White House Allegedly Benefited Trump Family's Cryptocurrency Ventures, Claims New Democratic Report

On Monday, Democrats from the House Judiciary Committee released a report accusing the Trump administration of leveraging presidential powers to support the cryptocurrency businesses associated with the Trump family, claiming these ventures amassed approximately $800 million during token sales in early 2025.

Key Takeaways

A report by House Judiciary Committee Democrats accuses the Trump administration of using presidential powers to support Trump family cryptocurrency ventures.
Allegations include suspicious foreign investments and dismantling of regulatory enforcement.
Significant gains in cryptocurrency values linked to Trump’s involvement and investments.
Concerns raised about campaign finance laws and the potential for corruption in cryptocurrency dealings.

The extensive 60-page report titled “Trump, Crypto, and a New Age of Corruption” asserts that former President Trump transformed his office into a hub Raskin referred to as “the world’s most corrupt crypto startup operation.”

Notably, the report suggests that the value of the Trump family's cryptocurrency holdings may reach as high as $11.6 billion, although determining precise valuations remains challenging due to market fluctuations.

House Judiciary Committee Report

Concerns about Foreign Investments Highlighted

Democrats raised alarms over what they considered suspicious foreign investments in World Liberty Financial’s governance token, $WLFI.

The report highlights that Justin Sun, a billionaire from China, invested $75 million in WLFI while under scrutiny from the SEC. The agency later sought to pause its enforcement action due to “public interest.”

Additionally, the Aqua 1 Foundation reportedly bought $100 million in WLFI tokens. Congressional investigators stated that they found no public records from the Emirati government to verify the foundation's existence.

The report points out concerning aspects regarding the fund’s leadership, including Guren “Bobby” Zhou, who is reportedly being investigated in the UK for money laundering, and Dave Lee, who may have connections to the China National Petroleum Corporation.

Furthermore, allegations arose regarding the timing of a state-backed Emirati firm MGX's announcement to invest $2 billion in Binance through World Liberty’s USD1 stablecoin. This deal was noted to coincide with the UAE's negotiations for American AI chips, following which Trump dismissed six National Security Council officials who opposed the arrangement.

Changes in Enforcement After Industry Donations

The report suggests the Trump administration weakened crypto enforcement actions and ceased investigations against companies that contributed to Trump’s campaign.

According to Democrats, the Justice Department dismantled its National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, responsible for significant crypto crime investigations.

Changes in Enforcement Report

The SEC is said to have closed inquiries into several firms—including Coinbase, Gemini, Robinhood, Ripple, Crypto.com, Uniswap, Yuga Labs, and Kraken—all of which the report claims are either donors to Trump or business associates.

Token Investigations Report

Market data indicates that when Ripple and Solana were included in Trump’s proposed crypto reserve, their token prices surged by 33% and 25%, respectively.

In an October development, Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who had pleaded guilty to money laundering in 2023 as part of a $4.3 billion settlement with the DOJ. The report claims the pardon followed support from Zhao and Binance for World Liberty Financial.

Fluctuating Token Performance

The report notes that WLFI only raised $2.7 million from 348 investors during its initial launch. However, after Trump’s election win, the token's value skyrocketed over 2000%, bringing in $550 million from around 85,000 investors.

By the time it debuted on major exchanges in September, the Trump family's stake in WLFI was reportedly valued at over $6 billion.

Additionally, the $TRUMP memecoin was introduced just days before the inauguration, allegedly generating $350 million in trading fees. Market analysis shows that the token peaked at $75 but subsequently lost nearly two-thirds of its value in the following week.

The report revealed that while 45 crypto wallets netted $1.2 billion in profits, over 712,000 wallets collectively experienced losses of $4.3 billion.

Trump also hosted a dinner for the top 220 WLFI holders, costing an estimated average of over $1 million each. Democrats argue that more than half of the guests were likely foreign individuals, including He Tianying, noted as a member of China’s Political Consultative Conference.

Financial Times estimates referenced in the report suggest that World Liberty earned approximately $42 million from its USD1 stablecoin, which surged from $128 million to about $2.7 billion in market capitalization. The report further alleges that Binance played a role in developing USD1’s underlying technology.

Democratic lawmakers warn that Trump’s ability to amass billions through cryptocurrency illustrates vulnerabilities within campaign finance and anti-bribery laws. They indicated that polls suggest 60% of Americans are unaware that the President’s family operates a cryptocurrency business.

Previously, it was reported that the Trump family's wealth saw a remarkable increase of $6 billion once WLFI began trading on major exchanges, leading early investors to achieve gains of 15 times their investments. Financial Times later estimated that the Trump family’s crypto businesses yielded around $1 billion in pre-tax profits within the past year.