REPORTS
Trump's Crypto Connections
Since returning to office, Trump has aggressively promoted the expansion of cryptocurrency. He has loosened enforcement and reshaped regulatory oversight of stablecoins, all while profiting from crypto ventures he and his family control. Through ownership stakes in World Liberty Financial Inc. and CiC Digital LLC, President Trump’s crypto ventures have ballooned by approximately $1 billion since the November 2024 election. World Liberty Financial, launched in Oct. 2025 by the Trump family and other investors, issues USD1, a stablecoin whose reserves are directly or indirectly invested in U.S. Treasury assets. The Trump family has a 75 percent financial stake in the venture.
This report largely focuses on President Trump’s crypto conflicts of interest that appear to pose the greatest threat to the U.S. financial system.
POLITICAL BUSINESS
Trump Crypto TRACKER
SEPTEMBER 2024
World Liberty
Financial (WLF) is launched.
Trump seemed “to be leveraging attention from his White House run to promote” the “new business venture — one that by its nature could spark calls of constitutional conflicts,” Axios reported.
SEPTEMBER 16
Then former president Trump invites his more than 90 million X followers to a livestream, where the launch of cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial is announced. During the livestream, Trump said WLF would provide a decentralized financing (DeFi) platform to offer an alternative to traditional banking. “We’re embracing the future with crypto, and leaving the slow and outdated big banks behind,” he said days prior.
As part of its initial offering, WLF offered a governance token ($WLFI), the terms of which were outlined in a “Gold Paper”:
Sales of $WLFI are supposedly restricted to persons outside of the United States. $WLFI tokens are to be used for the purpose of determining the “governance” of WLF’s DeFi platform and are “locked indefinitely in a wallet or smart contract[.] until such time, if ever, $WLFI are unlocked through protocol governance procedures...” The total supply of $WLFI tokens was set at 100 billion. DT Marks DEFI LLC, a company owned by the Trumps, was allocated 22.5 billion of the tokens, as well as “a right to receive 75% of the net protocol revenues as defined in the services agreement after deduction of agreed operating expenses and the initial treasury reserve.” Axiom Management Group, LLC (AMG), “wholly owned by Chase Herro and Zachary Folkman,” was awarded “7.5 billion $WLFI tokens and 25% of net protocol revenue,” though AMD “agreed to allocate 50% of such amounts to WC Digital Fi LLC, an affiliate of Steve Witkoff and certain of his family members pursuant to the terms of a service agreement.”
Dough Finance co-founder Zachary Folkman also reveals that 63% of the $WLFI tokens will be sold to the public, 17% allocated for user rewards, and the remaining 20% for team compensation.
NOVEMBER 2024
Tron Founder Justin Sun announces $30 million investment in WLF.
The next day, WLF welcomes Sun as an "advisor" to the company.
NOVEMber 25
Crypto investor Justin Sun announces on X.com: “We are thrilled to invest $30 million in World Liberty Financial @worldlibertyfi as its largest investor.”
According to CNBC, just “$21.2 million worth of the [$WLFI] token had been sold” prior to Sun’s investment. In addition, the Trump’s LLC has “the right to 75% of revenues above a $30 million threshold” and sales “now appear to have crossed” that threshold to trigger revenue distribution to Trump’s LLC.
October 10
The Block reports that, in a “roadmap shared with prospective investors,” WLF states that its initial sale of $WLFI would include 20% of the token supply, with the goal of raising $300 million on a valuation of $1.5 billion.
October 15
Trump announces in a video on X that sales of the $WLFI token are now “live,” providing a link to WLF’s website for purchases.
October 30
WLF states in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it “currently only plans to sell tokens up to $30M in the offering before terminating sale.”
The $30 million in expected token sales is far short of the nearly $300 million WLF initially said it hoped to raise. Indeed, the same SEC filing notes that only $2.7 million in tokens had been sold to-date, out of total offering amount of $288.5 million.
Trump promotes WLF's first token and proclaims “Crypto is the future,” while linking to WLF's website for purchases.
OCTOBER 2024
“BIG NEWS!”
DECEMBER 2024
By the end of the year, Trump has earned more than $57 million from WLF "token sales."
As of December 31, DT Marks DeFi LLC reportedly owns a 75% interest in WLF.
december 21
Trump has earned $57.4 million in income from WLF “Token Sales” as of this date, according to his Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 278e)*.
