$2.3 Billion "Out of Thin Air": How Trump's Crypto Empire Is Bankrupting Investors and Selling Influence to UAE Sheikhs

Donald Trump promised the crypto industry a golden era, but it has only arrived for his family. While buyers of presidential tokens have lost $4.7 billion, the Trumps have earned half of that amount without any personal investments. This is how the monetization of power, VIP dinners, and money from the Emirates turned into a legal banking business, as reported by <>.

The Trumps earned $2.3 billion, buyers lost $4.7 billion

On August 27, the non-profit organization Public Citizen published a study showing that buyers of five crypto products linked to the president found themselves in a paper loss of at least $4.7 billion. The lion's share of this amount is attributed to the meme coin $TRUMP, where losses are estimated at $3.2 billion, while the rest is distributed among the tokens WLFI, NFTs, and the drop in Trump Media's stock after the announcement of the creation of a crypto treasury.

Against this backdrop, Trump’s recently published financial declaration for 2025 shows a completely different reality for his family. Only two key crypto directions generated $1.16 billion for companies associated with him: royalties from Celebration Coins provided $635.1 million, while the sale of World Liberty Financial tokens brought in another $526.8 million. Simultaneously, the declaration recorded $65.6 million from the sale of a stake in WLF Holdco, $196.9 million from contributions from new participants, and the sale of stakes in Stablecoin Holdco, along with $8.3 million in operational income from stablecoins.

A broader calculation by Reuters shows about $2.3 billion in pre-tax income for the family from the period of the 2024 elections to April 2026. Such a disproportion is explained by the very business model: the Trumps took almost no risk with their own capital, earning from royalties, commissions, and stakes in companies, while the main risk of falling asset values remained with the buyers.

How the Trump Family's Crypto Business Works

Back in 2019, Donald Trump referred to Bitcoin as "money out of thin air." However, at the end of 2022, immediately after announcing a new presidential campaign, he himself entered the crypto market. The first product was personalized NFT cards, the licensing revenues of which were received by CIC Digital—a company owned by a trust for Trump.

During the 2024 election campaign, individual crypto products transformed into a full-fledged family business. Trump promised the industry favorable regulation, and his family presented World Liberty Financial. Initially, the project sold WLFI tokens, which granted the right to vote on his decisions but not a share in profits. In March 2025, World Liberty launched USD1—a dollar-pegged stablecoin, whose reserves generate interest income for the company.

Meanwhile, CIC Digital expanded its business beyond NFTs. Shortly before Trump’s inauguration, family-linked structures released the meme coin $TRUMP, retaining control over 80% of the tokens and the right to receive commissions from trading. In the spring of 2025, Trump Media also joined the crypto expansion, raising billions of dollars to purchase Bitcoin and other digital assets.

As a result, the family created several sources of income: licensing fees from NFTs, sales of WLFI, interest from USD1 reserves, commissions around $TRUMP, and the appreciation of corporate crypto assets. At the same time, operational risks were distributed among different companies, while the economic benefits converged around one family.

Despite Trump’s claims that his children manage operations, transferring management does not mean relinquishing ownership. CIC Digital is owned by a trust, the sole beneficiary of which is the president himself, while the family retains 38.25% of World Liberty and rights to its future income.

Access Became Part of the Business Model

Formally under U.S. laws, Donald Trump has the right to simultaneously own crypto assets, appoint heads of regulatory agencies, and sign laws that directly affect the value of his own wealth. Unlike other officials, the president is not subject to federal conflict of interest regulations. This is why analysts' criticism pertains not to proven crimes, but to the very possibility of monetizing political status into private income.

This possibility quickly transformed into a concrete mechanism for monetization. In May 2025, 220 top holders of the meme coin $TRUMP received invitations to dinner with the president, and the first 25 were also invited to a separate closed reception. The very structure was unprecedented: Trump used his access as head of state to boost demand for a private crypto asset, from which entities connected to his family profited.

Particularly notable was the participation of TRON founder Justin Sun. Initially, he invested $75 million in World Liberty, after which the SEC suddenly suspended its case against him, and later Sun topped the list of $TRUMP holders and earned the right to a private meeting with the president. This does not prove direct bribery, but it demonstrates a clear conflict of interest, as a major investor in the family business gained personal access to the head of state while his case was being resolved by the regulator. Senator Richard Blumenthal called this dinner "an auction for access," while crypto investor Nick Carter described it as an inappropriate mixing of politics and private business.

