The Trump Crypto Scam Might Be The Greatest Scam in American History

A Firebrand Investigation

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As Donald Trump has been destroying the stock market and engaging in blatant market manipulation and insider trading, there is a darker plot at play.

Trump has expressed a desire for the US to be the Crypto capital of the world; he wants to be the crypto president. As a lifelong scammer and a system player, it is no surprise that he and his crooked family of goons have positioned themselves to leverage the power of the government to make tremendous wealth off the backs of the American people.

Since taking office, Trump has spoken confidently about his desire to create a crypto reserve, and it’s no surprise that the recommended coins he floated made up most of Howard Lutnik’s portfolio.

The Trump administration’s plan all along was to turn the white house into the grifting capital of the world, and every branch of government, every agency, has massive conflicts of interest at play.

Using Deep Research AI and my research, I set out to try and understand how this quid pro quo system was built and who might own what that links them to the White House. The picture is becoming clear after going through SEC filings and FOIA requests and watching dog agencies monitor trade and public filings. The breadcrumbs are there, and the scam is taking shape.

This is a conflict of interest on a scale we have never seen before in the federal government. Outside of the White House, Trump’s sons are making huge plays in the crypto market, launching massive crypto ventures, and Jared Kushner’s holdings shot up into the billions from infusions of cash from investors in the Middle East.

Money is moving in mind-boggling quantities, and the scheme is taking place all around Trump. So I ask myself, maybe the way to down this administration is not to get him on violations of the constitution or civil rights but to catch him red-handed using the paper trail that most certainly will prove massive collusion to use the white house and federal powers to manipulate the market and set the Trumps up to dominate the crypto market. That said, I haven’t even mentioned Trump’s blatant crypto-bribery program he has been running since he took office.

I will attach a summary of my findings and sources. I hope that those well-versed in financial movements and watchdog sleuths can use this framework to uncover the true nature of this plan, expose it, and share the scale of the fraud with the people he is scamming.

We need firebrands on the front lines in our markets; a war is being waged here, and the integrity of the American free market is at risk. I am no economic genius, but I know writing on the wall when I see it.

Today, DOGE is descending on the FDIC, and our economy is under fire like our rights are. Economic liberty is in danger, and I hope this is helpful to those who can do more with it than I can.

Regardless of your financial knowledge or not, I highly encourage you to review this and share your findings with others. No matter your background, the conflict of interest here is beyond obvious.

Sources will be attached as well.

See below for a quick overview of findings and a more comprehensive deep research section.

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(Overview)

Trump’s Crypto Empire: Coordinated Influence & Profit from Public Office

Following the launch of Trump’s crypto ventures—World Liberty Financial (WLFI) and American Bitcoin—the evidence now paints a disturbing picture:

Trump and his inner circle have positioned themselves to directly profit from crypto market manipulation—by shaping U.S. policy in ways that inflate their private holdings, protect insider investors, and potentially funnel foreign influence into the U.S. financial system.

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1. The Rise of Trump-Linked Crypto Projects

• WLFI was launched in 2024 and quickly raised over $550 million, mostly from foreign or anonymous investors.

• After Trump’s 2024 election victory, his family took 60% ownership and secured 75% of all token sale revenue.

• Eric and Don Jr. launched American Bitcoin in March 2025 with a 20% stake—timed with Trump’s pro-mining policies.

• WLFI remains unlisted on exchanges, and investors are locked into non-liquid governance tokens.

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2. Insider Enrichment & Tokenomics

• WLFI’s legal structure routes up to $400 million directly to Trump family interests (Reuters).

• Tokens offer no dividend, no resale, and do not share profits—investors only get non-binding “governance votes.”

• SEC filings show WLFI used Reg D and Reg S to avoid U.S. registration, with most funds raised offshore.

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3. Policy Shifts That Aligned with Trump’s Holdings

• In January 2025, Trump signed an executive order promoting stablecoins, mining, and lifting regulatory burdens—boosting both WLFI and American Bitcoin.

• WLFI announced its USD1 stablecoin soon after—timed with new Congressional stablecoin legislation.

• Meanwhile, the SEC paused enforcement against WLFI investor Justin Sun—after his $75M token purchase.

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4. Anonymous & Politically Connected Investors

• WLFI’s top buyers include:

• Justin Sun, under SEC fraud investigation.

• Sigil Fund (Gibraltar), which said it invested “because Trump is our crypto president.”

• Troy Murray, previously sanctioned by the SEC for securities fraud.

• Over 90% of tokens were sold to offshore buyers using regulatory exemptions.

