On September 9, 2024, the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division highlighted the growing role of cryptocurrency within the global financial system, noting an increasing trend of its misuse by criminal entities. The FBI emphasized that such exploitation was particularly prevalent in investment scams, which accounted for nearly 71 percent of all cryptocurrency-related losses.
Just a week later, Donald Trump announced on the social media platform X, "Crypto is one of those things we have to do. Whether we like it or not, I have to do it." In the same message, posted approximately six weeks before the upcoming election, Trump promoted his latest business endeavor, World Liberty Financial Inc.
Having returned to the White House, Trump appears to have embraced cryptocurrency—a form of digital asset he previously dismissed as "not money" six years ago—as a lucrative opportunity tied to his political influence. Estimates of the value of Trump's cryptocurrency holdings differ significantly, ranging from $2.9 billion according to Fortune to $6.2 billion per Forbes, though the latter acknowledged this figure is uncertain due to its reliance on assets not yet publicly available. As Trump himself noted, these assets do not strictly qualify as traditional currency.
Eswar Prasad, a Cornell economics professor and author of 'The Future of Money: How the Digital Revolution Is Transforming Currencies and Finance,' who specializes in digital currencies, expressed concerns via email that Trump’s introduction of two 'meme coins'—named $Trump and $Melania—raises unprecedented conflicts of interest, especially considering Trump’s official capacity and control over the financial regulatory framework.
Prasad further elaborated on the broader implications of this development, emphasizing how these ventures blur the lines between public office and private profit.
Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig pointed to a particularly illustrative example of Trump’s financial interests when the president announced on April 23 that the top "220 Special $TRUMP Meme Coin Holders will be Invited to an unforgettable Gala DINNER with the President on May 22, 2025."
As an added incentive to acquire these coins, Trump offered:
Following this announcement, the value of the $Trump coin surged to $15.62 on April 26, up from $9.22 on April 22—the day before the announcement—marking a 69.4 percent increase over four days, according to Coinbase data. However, this price remained below the peak levels the coin had reached earlier in the year.
