Trump Defends $1.4B in Crypto Earnings as ‘Not Illegal’

President Donald Trump defended the crypto income disclosed in his 2025 federal financial filing during comments to reporters on July 2, saying he was involved in the market before returning to office and calling the earnings “nothing illegal” and “nothing wrong with it.” He also said he does not track the details of the investments.

The filing reports about $1.4 billion in crypto-related income. It lists roughly $635 million in royalties from an official Trump memecoin, about $515 million from sales of the World Liberty Financial governance token (WLFI), roughly $65 million from the sale of equity in the venture’s holding company and more than $290 million routed through crypto wallets linked to the family’s decentralized finance projects.

The disclosure places the president among the largest crypto earners recorded for 2025 among U.S. public figures. Trump attributed the gains to broad market movements and said large institutions manage his investments on his behalf; he added that he takes no personal role in day-to-day investment decisions.

World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance platform co-founded by Trump and two of his sons, is central to the earnings. The WLFI token is trading near $0.057, down about 72% from its peak. The company sold an additional 5.9 billion WLFI tokens to undisclosed private buyers and did not notify existing retail holders before the sale; the token subsequently fell to a record low.

Ethics lawyers and Democratic lawmakers have raised conflict-of-interest concerns because the president oversees federal agencies that shape crypto rules, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. They argue that delegating investment decisions to outside managers does not eliminate potential conflicts when policy decisions may affect assets tied to the president or his family. Several congressional Democrats have requested investigations into the ventures.

World Liberty Financial has applied for a national trust bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, with a decision expected in 2026. A White House spokesperson issued a statement defending the administration’s actions and saying they serve the public interest.

The disclosure shows token sales and equity exits among the sources of the reported income, alongside payments routed through decentralized finance structures and crypto wallets. Supporters describe the activity as private financial behavior consistent with market conditions; critics point to the scale of insider sales while many retail holders saw token losses.