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5. Chainalysis & Forensic Patterns

• Chainalysis found:

• 70% of WLFI funds came from wallets investing $100K or more.

• 94% of $TRUMP and $MELANIA tokens ended up in just 40 wallets.

• Many wallets were created the same day tokens launched, suggesting coordinated insider accumulation.

• Meme tokens tied to Trump generated $349M+ in fees for insiders.

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6. Coordinated Political Messaging

• Trump Jr. and Eric actively promoted WLFI and Bitcoin at conferences and online.

• Trump hosted a Crypto Summit in March 2025, giving WLFI public legitimacy.

• Campaign surrogates framed crypto as a “freedom tool,” while Trump himself declared he would be the “crypto president.”

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7. Serious Conflict of Interest

• Trump is shaping crypto policy while owning major private stakes in crypto companies.

• Lawmakers warn WLFI may allow foreign governments or oligarchs to quietly funnel money into the U.S. political ecosystem.

• Rep. Maxine Waters and Sen. Elizabeth Warren sent formal inquiries to the SEC about WLFI’s conflicts of interest.

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Summary: Coordinated Influence, Enrichment & Obscured Investors

The Trump family is:

• Privately controlling crypto companies worth hundreds of millions.

• Using federal policy to inflate their holdings and suppress scrutiny.

• Inviting anonymous investors from overseas, potentially undermining U.S. ethics laws.

• Framing crypto as political freedom while running what many experts see as a politically protected wealth funnel.

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Trump Family Crypto Ventures and Market Influence (Deep Research)

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Emergence of Trump-Linked Crypto Ventures (Timeline)

Donald Trump and his inner circle have rapidly expanded into cryptocurrency through ventures like World Liberty Financial (WLFI) – a DeFi platform launched in 2024 – and American Bitcoin – a Bitcoin mining startup in 2025. The timeline below highlights key events tying Trump’s political ascendancy to these crypto projects:

• Sep 2024: WLFI is announced by Donald Trump alongside his sons Don Jr., Eric, and advisor Steve Witkoff, just two months before the U.S. election . Its goal is to “democratize” finance via crypto, though critics note its governance structure heavily favors insiders.

• Nov 2024: Trump wins the 2024 presidential election. In the weeks after his victory, WLFI’s fundraising accelerates sharply – a Reuters analysis found most of WLFI’s $550 million token sales occurred after Trump’s win in November , as investors anticipated a crypto-friendly administration.

• Dec 2024: Controversial investors pile in. Justin Sun, founder of Tron (then facing SEC fraud charges), quietly buys about $75 million of $WLFI tokens . Around the same time, the SEC abruptly paused its enforcement case against Sun – raising eyebrows about preferential treatment. Other buyers include offshore funds and crypto entrepreneurs in Gibraltar and Puerto Rico (details below).

• Jan 2025: Trump takes office (again). Following inauguration, Trump’s family trust assumed majority control of WLFI, ousting the original founders . Fine-print updates on WLFI’s site revealed the Trump family (via an entity DT Marks DeFi LLC) now holds a 60% stake and is entitled to 75% of net revenues from token sales – an arrangement experts say “excludes” outside token-holders from meaningful upside . In short, the Trumps stood to personally reap hundreds of millions from WLFI’s token sale proceeds .

• Jan 23, 2025: Pro-Crypto Executive Order. Just days into his term, President Trump fulfilled his promise to be the “crypto president” by signing an Executive Order supporting digital assets. The order explicitly promotes blockchain innovation, protects the right to mine cryptocurrencies, calls for clear regulatory frameworks, and encourages USD-backed stablecoins – policies that would directly enable ventures like WLFI (which planned a stablecoin) and American Bitcoin (a mining firm). It also reversed prior administration policies seen as hostile to crypto .

• Mar 2025: Stablecoin plans and crypto expansion. WLFI announced it had raised over $550 million and unveiled plans for a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin “USD1” . At the same time, the Trump family deepened its crypto portfolio: Eric Trump and Donald Jr. partnered with Canadian mining company Hut 8 to launch American Bitcoin Corp., aiming to become a public-traded Bitcoin miner . Eric Trump took a senior role (chief strategy officer) in the venture . This came just after a high-profile White House “Crypto Summit” in early March, underscoring the administration’s public endorsement of crypto .

• Apr 2025: Regulatory and legislative spotlight. With WLFI’s stablecoin on the horizon, the White House began pushing Congress to pass stablecoin legislation . Lawmakers noted the timing: “The White House is boosting stablecoin legislation just as World Liberty Financial…is promising to launch such a token,” Axios reported . In Congressional hearings, Democrats warned that if Trump’s stablecoin faltered, he might bail it out with taxpayer funds . Meanwhile, Democrats Elizabeth Warren and Maxine Waters sent formal inquiries to the SEC about possible conflicts of interest, after reports that WLFI’s major backers received unusually favorable treatment from regulators (e.g. the halted case against Sun).