Subsequently, the sale of access became an official function of the crypto products themselves. In March 2026, World Liberty offered investors "guaranteed direct contact" with the project team in exchange for locking up WLFI tokens worth at least $5 million. And although the organizers clarified that this did not imply audiences with Trump or his family, about 75% of the revenues from new token sales were directed to the accounts of the presidential family.

So far, it had been about tokens, private meetings, and buying loyalty. However, now World Liberty is moving to a qualitatively new level — to banking business licensed by the U.S. government, with one of the most influential officials from the UAE becoming a key co-owner of the new institution.

How a Sheikh from the UAE Became Trump's Bank's Main Partner

In August 2026, the American regulator preliminarily approved the creation of World Liberty Bank, which is set to issue the stablecoin USD1, manage its reserves, and store digital assets for large clients. However, the main intrigue lay not in the license itself, but in the ownership structure. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the largest share in the banking holding — 49% — will be controlled by an entity linked to the brother of the UAE president, Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed. The Trump family will own about 38%.

The partnership began back in January 2025, four days before Trump's inauguration. The company linked to Tahnoun agreed to purchase 49% of World Liberty for $500 million. From the first payment of $250 million, about $187 million went to the Trump family, making the sheikh the largest external partner of the project.

Subsequently, the partnership began to bring World Liberty not only capital but also demand for its product. In March of the same year, the company launched the stablecoin USD1, and by May, the fund controlled by Tahnoun used $2 billion in these tokens to invest in Binance. World Liberty did not receive this $2 billion as profit, but it was able to place the corresponding reserves in government bonds and keep the interest. One operation turned the little-known USD1 into a source of potentially tens of millions of dollars in annual income.

Parallel to this, Tahnoun interacted with the Trump administration as an official of the UAE. His controlled technology company G42 had been seeking access to advanced American chips for years, which had been restricted under Biden due to its ties with China. Two weeks after the MGX deal with Binance, the Trump administration struck an agreement with the UAE that opened up access to these technologies for the country.

There is no evidence that the investment in World Liberty or the use of USD1 was a payment for this decision, and both the White House and the company deny any connection. However, the conflict of interest is evident: Tahnoun simultaneously became a partner of the presidential family, the largest client of its stablecoin, and a foreign official seeking a strategic decision from the Trump administration.

Now all these interests converge in one bank. If he receives the final license, the issuance of USD1 and the management of reserves will shift from BitGo to an institution, 49% of which will be controlled by Tahnoun's structure, while about 38% will be held by the Trump family. The passive status limits the sheikh's investors' involvement in management but preserves their right to income. It results in a closed model: Tahnoun's fund creates demand for USD1, the sheikh and the Trumps profit from the joint bank, and the state under Donald Trump's leadership grants permission for its operation.

The conflict exists, but the law hardly sees it

Even the mere earning of the U.S. president from cryptocurrencies already creates a conflict of interest, as he has significant influence over state policy and the appointment of regulatory heads, whose decisions affect the crypto market and, consequently, his personal income. This conflict is exacerbated when the president publicly promotes family-related tokens and uses access to himself to support demand. However, the banking license elevates the issue to a new level: the regulator of the Trump administration effectively allows his family business to become part of the federal financial system.

For financial analysis, the main unknown remains the nature of demand. A large client may choose USD1 due to price or convenience, but a foreign official or state fund may also rely on the White House's favor. The transaction itself makes it impossible to determine where commercial interest ends and political begins.

At the same time, this creates a separate risk for investors. If part of the demand for the Trump tokens relies on the proximity of their owners to power, after a presidential change, such a "political premium" may disappear along with major clients and favorable regulations.

The OCC's decision immediately triggered a reaction in Congress. The very next day, Elizabeth Warren and nine other senators announced a bill that prohibits presidents and their families from owning banks. However, there are no Republicans among its authors, and without support from the party controlling Congress, the chances of passing it are currently slim.

Without a new law, it is difficult to stop this business. To accuse someone of bribery, a specific agreement must be proven, while the conflict of interest itself is not a crime for the president. Therefore, all the described agreements may remain legal, even if they blur the line between public policy and private profit. The main question remains unanswered: where does the market demand for the presidential family's product end and the purchase of political influence begin?