Donald Trump has leaned into his unofficial position as the “ crypto president ” in methods that can each help the crypto business and enrich himself and his family.
As soon as a skeptic of cryptocurrencies, Trump has made an entire reversal and embraced digital currencies in a means no different elected official has performed. He’s promised to enact crypto-friendly insurance policies and make the U.S. “the world capital” of digital property.
READ MORE: What another Trump administration could mean for crypto
He’s additionally connected the Trump identify to a crypto token and different crypto-themed merchandise. The cryptocurrency business, which spent closely to help Trump win final yr’s election, has expressed combined emotions about a few of his crypto ventures.
Critics have stated the ventures are ripe for abuse by individuals looking for Trump’s affect. Trump put his investments and property in a belief managed by his kids and has pledged to not play any position in managing his firms whereas president.
Right here’s a by-the-numbers look at Trump’s crypto ties:
$100,000
That’s how a lot a watch firm is charging for a brand new “Crypto President Tourbillon” watch from the Trump-themed on-line watch retailer, which pays a licensing charge for utilizing the Trump identify. Trump has a protracted historical past of melding his political and enterprise pursuits. He first promoted Trump watches in September of final yr. The net retailer has just lately began promoting crypto-themed watches at varied worth ranges.
READ MORE: Leaders in tech, AI and cryptocurrency make big donations to Trump inauguration
The gettrumpwatches.com web site says solely 10 “Crypto President Tourbillon” watches will be made, and funds are solely accepted in bitcoin. For his or her $100,000, consumers obtain a watch with 229 “bitcoin orange sapphires” and a signed letter of authenticity from Trump.
“The Crypto President Tourbillon isn’t only a watch—it’s a declaration. Of wealth. Of energy. Of imaginative and prescient,” the web site says.
$11 billion
That’s roughly how a lot market cap, or total worth, of the president’s meme coin has been erased because it peaked at about $15 billion on Jan. 19, two days after it was launched and a day earlier than Trump took workplace.
Some in the crypto business hailed the launch of Trump’s meme coin, which was shortly adopted by the launch of First Woman Melania Trump’s meme coin, as an indication of his enthusiasm and dedication to digital property.
Critics stated it mirrored poorly on the crypto business’s repute at a time when it’s hoping to turn out to be extra mainstream. Meme cash are an odd and extremely risky nook of the crypto business that typically begin as a joke with no actual worth however can surge in worth if sufficient persons are keen to purchase them.
$299
That’s the worth for a brand new pair of crypto-themed sneakers bought by one other web site that pays a licensing charge to promote Trump-themed merchandise, which the president has promoted. The low-top orange footwear are set to begin delivery in April, with a deliberate restricted run of simply 400 pairs.
$75 million
That’s how a lot Chinese language crypto mogul Justin Solar has stated his firm has invested in World Liberty Monetary, a decentralized finance cryptocurrency platform that Trump and his sons helped launch final yr. Solar based the decentralized blockchain platform TRON and can be identified for his latest buy of a banana for $6.2 million.
Solar and his firms had been sued by the SEC in 2023 for allegedly artificially inflating the worth of TRON, and the U.S. has additionally accused his firm of facilitating transfers tied to teams designated as terrorist organizations. World Liberty Monetary introduced it had purchased $4.7 million of TRON’s token, TRX, on Inauguration Day.
$250 million
That’s how a lot the guardian firm of Trump’s Fact Social has stated it will spend on new funding merchandise and decentralized finance companies that might embrace shopping for bitcoin and different cryptocurrencies.
Fact Social simply utilized to trademark “Fact.fi Bitcoin Plus ETF” and “Fact.fi Bitcoin Plus SMA,” an indication they plan to launch crypto change traded funds and individually managed accounts.
Regardless of modest revenues and important losses, Trump’s supporters have helped enhance Trump Media & Know-how Group’s inventory worth and lift funds because it went public final yr. The guardian firm introduced late final month that the potential transfer into crypto was an effort to diversify its $700 million money reserves.
TMTG says Trump has no decision-making position at the firm. He’s its largest shareholder, with a 53% stake, in accordance with the firm’s most up-to-date quarterly report. That’s presently value greater than $3 billion.