Timeline of key events linking Trump’s political resurgence with his family’s crypto projects and favorable policy moves (Sep 2024–Apr 2025). Trump’s election victory and return to power coincide with surging investment in WLFI and supportive regulatory gestures.

The above timeline shows a striking sequence of events: Trump-aligned crypto ventures launched during his campaign and ballooned after his victory; once in power, Trump enacted policies (and personnel changes) that aligned neatly with his financial interests in those ventures. Next, we dive deeper into each facet – from how these projects are structured to who invested and how policy may have been marshaled to benefit them.

Insider Ownership and Financial Flows in WLFI & American Bitcoin

World Liberty Financial (WLFI) was structured to heavily enrich its Trump-associated insiders. Initially founded by crypto entrepreneurs Zak Folkman and Chase Herro, WLFI’s control shifted into Trump’s hands as money poured in. In January 2025, the company quietly disclosed that the Trump family (via DT Marks DeFi LLC) had replaced the founders as controlling owners . The new arrangement entitles the family to 75% of all net revenue from WLFI token sales, and 60% of profits from the eventual business operations . In practice, this means up to ~$400 million of the first $550 million raised would flow to Trump family coffers . Such an insider-friendly setup prompted one finance professor to note WLFI “pretty much excludes public investors or token holders from any meaningful financial participation” . Notably, WLFI’s governance tokens ($WLFI) cannot be traded on the open market and do not confer profit-sharing rights – buyers only get to vote on protocol proposals, a feature critics say is window-dressing. Effectively, outside investors were buying into a Trump-controlled fund without liquidity or dividends, while the insiders take the lion’s share of any real money generated.

The Trump Organization claims the President’s assets are in a blind trust managed by his children , but in this case his children are the ones running the crypto venture. Don Jr. has been actively involved – he even appeared at a February 2025 conference with WLFI’s co-founder Herro, touting the plan to open crypto to “everyday Americans” and bemoaning that the Trump family was “excluded from traditional banking” after Trump’s first term . This hint of grievance (“debanked” by mainstream finance) provides context for why the Trumps moved into crypto, an alternative financial realm they could control. Ironically, WLFI’s model is far from accessible to everyday people – it catered to accredited, million-dollar investors (as we’ll see below) and concentrated power in elite hands.

American Bitcoin – the mining venture – shows a similar pattern of Trump family entrée into crypto markets, albeit via a more conventional business merger. In late March 2025, Eric Trump and Don Jr. helped launch American Bitcoin Corp., a new Bitcoin mining company, in partnership with Hut 8, a Canadian crypto-mining firm . According to a joint press release, Hut 8 contributed its mining rigs to form a new U.S.-based company (initially called American Data Centers Inc.), in which a group of investors, including Eric and Don Jr., received a minority stake (around 20%) . This entity was then renamed “American Bitcoin” and aimed to become the world’s largest pure-play Bitcoin miner with plans to go public. Eric Trump took the title of Co-Founder and Chief Strategic Officer, lending the Trump name and “commercial acumen” to the venture, while Hut 8 retained 80% ownership and operational control. Donald Trump Jr. noted that the family had “backed our conviction in Bitcoin – personally and through our businesses” and that mining presented an even bigger opportunity than just buying Bitcoin. In essence, the Trumps hitched themselves to a major mining enterprise at a time when U.S. policy (under their influence) was turning markedly pro-mining. The financial play is clear: by taking a stake post-election, they could later profit if American Bitcoin’s valuation soars (especially if favorable regulations cut its costs or boost Bitcoin’s price). The venture’s goal to list publicly means the Trump partners could eventually cash out shares at, potentially, a hefty profit.

Money flows in WLFI are especially opaque and potentially conflicted. WLFI’s token sale was conducted as a private offering under SEC exemptions, meaning limited disclosure. Notably, the company capped U.S. sales at $30 million and directed ~90% of tokens to offshore investors. By using Regulation D for U.S. accredited investors and Regulation S for non-U.S. investors, WLFI avoided more stringent SEC registration and was able to raise the bulk of funds abroad with far less transparency. (A filing showed only 348 U.S. investors participated, investing just $2.7 million by Nov 2024 .) In other words, most of the $550 million came from overseas or offshore accounts, whose beneficial owners are largely hidden behind anonymous crypto wallets or foreign entities. This cross-border flow of funds – combined with Trump’s insider control – has alarmed ethics watchdogs. As one former U.S. banking regulator observed, WLFI could be “the perfect vehicle” for foreign governments or oligarchs to funnel money to the President in exchange for influence. The risk of such pay-to-play funding is not hypothetical; we will see below that some major WLFI buyers have ties to foreign jurisdictions or checkered regulatory histories.

