Donald Trump started to earn cash on his presidency by launching a TRUMP meme coin and thru different cryptocurrency schemes even earlier than he was sworn into workplace on January 20, 2025. That is the primary in a collection of month-to-month articles on corruption, outlined as “acquiring personal positive factors from public workplace by bribes, extortion, and embezzlement of public funds,” throughout Trump’s second administration.
From being a crypto critic in 2019, Trump has develop into one among its staunchest advocates and largest beneficiaries through the previous yr. He has stated that he desires to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet.’”
In keeping with Coursera, “not like conventional forex which represents bodily cash, cryptocurrencies are purely digital property.” There is potential worth in blockchains, the know-how on which most cryptocurrencies are primarily based, as “decentralized digital ledger[s] that securely retailer data throughout a community of computer systems in a method that’s clear, immutable, and immune to tampering.” Nonetheless, because the Reserve Bank of Australia notes, “Cryptocurrencies don’t have any legislated or intrinsic worth; they’re . . . value what persons are keen to pay for them out there.”
A meme coin is just a type of crypto primarily based on a singular web meme, like a humorous canine or a President of the USA. Now, think about the cash you might make should you had the ability not solely to manage the cryptocurrency “business” but in addition to create your individual meme coin and use it as a method to promote affect to complement your self and your loved ones.
Trump’s burgeoning crypto empire
The Trump Group (wholly owned by Donald Trump) has shaped two restricted legal responsibility corporations which might be straight concerned within the issuance and advertising of cryptocurrencies. Along with making (or shedding) cash within the crypto market, these corporations earn cash on charges every time one among their memes or different crypto merchandise is purchased or bought.
As president, Trump selects the members of the Securities and Alternate Fee, which regulates the crypto business in the USA.
There are quite a few potential conflicts of curiosity associated to the Trump administration’s simultaneous regulation of crypto and Trump’s possession of crypto corporations:
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- the potential for self-serving laws associated to the crypto market;
- utilizing his position as president to advertise his personal crypto merchandise;
- holding particular occasions to extend the worth of his crypto merchandise, thus making a living off of the shopping for and promoting of those merchandise; and
- having “insider buying and selling” information that provides him, his household and cronies the chance to purchase crypto merchandise upfront of public bulletins of particular occasions which might be more likely to increase the worth of those merchandise (after which to promote them after the announcement has pushed their market worth up).
Because it’s onerous to wrap one’s head across the complexities of the crypto world, the Official Trump Meme offers an excellent peek behind the scenes.
Playing on Trump?
On January 17 (three days earlier than his inauguration), Trump trumpeted on his official X account: “My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE! It’s time to rejoice every little thing we stand for: WINNING! Be part of my very particular Trump Group. GET YOUR $TRUMP NOW!”
As cited within the January 19 version of The Washington Post: [The] president-elect’s sons, Eric and Donald Jr., described the [meme coin] undertaking . . . because the “hottest digital meme on earth,” and so they promised the Trump household’s separate crypto undertaking—a brand new token and platform known as World Liberty Monetary—could be the “way forward for finance.”
If you would like to know extra in regards to the ins and outs of the World Liberty Monetary deal, click on here.
A May 13 CBS news article offers some background info to the $STRUMP meme coin. “When the . . . coin was first launched, its creators initially launched 20% of the deliberate 1 billion complete cash. Half of that 20% [100 million coins] was put up for public sale whereas the opposite half [100 million coins] was put right into a liquidity pool. CIC Digital, an affiliate of the Trump Group, and one other firm known as Combat Combat Combat [also an affiliate of the Trump Organization], obtain ‘buying and selling income derived from buying and selling actions’ of the Trump meme cash.”
In keeping with bidget.com, a complete of 1 billion Trump cash will likely be put up for public sale inside three years of the preliminary launch.
Filling Trump’s Digital Pockets
A March 2025 Financial Times analysis discovered that the crypto undertaking netted at the very least $350 million by the gross sales of tokens and charges within the first three weeks after the launch. The authors of the article weren’t in a position to verify what proportion of the gross sales and charges went to the Trump Group.
The Monetary Instances article went on to report that “Trump has confronted a fierce backlash since he and his spouse Melania launched memecoins, tokens with no sensible use whose worth is totally primarily based on hypothesis, simply days earlier than his return to the White Home. Buyers and ethics specialists have mentioned the sale of crypto tokens would in impact enable a method to channel nameless donations to the president whereas additionally exploiting retail buyers.”
On April 24, The Washington Post reported a renewed push on the sale of $TRUMP meme cash. “Consumers have poured tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} into President Donald Trump’s meme coin since his staff marketed Wednesday [April 23] that [the top 220] purchasers may be a part of Trump for an ‘intimate personal dinner’ . . . on Could 22 on the President’s Trump Nationwide Golf Membership exterior Washington.”
On the night of the occasion, Reuters supplied extra particulars: “In complete, buyers spent an estimated $148 million on the $TRUMP meme coin to safe their seats on the dinner, with the highest 25 holders spending greater than $111 million, in response to crypto intelligence agency Inca Digital. These high holders loved a personal VIP reception with Trump, and the 4 largest buyers additionally obtained a restricted version Trump Tourbillon watch that sells for $100,000.”
Conclusion
Trump’s involvement within the crypto business is being referred to by some analysts as “The Most Corrupt Presidential Act in History.”
I am afraid, nonetheless, that we ain’t seen nuthin’ but. A typical synonym for “corruption” is “rot.” There are damaging lengthy-time period penalties to Trump’s self-dealing that undercut lengthy-standing American establishments and core values. Like rot, when left unchecked, corruption spreads, weakening every little thing it touches. The implications will likely be troublesome for us to recuperate from as a nation, even after Trump is only a sordid footnote in our historical past.