This income is earned in just a few months, as WLF did not begin selling tokens until mid-October 2024. The 278 filing describes the underlying asset that generated this income, stating: “Primarily owns the WLFI protocol and governance platform and related token treasury, digital wallets and intellectual property.” The filing values this asset as “Over $50,000,000” and adds that Trump has “rights to certain service agreements with the founders of World Liberty Financial as of December 31, 2024.” In addition, the filing indicates that Trump holds 15.75 billion $WLFI governance tokens. According to the “Gold Paper,” DT Marks DEFI LLC, which is owned by the Trump family, was granted 22.5 billion tokens at WLF’s inception. The 278 filing does not indicate that Trump’s 15.75 billion $WLFI tokens are owned by DT Marks DEFI LLC, but instead held in a “Cryptocurrency Wallet Virtual Ethereum Key.” Trump’s filing claims these governance tokens are worth only “$1,001 to $15,000.” *The 278 form is published online in June 2025.
JANUARY 2025
Days before inauguration, President-elect Trump launches a personal meme coin.
In less than 24 hours, it is estimated Trump and his team “made at least [$58 million] in trading fees alone” from the initial sales of the $TRUMP meme coin.
JANUARY 17
Trump announces $TRUMP meme coin on social media and promotes the website for purchasing the coin.
200 million meme coins were initially released for sale, with plans to sell approximately 1 billion meme coins released over three years. The official website for $TRUMP states: “Trump Memes are intended to function as an expression of support for, and engagement with, the ideals and beliefs embodied by the symbol ‘$TRUMP’ and the associated artwork, and are not intended to be, or to be the subject of, an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type. GetTrumpMemes.com is not political and has nothing to do with any political campaign or any political office or governmental agency.” The website further states that the Trump family companies – CIC Digital LLC, an affiliate of The Trump Organization, and Fight Fight Fight LLC – “collectively own 80% of the Trump Cards, subject to a 3-year unlocking schedule” and “will receive trading revenue derived from trading activities of Trump Meme Cards.”
JANUARY 19
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Melania Trump launches her own meme coin, $Melania, via social media.
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WLF announces that it has sold its 20% of its token supply and will be offering “an additional block of 5% of token supply.”
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Justin Sun announces his company invested “an additional $45 million” in WLF, “bringing the total investment to $75 million.”
JANUARY 20
Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States.
JANUARY 23
President Trump issues Executive Order 14178 "to establish a regulatory framework that will promote the growth of digital assets and financial technology."
The policy specifically endorses dollar-backed stablecoins developed by the private sector and rejects the development of central bank digital currencies — the policy position previously under serious study by the Biden administration to mitigate against “significant illicit finance risks, including money laundering, cybercrime and ransomware, narcotics and human trafficking, and terrorism and proliferation financing”. (See Executive Order 14067, issued on Mar. 9, 2022.)
As of this date, according to an analysis by Reuters, $TRUMP had generated trading fees between $86 million to $100 million.
JANUARY 30
According to Reuters, the $TRUMP memecoin is sold under an arrangement with the cryptocurrency exchange Meteora.
Under this arrangement, “traders pay a fee to the coin creators for providing liquidity, a function that enables buyers and sellers to trade an asset smoothly. The creators do so by putting some of their assets in so-called ‘liquidity pools’, which then stand ready to enable trading on the exchange.” However, Reuters indicated that it “could not determine what portion of the fees so far, if any, had accrued to Trump personally, nor the ownership of the other entities behind the coin.”
JANUARY 24
By this date, the Trump’s family business, DT Marks DEFI LLC, reportedly owns “approximately 60%” of WLF — a decrease from their reported 75% ownership stake at the end of December.
$TRUMP
SEC asks district judge to pause civil fraud case against Justin Sun.
FEBRUARY 26
In a letter to a district judge, the SEC and Justin Sun’s defense counsel jointly request a stay in the government’s civil fraud case against Sun, who was charged nearly two years earlier.
The parties request that the court “stay this matter while they consider a potential resolution and agree that no party or non-party would be prejudiced by a stay,” claiming it is in the “public’s interest.” On Mar. 22, 2023, the SEC announced charges against Sun and three of his companies. The SEC alleged that they had engaged in the “unregistered offer and sale of crypto asset securities Tronix (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT).” The SEC “also charged Sun and his companies with fraudulently manipulating the secondary market for TRX through extensive wash trading, which involves the simultaneous or near-simultaneous purchase and sale of a security to make it appear actively traded without an actual change in beneficial ownership, and for orchestrating a scheme to pay celebrities to tout TRX and BTT without disclosing their compensation.”