Policy Moves Aligned with Trump’s Crypto Interests

Trump’s return to power was accompanied by a swift about-face in U.S. crypto policy – to the benefit of ventures like WLFI and American Bitcoin. After having once called crypto “a scam,” Trump in 2024–25 styled himself as a champion of digital assets. Upon taking office, he stocked his administration with crypto-friendly figures. For example, he named venture capitalist David Sacks as “Crypto Czar” and put Howard Lutnick (a Bitcoin advocate) at Commerce, while reportedly considering pro-crypto former regulator Paul Atkins to lead the SEC. This personnel strategy sent a clear signal: enforcement would likely soften and innovation be welcomed – a stark contrast to the prior administration’s more skeptical stance.

Within days, Trump issued the “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology” Executive Order. This January 23, 2025 order laid out his crypto agenda, including protecting individuals’ rights to run blockchain nodes and mine crypto, promoting dollar-backed stablecoins globally, ensuring crypto businesses access to banking, and directing regulators to provide clarity and lift burdens on the industry. It also explicitly prohibited any U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC) – a policy popular with his base but also aligning with the interests of private stablecoin issuers (like WLFI’s USD1) who wouldn’t want competition from a digital dollar. Importantly, Trump’s order revoked President Biden’s 2022 crypto framework that had emphasized potential risks. In effect, Trump’s early actions told the market that under his watch, crypto would get a green light: no new taxes on mining, no hostile crackdowns on crypto lending or stablecoins, and likely friendlier regulators at the SEC, CFTC, and Treasury.

This policy stance had immediate market-moving implications. For instance, the prospect of a lenient Trump-led SEC coincided with speculative surges in “Trump-themed” crypto assets. A meme token dubbed $TRUMP launched around inauguration skyrocketed – reaching a $7.7 billion market cap within days – fueled purely by Trump-related hype and FOMO. (Chainalysis data later showed this token’s buyers were dominated by a few wealthy wallets, indicating potential insider or coordinated activity .) Even as serious questions were raised about conflicts of interest, Trump’s public rhetoric continued to inflate the sector. He hosted a White House Crypto Summit in March 2025, declaring his intent to “popularize” crypto’s use in America. Such events lent WLFI and similar projects an aura of legitimacy – after all, the President himself was talking up crypto adoption.

Critics note that Trump’s policy timing often overlapped suspiciously with his family’s business milestones. One glaring example: In late 2024, the SEC had been actively pursuing charges against Justin Sun (the Chinese crypto mogul behind Tron). But soon after Sun invested tens of millions into WLFI, the SEC quietly put his case on hold. This unusual pause (now under review by Congress) gave Sun de facto impunity to continue operating – and presumably comforted WLFI’s other big investors that the new regime would go easy on industry bad actors. Lawmakers wrote to the SEC asking whether the decision “to pause its case” was influenced by Trump’s financial interest in WLFI. Another example: WLFI’s planned USD1 stablecoin stood to benefit from the legislative push for a stablecoin framework in early 2025. In April, the House Financial Services Committee (led by pro-Trump Republicans) took up a bill to regulate stablecoins, backed tacitly by the Trump Treasury. Democrats at a hearing openly pummeled the Trump family’s dual role as regulator and market participant, arguing that the administration’s support for a stablecoin law could “legitimize” Trump-linked tokens while potentially exposing taxpayers (if, say, Trump’s stablecoin needed a bailout).

Furthermore, Trump’s pro-mining stance – part of his broader rollback of regulations – directly served the interests of American Bitcoin. Under Biden, regulators had considered measures like new taxes on crypto mining energy usage (the proposed 30% DAME tax) and were generally wary of mining’s environmental impact. The Trump administration shelved those ideas. Trump even signed orders to boost fossil fuel energy production, a boon for power-hungry Bitcoin miners. By prioritizing domestic energy and opposing climate regs, Trump effectively subsidized mining operations. Eric Trump’s new mining venture could now scale up with confidence that no federal carbon tax or mining penalty would hit their bottom line. Indeed, Eric Trump proclaimed, “We are going to become the greatest Bitcoin mining company on earth and we are doing it here in America”, explicitly tying patriotism and policy to the venture’s success. American Bitcoin’s investor presentation noted its goal of 50+ EH/s (exahashes per second) of mining power and a plan to leverage “favorable economics” – a clear reference to the supportive regulatory environment. In sum, Trump’s deregulatory energy agenda and crypto-friendly policies have given his family’s mining startup a much easier path to profitability than it would have had otherwise.

