White House Crypto Revolving Door: Uncovering the Trump Family's Hidden Wealth Trail
TechFlow Selected TechFlow Selected
White House Crypto Revolving Door: Uncovering the Trump Family's Hidden Wealth Trail
Today, many of the Trump family's actions barely cause a stir anymore.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker
Translated by BitpushNews an
Imagine an individual wielding immense political power who issues one hundred billion lottery tickets for public sale. Participants purchasing these tickets would eventually receive a share of "magic beans" as rewards, with each "magic bean" redeemable for one U.S. dollar. Crucially, tickets bought early would cost less than a dollar—potentially as low as five cents apiece. These lottery tickets wouldn't just promise future gains in traditional currency; they'd also grant holders voting rights over corporate decisions, including control over the supply of "magic beans," with greater ticket ownership translating into greater influence. It should be noted that the issuer reserves a large batch of tickets for themselves, and the majority of revenue generated by the "magic beans" economy flows directly into their hands.
This scenario effectively describes the operating model of a new cryptocurrency launched by World Liberty Financial, a company linked to the Trump family. Donald Trump serves as the company's "Chief Crypto Advocate." The cryptocurrency in question is a so-called governance token called WLFI—equivalent to the lottery ticket—while another token, USD1, functions as the "magic bean," a stablecoin pegged to the dollar.
World Liberty Financial operates within the emerging field of decentralized finance (DeFi), where cryptocurrency tools allow users to transfer, store, and lend money without relying on traditional, regulated banking systems.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies tied in value to a single currency, such as the U.S. dollar, though they aren't always stable—witness the collapse of Terra, once a successful stablecoin, which lost its peg in 2022. Their legal status remains ambiguous as long as they aren't classified as securities, like publicly traded company stocks.
A statement from World Liberty Financial reads: "World Liberty Financial does not believe these tokens are securities." In January 2023, the Trumps quietly gained control of World Liberty Financial through a company called DT Marks Defi. While disclosures indicate that members of the Trump family are not "officers, directors, or employees" of World Liberty Financial, DT Marks Defi receives 75% of the net income from its subsidiaries. The remaining 25% goes to Axiom Management Group, associated with Chase Herro and Zachary Folkman, the two official leaders of World Liberty Financial. Notably, Folkman also runs a company called "Date Hotter Girls."
Trump was once a crypto skeptic, stating clearly in a 2019 tweet: "I am not a fan of Bitcoin." But in recent years, he has aggressively promoted various "magic bean" projects, injecting a powerful PR boost into an industry notorious for startups that launch and quickly fail. In 2022, he launched Trump Digital Trading Cards, a series of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that continue to release new batches, including a "mugshot" edition in January 2024 featuring his scowling face after being arrested. (Heavy buyers of the "mugshot" NFTs received invitations to Mar-a-Lago.)
Three days before his inauguration, he launched a so-called meme coin—a cryptocurrency based on internet fame, where early buyers sell at higher prices to later buyers, essentially forming a pyramid scheme. The Trump Meme Coin ($TRUMP) consists of one billion coins, with 80% held by companies affiliated with Trump and the rest sold to the public. Reports suggest sales brought in approximately $350 million, with a market capitalization nearing $3 billion. Notably, Trump’s business entities earn fees from every transaction involving the Trump Meme Coin.
The price of the Trump Meme Coin has since fallen below one-fifth of its peak, leaving many investors with devalued holdings. The follow-up "Melania Trump Meme Coin" performed even worse.
However, a recent event hosted by Fight Fight Fight—an organization linked to Trump and his crypto ventures—spurred a rebound in the Trump coin’s price. At this crypto-themed gathering, entry was granted based on on-chain holdings: the top 220 token holders earned dinner with Donald Trump—an event set to take place at the Trump National Golf Club in Washington, D.C., effectively creating a new channel for political donations. The top 25 "whales" were invited to an exclusive private reception. This new lobbying access mechanism, built on token holdings, directly converts cryptocurrency ownership into political access, making the Trump coin an alternative pathway for monetizing power outside traditional campaign finance.
Many meme coin investors come from overseas, and some openly admit hoping to influence Trump’s policy agenda through these investments. For example, an Australian entrepreneur told The New York Times he wanted to discuss crypto policy with the president; a Mexican buyer said he hoped to get Trump’s attention on tariff issues. On Tuesday, a small Chinese company operating TikTok e-commerce announced plans to purchase $300 million worth of Trump coins and Bitcoin, just as the Trump administration considers moving forward with a TikTok ban.
Yet, World Liberty Financial’s influence extends far beyond the Trump Meme Coin. Its stablecoin can be easily and reliably converted into dollars, effectively creating a shadow economy sponsored by Trump—a bit like launching a new bank under the sitting president’s name, drawing massive inflows from foreign businesses and political elites worldwide. Major buyers of large quantities of WLFI include Chinese crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, who purchased $75 million worth of WLFI, and DWF Labs, a cryptocurrency trading firm based in Abu Dhabi, which bought $25 million worth of WLFI.
In March, World Liberty Financial announced it had sold more than $500 million worth of tokens. Earlier this month, another investment firm based in Abu Dhabi announced it would use USD1—the stablecoin controlled by World Liberty Financial—to invest $2 billion in Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
Purchasing Trump-style "magic beans" is akin to foreign dignitaries staying at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., during his first term—an avenue for gaining influence. But compared to that, World Liberty Financial’s operations make hotel rentals seem insignificant. The more funds flow into WLFI and USD1, the more legitimate and valuable these currencies appear, driving up their market capitalization. Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin, now has a market cap approaching $150 billion, with daily trading volumes exceeding $30 billion. World Liberty Financial aims to achieve similar scale.
The American public has long been inundated with news of the Trump family profiting from office, to the point where many of their actions barely raise eyebrows anymore.
This week, it emerged that the government is preparing to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 aircraft as a gift from Qatar’s royal family, to serve as the new "Air Force One" at least until Boeing completes the official replacement. The Department of Defense will receive the plane, but reports indicate that upon Trump’s departure from office, it will be donated to his presidential library, turning the $400 million aircraft into private property—despite such an arrangement appearing to blatantly violate the Foreign Emoluments Clause, which prohibits U.S. officials from accepting gifts from foreign leaders and governments. (Trump dismissed ethical concerns by calling the refusal of gifts "stupid.")
Yet, within Congress, opposition to Trump’s crypto ventures is growing louder. Last week, several Democratic senators blocked a popular pro-crypto bill due to the president’s blatant self-dealing. Wyoming Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis recently told The New York Times: "The negative optics of this are obvious." Yet so far, the Trump family appears to have correctly bet on one fact: no one can actually stop them.
Join TechFlow official community to stay tuned
Telegram:https://t.me/TechFlowDaily
X (Twitter):https://x.com/TechFlowPost
X (Twitter) EN:https://x.com/BlockFlow_News
@NewYorker