FEBRUARY 2025
FEBRUARY 19
During a conference held in Hong Kong, WLF co-founder Zachary Folkman credits Justin Sun with “much of its early success.”
According to CoinDesk, Folkman gestured to Sun and said: “This guy saw that regardless of the outcome, this project is a monumental move forward for the entire crypto community.”
In addition to Sun’s investment in $WLFI, WLF also purchased “$10 million worth of TRX tokens — the native token of Sun's TRON blockchain — and WBTC, a Sun-linked bitcoin derivative.”
MARCH 25
Fortune estimates that President Trump's crypto assets were worth $2.9 billion and his non-crypto assets were worth $4.8 billion as of the middle of the month.
Based on these estimates, the combined value of Trump's crypto and non-crypto assets would be approximately $7.7 billion. If accurate, Trump's crypto assets would therefore comprise approximately 37% of his total assets.
WLF announces the launch of USD1, a “stablecoin redeemable 1:1 for the US dollar (USD)” and which “will be 100% backed by short-term US government treasuries, US dollar deposits, and other cash equivalents.”
WLF expressly seeks investments by foreign governments and their sovereign wealth funds. Zach Witkoff, WLF’s co-founder, states: “We’re offering a digital dollar stablecoin that sovereign investors and major institutions can confidently integrate into their strategies for seamless, secure cross-border transactions.” WLF also announces that it has partnered with BitGo, Inc. on the USD1 stablecoin. “USD1 reserves will be custodied by BitGo, the world’s largest independent qualified custodian and leader in digital asset security, custody, and liquidity,” WLF states. In addition, “BitGo Prime, BitGo’s prime brokerage service, will also support USD1 — providing institutional clients with access to deep liquidity and trading, all from insured and regulated qualified custody.”
MARCH 29
President Trump reportedly pardons three co-founders of the BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange, as well as a former employee, after the company had previously pleaded guilty to “violating the Bank Secrecy Act by willfully failing to establish, implement, and maintain an adequate anti-money laundering (‘AML’) program.” In Jan. 2025, BitMEX was sentenced to pay a $100 million fine for its violations.
MARCH 5
The White House Counsel’s office grants David Sacks, Trump’s White House Crypto Czar, a waiver for assets including his investment in BitGo, Inc. At the time of the waiver, BitGo, Inc. accounts for 2.468% of Sacks’ total assets in digital asset-related companies. Later in the month, WLF will announce that it has partnered with BitGo on its USD1 stablecoin.
MARCH 2025
Government to stockpile digital assets.
MARCH 6
Trump orders the U.S. government to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve and to stockpile digital assets.
MARCH 7
The Financial Times reports that Trump's "Crypto Project made at least" $350 million "from the launch of his memecoin."
MARCH 13
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Trump family’s representatives “have held talks to take a financial stake in the U.S. arm of crypto exchange Binance.”
Changpeng Zhao founded Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, in 2017. In November 2023, Binance and Zhao pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering, unlicensed money transmitting, and sanctions violations. Binance allegedly allowed money to flow to terrorists, cybercriminals and child abusers. As a result of the guilty pleas, Zhao stepped down as Binance’s CEO and served several months in prison. Binance also agreed to pay more than $4 billion in fines. According to the WSJ, Zhao has been seeking a presidential pardon from Trump.
APRIL 2025
Trump DOJ limits prosecution related to digital assets.
APRIL 8
In a memorandum to all Department of Justice employees, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche directs prosecutors not to pursue criminal charges involving digital assets unless the case relates to “individuals who victimize digital asset investors, or those who use digital assets in furtherance of criminal offenses such as terrorism, narcotics and human trafficking, organized crime, hacking, and cartel and gang financing.”
As a result of the policy shift, the DOJ “will no longer target virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, and offline wallets for the acts of their end users or unwitting violations of regulations.”
"Loosening government oversight"
APRIL 11
The Wall Street Journal reports that Binance executives met with Treasury Department officials in March to discuss “loosening U.S. government oversight on the company,” including the removing “a U.S. monitor that oversees the exchange’s compliance with anti-money-laundering laws.”