Forensic Clues: Wallet Activity and Token Sales Patterns

Public blockchain data, where available, further supports the notion that these Trump-tied projects were fueled by a small network of big players – possibly seeking influence. WLFI’s token sale was not a grassroots affair, but one dominated by large, anonymous crypto wallets:

• Whales dominated purchases: Nearly 70% of the funds WLFI raised came from wallets spending at least $100,000 each, and over half came from buys of $1 million or more. In other words, a handful of wealthy buyers (“whales”) contributed the majority of the $550M raise. The identity of these buyers is largely hidden behind blockchain addresses. Reuters, using on-chain analysis tools, identified only a handful of WLFI token purchasers – and those few known cases raise red flags. For example, one buyer, crypto investor Mike Dudas, put in ~$145,000 just one day before Trump’s inauguration. Dudas openly said he bought the tokens because “I believe a Trump DeFi company can be worth very much” and that the involvement of Trump’s advisors excited him . In short, he and others bet on Trump’s name and power to make their investment valuable – a motivation more akin to patronage than tech speculation. Another buyer was the pseudonymous CIO of Sigil Fund (Gibraltar), who spent ~$130,000 (40 ETH) on WLFI; Sigil Fund explicitly touted WLFI’s “direct connection” to “our new crypto president Donald Trump” as a reason they “aped in” without typical due diligence.

• Foreign and high-risk investors: The single largest known WLFI token buyer is Justin Sun, who by some accounts took a $75 million position (likely through layered wallets). Sun is an overseas billionaire who was simultaneously fighting an SEC lawsuit for fraud and market manipulation. As noted, the SEC case against him was suddenly halted after his WLFI investment, suggesting a troubling quid pro quo. Another identified participant, Troy Murray (a crypto entrepreneur in Puerto Rico), bought ~666,000 WLFI tokens; Murray had previously been sanctioned by the SEC in 2023 for selling unregistered crypto securities (he settled the case). Such participants – an accused market manipulator and a person with past SEC violations – are not the typical profile of arm’s-length investors. Their presence in WLFI raises the question: were they purchasing tokens for profit or to gain clout with the incoming administration (or both)? Commenting on WLFI’s unorthodox structure, Murray himself admitted he was “curious about the legal structure” and, after navigating it, figured “why not” invest – hardly a ringing endorsement of the project fundamentals.

• Tokenomics favoring insiders: The blockchain data also revealed that Trump’s entity received 22.5 billion $WLFI tokens up front as part of the deal. These serve as a “token reserve” for the insiders. Notably, these tokens are not currently tradeable or listed on exchanges (WLFI isn’t on open markets), preventing price discovery. This lack of trading means outsiders cannot easily exit their positions, effectively locking in those who “donated” millions. Meanwhile, the Trump side presumably has flexibility to sell their own tokens or collect fees when/if a market is eventually made. This asymmetry – outsiders locked in, insiders liquid – is a classic hallmark of a scheme where insiders hold all the leverage over price and liquidity.

• Meme coin windfalls: Outside WLFI, Trump’s family also benefited from other crypto asset launches that coincided with Trump’s political rise. For instance, a $MELANIA token (named after the former First Lady) also launched on Solana and attracted swarms of buyers alongside the $TRUMP coin. Chainalysis found that nearly half of the buyers of $TRUMP and $MELANIA tokens created their wallets the very same day they purchased – suggesting a coordinated influx of new wallets, possibly to obscure whale accumulation. Furthermore, over 94% of those tokens ended up in just 40 large wallets. This indicates that a few insiders or syndicates likely reaped most of the gains. Indeed, Chainalysis estimates that entities connected to Trump earned at least $349 million in fees from the frenzy around these meme tokens. The fact that such coins exploded in value the day after Trump’s inauguration implies a speculative bet on Trump’s favor – and if Trump or associates seeded those tokens, they profited enormously from the short-lived mania. (Trump has a history of licensing his name for profit, and it appears crypto is no exception.)

In summary, the forensic evidence – while still unfolding – paints a picture of a highly concentrated investor base for Trump-linked crypto projects, with significant involvement from offshore funds, politically-connected figures, and even individuals under legal scrutiny. Many investors explicitly cited Trump’s involvement or anticipated policies as a reason they bought in. This underscores the central thesis: the value of these tokens is being driven less by technology or revenue prospects, and more by expectations of political influence. That in itself is a form of market manipulation – the market is being conditioned to believe that betting on Trump-linked assets is a way to profit from inside tracks or favorable treatment.

