Trump reported over $2 trillion won in digital asset income despite market downturn

'Ethics clause' emerges as key sticking point ahead of CLARITY Act floor vote

President Donald Trump leaves after speaking at the opening ceremony of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota on Tuesday, local time. [AP]
President Donald Trump leaves after speaking at the opening ceremony of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota on Tuesday, local time. [AP]

President Donald Trump reported more digital asset income last year than any publicly listed crypto company in the United States, intensifying concerns about conflicts of interest for a sitting president.

According to Bloomberg, a 927-page financial disclosure released Tuesday by the US Office of Government Ethics showed Trump reported earning at least $1.4 billion (about 2.17 trillion won) from digital asset ventures last year — surpassing the $1.26 billion net profit posted by Coinbase Global, the largest US cryptocurrency exchange.

However, Trump's disclosed figure is a self-reported amount under federal financial disclosure rules and is calculated on a different basis than the audited net income reported by publicly traded companies. Bloomberg noted that most of Trump's digital asset income came from one-time token and equity sales rather than recurring operating revenue.

Among the income sources, ventures tied to World Liberty Financial — co-founded by Trump and his sons — accounted for approximately $594 million. Trump's meme coin business contributed roughly $636 million, while equity sales related to Stablecoin Holdco added about $197 million. Digital assets also represented a significant share of income from his existing businesses, including hotels and golf resorts, listed in the disclosure.

Trump's outsized digital asset earnings drew particular attention because they came during a period when broader markets were falling sharply and major companies were posting losses. A wave of leveraged position liquidations worth about $19 billion last October sent the digital asset market into a sharp decline. Bitcoin had approached an all-time high of nearly $126,000 at the time but was trading at less than half that peak. According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin stood at $60,753 as of 7:12 a.m. Wednesday.

Trump made pro-crypto policy a centerpiece of his 2024 presidential campaign and has pursued deregulation in his second term. He appointed industry-friendly officials to regulatory agencies and backed key legislation the sector had sought, including the GENIUS Act governing stablecoin issuance.

The White House has denied conflict-of-interest allegations, telling Bloomberg that Trump is not involved in his family's virtual asset businesses. But the controversy is deepening as the CLARITY Act — a digital asset market structure bill — pushes toward a full Senate floor vote in July, with the disclosure revealing that a substantial portion of the president's income flows from the very industry the legislation would govern.

The Senate Banking Committee passed the CLARITY Act in May by a vote of 15 to 9. Before it can become law, the bill must be reconciled with language under the jurisdiction of the Agriculture Committee, cleared by the full Senate, aligned with the House version, and signed by the president. The legislation had previously stalled over a dispute between traditional financial institutions and the crypto industry over whether stablecoin holders should receive rewards or interest payments.

Global policy experts say the conflict-of-interest question has now emerged as a central issue on par with the stablecoin interest debate.

Miller Whitehouse-Levine, CEO of the Solana Policy Institute, said at a policy symposium held June 22 at Hashed Lounge in Gangnam, Seoul, that "the biggest sticking point in the CLARITY Act right now is what's being called the 'ethics clause.'" He added that "the Democratic Party has made clear it will not participate in the bill unless the ethics clause is included," citing concerns that the Trump family's active involvement in digital asset businesses creates potential for conflicts of interest and corruption.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren posted on X, formerly Twitter, that any digital asset bill brought to the Senate floor "must prevent the president and his family from continuing to profit from crypto." California Gov. Gavin Newsom also criticized Trump, saying his financial disclosure "showed exactly how his crypto investments work — the president got richer, and his crypto supporters got completely played."

Meanwhile, tokens associated with Trump have performed poorly. According to CoinGecko, the World Liberty Financial (WLFI) token and the Trump-branded meme coin have each fallen sharply over the past year — down 60.5 percent and 65.2 percent, respectively.


kyoung@heraldcorp.com