Binance “has also been in talks to list a new dollar-pegged cryptocurrency from World Liberty Financial…known as a stablecoin.” Listing the stablecoin “could catapult it into a huge market and potentially bring in billions in profit for the [Trump] family.”
APRIL 16
The UAE-based DWF Labs announces that it has purchased $25 million in $WLFI governance tokens “in a strategic private transaction,” as well as plans to open an office in New York City.
DWF Labs describes WLF as “the decentralized finance protocol and governance platform inspired by President Donald J. Trump.”
APRIL 30
Freight Technologies, Inc. (“Fr8Tech”), a Mexico-based company, announces that it has raised $20 million in capital, which “is exclusively earmarked for purchasing Official Trump Tokens ($TRUMP), making Fr8Tech one of the first public companies to make $TRUMP a cornerstone of its digital asset strategy.”
Javier Selgas, the CEO of Fr8Tech, explained the company’s strategy: “We believe that the addition of the Official Trump tokens are an excellent way to diversify our crypto treasury, and also an effective way to advocate for fair, balanced, and free trade between Mexico and the US.”
MAY 2025
MAY 1
Zach Witkoff says that MGX, an Abu Dhabi-based company, would use WLF’s USD1 stablecoin to close a $2 billion investment in Binance.
MAY 7
According to an analysis by Bloomberg News, 19 of the top 25 holders of Trump’s meme coin ($TRUMP) “who have registered on the website’s leaderboard used foreign exchanges that say they exclude customers living in the US.”
At least “56% of the leaderboard’s top 220 holders used similar offshore exchanges.”
MAY 13
GD Culture Group, a “struggling technology company that has ties to China and relies on TikTok,” says that it has “secured funding to buy as much as $300 million of $TRUMP,” according to The New York Times and an SEC filing.
MAY 16
WLF and Chainlink announce a new partnership, stating that “the USD1 stablecoin has skyrocketed in record time to eclipse $2 billion in market capitalization.”
MAY 20
In a post on X, Justin Sun describes himself as the “top holder of $TRUMP” and announces that he will be attending Trump’s gala dinner for the top meme coin customers.
MAY 21
Trump holds a dinner gala for his top 220 memecoin customers at his golf club in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.
Among those in attendance is Justin Sun. Two separate New York Times pieces raise ethical concerns with the memecoin contest.
Sun “spent more than $40 million on $TRUMP coins, earning himself the top spot on the leaderboard.” Separately, He Tianying, “a member of a Chinese government group,” was one of the top memecoin purchasers and in attendance.
MAY 12
Freight Technologies, Inc. (“Fr8Tech”) announces that it is purchasing an additional $1 million in $TRUMP, bringing its total investment in the memecoin to $2 million.
“Fr8Tech’s continued investment into TRUMP puts us at the intersection of finance and advocacy. It reflects our confidence in the long-term value and utility of blockchain-based digital assets and provides a unique opportunity to champion fair and free trade across the US-Mexico border in the interests of our customers,” Javier Selgas, the CEO of Fr8Tech, said.
JUNE 2025
JUNE 5
Trump Media and Technology Group Corp. announces that it has filed an initial registration statement with the SEC for the Truth Social Bitcoin ETF, B.T. ("the ETF"). The ETF “will hold bitcoin directly and offer its shares (the ‘Shares’) to investors, aiming to reflect Bitcoin's price performance.”
JUNE 8
According to Forbes, DT Marks DEFI LLC (the Trump Family) “owns about 40%” of WLF as of this date or shortly thereafter.
JUNE 11
Justin Sun announces on X.com that the “first USD1 has officially been minted on TRON – a small step for USD1, a giant leap for stablecoins!”
JUNE 13
Trump Media and Technology Group Corp. informs the SEC that its Bitcoin treasury deal has become effective, stating that it has raised $2.3 billion in capital for the initiative.
JUNE 25
WLF announces on X.com that it is working to make $WLFI transferable.
JUNE 26
A fund based in the United Arab Emirates, Aqua 1 Foundation, announces that it has purchased $100 million in WLF’s governance tokens, making Aqua 1 the biggest backer of WLF. According to Reuters, the purchase makes the fund WLF’s “largest publicly known investor.”
JUNE 27
President Trump declines to say if he will disassociate from his crypto ventures as Congress votes on related bills.
He says, "We've created a very powerful industry and that's more important than anything we invest in."
JUNE 30
SEC filings, related to a merger deal, disclose American Bitcoin raised $220 million for the purchase of digital asset mining equipment and Bitcoin.