Politically Connected & Offshore Investors: Shell Companies and Donor Loopholes

One of the most troubling aspects of the Trump crypto ventures is how they could enable politically motivated money flows behind a veil of anonymity. Traditional political donations have caps and disclosure requirements; buying unregistered crypto tokens does not. WLFI’s heavy use of offshore exemptions (Reg S) means that vast sums flowed in from foreign or secretive entities. In effect, a foreign oligarch or a shadowy PAC could pour millions into WLFI tokens and the public would never know – yet the Trump family would directly pocket 75% of that money as “revenue” . This dynamic was not lost on ethics experts. Ross Delston, a former regulator, noted WLFI provides an ideal conduit for overseas interests “to funnel money to the President” outside normal oversight.

The available evidence shows several offshore or politically-linked investors did participate:

• As mentioned, Justin Sun stands out: a Chinese-born crypto billionaire, owner of Tron and Poloniex, who at various times has claimed citizenship or residency in Grenada, Singapore, and Hong Kong. He was not a U.S. person for legal purposes and thus could invest tens of millions via offshore entities into WLFI. Sun’s $75M play – and the subsequent easing of pressure on him by U.S. regulators – suggests a mutually beneficial arrangement: his money supports Trump’s project; Trump’s administration goes soft on his case. This kind of implicit quid pro quo is exactly what financial transparency laws aim to prevent – yet through the token sale, it may have occurred under the radar.

• The Sigil Fund investor (“Fiskantes”) from Gibraltar is another case. Gibraltar is known for its crypto-friendly regulations and opaque fund structures. By buying WLFI tokens, Sigil Fund effectively tied itself to Trump’s fortunes. In correspondence with Reuters, the fund unabashedly called Trump “our crypto president” and indicated they invested because of that connection. Gibraltar’s lax oversight and the pseudonymity of the fund’s CIO highlight how WLFI’s fundraising reached into offshore havens. It’s conceivable other buyers hid behind shell companies in places like the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, or Panama – all jurisdictions where wealthy Trump allies have operated in the past. (Though specific shell entities haven’t been named publicly, the use of Puerto Rico as WLFI’s base of operations and the heavy tilt toward non-U.S. investors strongly suggest a web of offshore vehicles.)

• Middle East connections: Trump’s circle has deep ties to Gulf state investors, and these intersect with crypto. Steve Witkoff – the real estate mogul and longtime Trump friend who helped introduce WLFI’s founders to the Trumps – was appointed by Trump as a special envoy to the Middle East. In late 2024, Witkoff and Eric Trump appeared at a Bitcoin conference in Abu Dhabi, UAE , praising crypto. The UAE, for its part, had become a major crypto hub, attracting $30 billion in crypto capital in the year leading up to mid-2024. It’s not confirmed whether Gulf sovereign funds or princes bought into WLFI, but the geopolitical alignment is suggestive. The UAE and Saudi Arabia had strong relationships with Trump (including a $2 billion investment in Jared Kushner’s post-White House fund), and both countries were investing heavily in crypto ventures. If any Middle Eastern entities chose to back WLFI (through Reg S offerings or intermediaries), they could do so discreetly. Given that WLFI’s stated mission is to “strengthen the U.S. dollar’s global status” and its stablecoin could facilitate international transactions, one could envision foreign investors seeing it as a strategic bet – not just financially, but diplomatically. U.S. lawmakers are rightly concerned that Trump’s crypto company could be a channel for foreign money seeking to influence U.S. policy .

• Domestic political allies: While most of the focus is on foreign money, even domestic political allies might have used WLFI to curry favor. Federal campaign finance limits don’t apply to buying tokens. For example, a mega-donor who already maxed out campaign contributions could quietly sink a few million into WLFI tokens as an extra “thank you” – knowing that 75% of it goes to Trump’s family. This essentially becomes a shadow fundraising mechanism. It’s not public who all the U.S. buyers of WLFI are (besides the ~348 small accredited investors noted in filings ), but the possibility of politically motivated buyers cannot be overlooked. Democrats in Congress have asked the SEC to hand over any communications from the Trump family or White House about WLFI, suspecting behind-the-scenes coordination. They specifically want to see if any safeguards were in place to prevent Trump’s financial stake from influencing SEC actions – implying concern that even U.S.-based actors (like Trump aides or allies) might have leaned on regulators regarding WLFI.

