 million (Memecoin earnings)
+ $427 million dollars ("hidden" memecoins)
Total: 1.1 billion dollars | Estimate after taxes: €876 million dollars
In all this complexity, we may miss what Trump is really selling: the presidency. Before he won the 2024 election, his memecoin did not exist, and World Liberty Financial seemed as promising as... Trump steaks.
A month ago, Eric Trump, who runs the Trump Organization while his father is in the White House, attended a conference in Dubai. Zac Whitkov, whom Steve Whitkov's attorney testified as a defense witness for Trump in his fraud trial and now serves in his administration, sat next to Eric. They were interviewed by Justin San, the tycoon who poured funds into World Liberty shortly after the election.
The moment was something like a party for the coming-out of World Liberty Financial. The company had recently launched a stablecoin called USD1. Like other stablecoins, USD1 is pegged to the dollar and enables investors to place themselves in cryptocurrencies without being particularly concerned about market volatility. It's unclear what's different about USD1 compared to other stablecoins, other than its connection to the president. "Anyone can issue a stablecoin," explains Matt Zhang, founder of digital asset firm Hivemind. "The difficult thing is how you promote it so that they can buy it."
For Trump, who has always had the ability to attract crowds, stablecoins are easy money. Investors give dollars, and then issuers, such as World Liberty, create a blockchain-based digital issue and usually invest the proceeds in treasury bills as a reserve. Unlike banks that offer interest on deposits, stablecoin issuers typically keep all the profit they make from investments like in bonds. So, the more people "force" Trump to "move" his new stablecoin, the more money World Liberty earns.
Witkov made an announcement in Dubai: the president of the United Arab Emirates has founded a company that plans to use the Trump family's currency to invest $2 billion. on the Binance exchange. The capitalization of Trump's stablecoin now stands at $2.2 billion. dollars. If World Liberty can earn 4% in interest per year, we are talking about about 90 million euros. dollars.
One does not need to be a conspiracy theorist to wonder if there is a "strange" agreement in progress.
If World Liberty is valued at similar levels to other stablecoin issuers, it could be worth around $125 million today. dollars. Assuming that the Trump family, which appears to control 60 percent, distributes its stake in the same way that it "divided" its old hotel in Washington, the president could earn up to $60 million. dollars.
Trump's assessment
$7 million (NFTs)
+ $390 million (World Liberty tokens)
+ 315 million dollars (Memecoin earnings)
+ $427 million ("hidden" memecoins)
+ $59 million Dollars (stablecoin)
Total: 1.2 billion dollars | Estimate after taxes: 935 million dollars
World Liberty Financial, the Trump Organization, and the White House did not respond to a series of questions about the president's moves in the cryptocurrency market. But in April, spokeswoman Caroline Levitt complained to a reporter who hinted that there might be something toxic in Donald Trump's cocktail of business and politics. "It's absurd for anyone to imply that this president is winning the presidency," Levitt said. "This president was terribly successful before he gave up everything to serve our country."
In fact, the president did not abandon everything. He did the opposite. He retained ownership of his old business empire while also creating new businesses to capitalize on his second term.
Beyond the ethical part, there is entrepreneurial intelligence in all of this. As Dorman, Arca's chief investment officer, says, people buy for three reasons: (1) future earnings, (2) utility, and (3) fun. At first, dealing with Trump's memecoin was fun. With dinner, Trump added utility. The more privileges Trump offers, the more his memecoin looks like a real investment. "If financial functions are added, then it won't just be a memecoin," Dorman notes. "It will be the first memecoin to have attempted to do such things."
Rendering – editing: Michalis Papantonopoulos
