The Trump family’s deepening involvement in the cryptocurrency sector is amplifying ethical questions that once surrounded their hotel and casino ventures—but with far greater financial and political stakes.
Unlike the limited revenue foreign diplomats could generate by booking high-priced rooms at Trump properties, the opaque and borderless nature of cryptocurrency transactions presents unprecedented opportunities for anonymous, large-scale financial flows. Experts warn this could enable foreign entities or wealthy individuals to funnel unlimited sums to the former president, his family, or their growing network of affiliated businesses.
That network now includes two “meme coins”—speculative digital assets often dismissed by serious crypto investors—as well as World Liberty Financial, a crypto exchange issuing its own tokens. Soon, publicly traded shares of U.S. Bitcoin Corp, a mining company backed by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, will also be available to retail investors.
The “Sum of All Fears”
The latest controversy centers on a now-concluded auction for a private dinner with Trump, marketed as an “unforgettable party” for top holders of the $TRUMP meme coin. The top 25 bidders were promised a VIP tour of a Trump property and a face-to-face meeting with the former president.
Jordan Libowitz, communications director at the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), called the auction “the sum of all fears”—a scenario the U.S. Constitution’s framers sought to prevent by barring federal officials from accepting foreign gifts without congressional approval.
While past presidents, like Bill Clinton, have faced scrutiny for granting access to donors, cryptocurrencies introduce anonymity and scale previously unseen in political fundraising. According to Chainalysis, crypto investors have poured 148 million ∗∗ into Trump −linked me mecoins in the past montha lone.TwoTrumpOrganization−linkedentities,whichcontrol∗∗801.3 million in transaction fees since the dinner auction was announced.
Broader Crypto Controversies
The auction is just one facet of the Trump family’s crypto ventures. Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that World Liberty Financial secured a deal involving $2 billion from an Abu Dhabi-backed fund, a move that reportedly influenced stalled crypto legislation in the Senate.
Even some pro-crypto Republicans, like Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), have expressed unease. She told The Times that Trump’s profit-driven engagement with the industry “complicates our work” on regulatory efforts.
The White House has repeatedly dismissed ethical concerns. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt recently denied that Trump’s overseas trips involved personal business dealings, calling such claims “absurd.”
Unprecedented Risks
Libowitz highlights two key concerns:
Opacity: Crypto remains niche—only 17% of U.S. adults have engaged with it, per a 2024 Pew study—and is often associated with fraud cases like FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried. “Anonymity provides a layer of security,” Libowitz noted.
Scale: “There’s a limit to how many 800 hotel rooms you can sell,”∗∗hesaid. ∗∗”Butsomeonecouldbuy20 million in crypto overnight. This is uncharted territory.”
As the Trump family’s crypto ventures expand, legal and ethical scrutiny is likely to intensify—particularly if the former president returns to office.
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