In summary, the network of investors and intermediaries around Trump’s crypto projects spans the globe – from Caribbean havens to European microstates to the Middle East – mirroring Trumpworld’s broader web of shell companies and foreign deals. The token sale structure (using Reg D/Reg S exemptions) was clearly designed to invite international money with minimal disclosure. This not only raises the risk of illicit or influence-seeking funds entering the mix, but it also demonstrates how the Trumps may be leveraging their political connections to draw investment into their crypto ventures. WLFI’s success in raising over half a billion dollars owes less to a compelling product (it had no public platform as of early 2025 ) and more to the Trump name and network opening wallets.

Exploiting Policy for Profit: Evidence of Coordinated Market Influence

Drawing these threads together, a pattern emerges in which public policy and political power were seemingly wielded to inflate and legitimize Trump-linked crypto projects, to the family’s financial gain. While direct “market manipulation” in the traditional sense (e.g. pump-and-dump trading) hasn’t been proven, the indirect manipulation via influence is difficult to deny:

• Trump’s name = instant credibility (or frenzy): The Trump family effectively turned Trump’s political brand into a crypto brand, leading to irrational exuberance in some corners of the market. Investors literally cited Trump’s involvement as the reason to buy in . One Gibraltar fund manager admitted they “aped” into WLFI without due diligence purely because of the Trump connection. This indicates the project’s perceived value was being inflated by Trump’s status rather than its fundamentals. Furthermore, Trump’s personal promotion of tokens – even if indirect – had real effects. When Trump appeared at the Bitcoin Nashville conference during his campaign, for instance, it signaled to many that he was embracing crypto, likely boosting speculative interest. The launch of the $TRUMP coin and $MELANIA coin around the inauguration – and their massive run-up – can be seen as a form of reputation-driven pump. Entities connected to Trump earned hundreds of millions in fees from that meme coin mania, essentially monetizing Trump hype at the expense of late-to-the-party retail buyers. This is profit from market froth that Trump himself created (or at least allowed) by reversing his stance on crypto.

• Strategic policy announcements: Throughout late 2024 and early 2025, policy moves were timed in ways that benefited the Trump crypto ventures. The Executive Order supporting mining and stablecoins came just as American Bitcoin and WLFI’s stablecoin were gearing up – giving those projects a stamp of official approval. In public, Trump touted crypto as strengthening the U.S. dollar, a narrative that directly aligns with WLFI’s stated mission of a USD-based DeFi system. By advocating that narrative from the White House, he boosted the legitimacy of his own venture’s stablecoin plan. Similarly, the administration’s push for Congress to act on stablecoins provided a sense that tokens like USD1 might operate in a well-regulated, federally blessed environment, potentially driving more confidence and investment towards WLFI. On the flip side, the administration appears to have stalled or scuttled policies that would harm their interests: e.g. halting the SEC’s aggressive posture (no new high-profile crypto lawsuits were brought in early 2025, and at least one was paused), scrapping any mining taxes, and generally slowing down stringent crypto oversight. All of these inactions kept the crypto market optimistic – which again helps Trump’s holdings. It’s telling that Bitcoin’s price hit an all-time high (~$100k) by Dec 2024 amidst anticipation of Trump’s win and pro-crypto stance. That broader market rise, in turn, made ventures like WLFI more attractive to investors (a rising tide lifting their boat). It is difficult to separate how much of that market rally was due to macro factors versus Trump’s influence – but what’s clear is that Trump and allies actively sought credit for it. They leaned into the narrative that crypto was booming because the “crypto President” was in charge.

• Conflict-of-interest behavior: Trump’s dual role as policymaker and profiteer did not go unnoticed. Ethics watchdogs and political opponents have loudly pointed out that Trump is effectively regulating an industry from which he and his family stand to personally earn huge sums. This creates a powerful incentive for policy decisions that inflate their crypto’s value or delay actions that might hurt it . The Justin Sun episode is perhaps the most blatant example: Sun’s $75M could be seen as a “pay-to-play” contribution in exchange for leniency. Whether or not an explicit deal was struck, the outcome was the same – Sun benefited from enforcement relief, and the Trumps got a major investor on board. Another example: if WLFI’s stablecoin were to launch and become significant, would a Trump-led Treasury or Fed treat it more favorably (e.g. as part of payments infrastructure) than they otherwise would, to ensure the family’s investment succeeds? Democrats worry that is a real possibility, hence their warning that taxpayers could be on the hook if Trump intervened to save his token. Even Republican crypto allies have expressed unease. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), a noted crypto advocate, admitted the Trump family’s crypto dealings “make it harder” to advance legislation, and cautioned people to “stay away from anything…gray” – an oblique reference to the moral gray area the Trumps are wading into. This suggests that Trump’s behavior is viewed as out-of-bounds even by some in his own party, reinforcing that these aren’t normal market actions but rather an exploitation of public office.

