Digital tokens tied to World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency launched by former President Donald Trump alongside his family during his 2024 campaign, began open trading Monday, quickly generating more than $1 billion in transactions in the first hour, according to CoinMarketCap.
The project has ballooned in value over the past year, buoyed by Trump’s own deregulatory push from the White House and his public championing of the industry’s potential to bolster the U.S. economy. While the token fell rather quickly in the first day of trading, the Wall Street Journal reported the family’s holdings could now be worth as much as $5 billion, rivaling the value of their real estate portfolio. The growth of the cryptocurrency raises questions about whether the Trump family’s growing crypto fortune creates conflicts of interest.
Les Borsai, a government consultant and co-founder of Wave Digital Assets, told Scripps News the dynamic isn’t entirely without precedent. He pointed to previous presidents who carried private business ties into the Oval Office: Jimmy Carter’s peanut farm, and the Kennedy family’s real estate and finance holdings – though blind trusts were ultimately enacted in both cases.
“When you're a business person, or you have business interests coming into the White House, you're always going to have controversy around it,” Borsai told Scripps News. “I would rather have an administration that understands the underlying technologies than someone that doesn't. It could change what the future of finance looks like.”
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The White House strongly rejected the notion that Trump’s crypto promotion poses ethical issues.
“Neither the President nor his family have ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest,” White House Press Secretary wrote in a statement.
However, the President does oversee agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission, and with the limited approach its taken on crypto this year, some critics speculate President Trump’s family could stand to benefit.
On World Liberty Financial’s website, images of Trump and his sons, Eric, Donald Jr., and Barron, are prominently displayed as part of the team. A small footnote indicates Trump stepped down from company leadership after assuming office, though his photo still carries the title “Co-Founder Emeritus.”
While World Liberty Financial said founders’ tokens remain locked, preventing immediate sale, the market debut assigns a tangible valuation to assets previously priced only through private transactions.
Critics warn that World Liberty could serve as a vehicle for investors and partners seeking favor with the Trump administration.
“This staggering one-day, $5 billion windfall is corruption in plain sight, and another reminder that Trump and the Republican Party work for themselves, not working families,” Tiffany Muller, president of the anti-corruption group, End Citizens United.
Meanwhile, supporters counter that it marks an overdue embrace of financial innovation in the U.S.