• Coordinated messaging and network effects: The Trumps have also leveraged their media and political network to promote their crypto endeavors. In 2024, the Trump family even hosted a crypto podcast where they gave a platform to WLFI’s founders via Steve Witkoff. Donald Trump Jr. frequently posts on social media about crypto gains and the need for DeFi, effectively blurring the line between political messaging and investment promotion. The Trump media ecosystem (including Truth Social and friendly outlets) often touts Bitcoin or decries “woke banks,” indirectly steering supporters toward the notion of investing in “freedom” crypto projects like WLFI. This narrative framing – casting crypto as part of the MAGA political revolution – serves to inflate interest and demand among Trump’s tens of millions of followers. It’s a form of soft manipulation: by using political rhetoric (“fight the deep state bank cabal, use crypto!”) that conveniently aligns with their profit motive, the Trumps rally a built-in investor base for their ventures.

Ultimately, while a smoking gun of direct market manipulation (like secret trading or price pump agreements) has not surfaced, the circumstantial evidence of coordinated market influence is compelling. We have a sitting President whose family owns a majority stake in a crypto company and a significant stake in a mining company – and that President is openly shaping policies that cause those assets to appreciate. We see unusual and well-timed investments from people who then benefit from government decisions. We see legislative and regulatory actions (or inactions) that align neatly with the profit interests of the First Family’s crypto holdings. And we see a pattern of public and private messaging designed to hype these ventures under the guise of national interest.

Conclusion: A Case of Crypto Profiteering and Influence Peddling

All the pieces point to what is, at the very least, an extraordinary conflict of interest – one that blurs the line between public policy and private profit. Trump, his family, and close allies have created crypto vehicles (WLFI, American Bitcoin, meme tokens, NFTs) and then leveraged the power of the presidency to promote and protect those ventures. The ownership structures ensure they reap outsized rewards from any success (e.g. the 75% revenue take from WLFI ). The flow of funds – often from anonymous or foreign sources – suggests these projects may have been used as backchannels for influence or payoffs. The timing of policy announcements and regulatory halts appears far from coincidental, consistently advantaging Trump-linked crypto interests.

In sum, the Trump family and associates are effectively playing dual roles of market actor and market referee, casting serious doubt on the fairness of the crypto market. As Warren and Waters wrote to the SEC, Trump’s stake in WLFI “represents an unprecedented conflict of interest,” creating an “obvious incentive” for the administration to tilt policies in ways that “directly benefit the President’s family.” The evidence gathered – from public filings and blockchain forensics to investigative reports – strongly supports the hypothesis that the Trump circle coordinated their crypto foray with favorable policy, in a bid to enrich themselves. Whether this amounts to illegal manipulation or merely unethical conduct may be debated for years, but one thing is clear: the entanglement of the Trump presidency with personal crypto ventures has distorted market forces and eroded the normal boundaries between public service and private gain. Such convergence of political power and market influence is virtually without precedent, and it underscores the need for greater transparency and perhaps new safeguards when high-ranking officials dabble in the very markets they oversee.

Sources: The analysis above is based on reporting from Reuters, CNBC, Bloomberg, and Axios; public documents (SEC filings, congressional letters, the January 2025 Executive Order); blockchain analytics by Chainalysis and Nansen; and other investigative journalism cited throughout. These sources (see below) provide detailed evidence of the ownership stakes, funds flow, and timing of actions that underpin the case for coordinated market influence by Donald Trump, his family, and allies.

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Sources

1. Reuters – How the Trump family took over a crypto firm as it raised hundreds of millions

2. SEC Filing – Form D for World Liberty Financial

3. Axios – Trump family investing in bitcoin mining venture

4. White House – Executive Order on Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology

5. Axios – Stablecoins’ quiet rise to mainstream finance

6. Reuters – US Democrats raise regulatory concerns over Trump family crypto venture

7. SEC – Press Release: SEC Charges Crypto Entrepreneur Justin Sun and His Companies for Fraud and Other Securities Law Violations

8. SEC – Administrative Proceeding: Tyler Ward and Troy Murray

9. Chainalysis – Trump-Themed Crypto: Wallet Consolidation and Insider Gains

10. Truth Social – Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)

11. Politico – Trump’s new crypto coin sparks ethics concerns

12. Reuters – Trump’s new crypto coin sparks ethics concerns

Anyone seeking more information or questions, feel free to reach out, and I can share more.

Knowledge is power.

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