American Bitcoin is a company whose backers include Eric and Donald Trump Jr. In a filing by Gryphon Digital Mining the capital raised by American Bitcoin was communicated as follows: “ABTC received aggregate gross proceeds of $220,059,080 and aggregate net proceeds of approximately $215 million after deducting certain fees and expenses incurred in connection with the financing. ABTC intends to use the net proceeds from the financing to fund its strategic and Bitcoin accumulation goals, which may include, but is not limited to, the purchase of Bitcoin and/or miners.” American Bitcoin appears in Gryphon Digital Mining’s filings because of plans to merge with Gryphon to go public.
JUNE 6
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Eric Trump posts on X.com that WLF “plans to acquire a substantial position in $TRUMP for their Long-Term Treasury."
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Citing an estimate by Chainalysis, The New York Times reports that Trump’s meme coin business has generated “at least $320 million” in revenues.
JUNE 27
WLF enters a partnership with Re7, a London-based hedge fund with ties to Hong Kong, to work on a USD1 stablecoin initiative.
According to CoinDesk, Re7 announced days earlier that it had secured $10 million in funds from “VMS Group, a Hong Kong family office with just under $4 billion in assets under management,” and which “is venturing into crypto for the first time.”
JULY 16
$WLFI governance token holders at World Liberty Financial vote to make governance tokens tradable.
The exact arrangement by which the Trump family benefits from each transaction or sale of the tokens is unclear but as the value of the tokens increase, the Trump family net worth increases.
JULY 20
Trump Media & Technology Group announces a stockpile of over $2 billion in digital assets.
SEC policy previously required cryptocurrency to be converted into U.S. dollars.
JULY 29
The Securities and Exchange Commission changes its policy to permit cryptocurrency exchanges for exchange-traded products.
JULY 30
Trump’s Working Group on Digital Assets releases its report, Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology.
The Digital Assets Working Group was created through Executive Order 14178 Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology. This report contains recommendations to “support growth and innovation in the digital assets industry”.
JULY 31
In a speech to the America First Policy Institute in Washington, D.C, Chairman Paul Atkins announced that the SEC’s Project Crypto would be “the SEC’s north star in aiding President Trump in his historic efforts to make America the ‘crypto capital of the world.’”
july 18
President Trump signs the GENIUS Act into law after lobbying lawmakers to vote yes during “Crypto Week.”
The law creates a legal pathway for payment stablecoins like World Liberty Financial’s USD1 to receive regulatory safe harbor to trade in the US. The bill was passed during the House of Representative's “crypto week” and after the President lobbied individual lawmakers to vote yes.
AUGUST 8
Bloomberg reports that World Liberty Financial has been soliciting investors to fund a public company which would hold WLF governance tokens. While details remained vague at the time, reporting indicated that World Liberty Financial was interested in offers around $1.5 billion.
AUGUST 11
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Alt5 Sigma Corporation and World Liberty Financial announce a $1.5 billion deal transferring common stock for governance tokens.
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Alt5 traded 100,000,000 shares of common stock in exchange for 7.5% of the total supply of WLF governance tokens. As a result of this deal, World Liberty Financial executives, Eric Trump, Zak Folkman, and Matt Morgan took positions on Alt5’s board of directors and executive team.
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Accountable.US estimates President Trump’s crypto ventures to be “up to 73%” of his total net worth.
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Based in part on the value added through both the impending tradeability of World Liberty Financial governance tokens and $Trump meme coins vesting schedule, Accountable.US projected Trump’s total net worth to be approximately $15.9 billion with his crypto assets accounting for $11.6 billion.
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AUGUST 11
The New Yorker estimates President Trump’s crypto wealth to have generated at least $2.3 billion.
AUGUST 12
The Wall Street Journal estimates President Trump’s crypto empire to have created more than $4.5 billion in wealth since the election.
The Journal attributes this crypto wealth, which is greater than any other portion of his portfolio, in large part due to a partnership between World Liberty Financial and PancakeSwap, a company created by Binance employees to promote the circulation and value of certain cryptocurrencies including World Liberty Financial’s USD1.
AUGUST 19
Former White House Crypto Council Executive Director Bo Hines is hired at cryptocurrency company Tether weeks after he leaves government service.
Hines takes on a role as a strategic advisor to Tether helping them navigate the regulatory environment he was involved in creating up until he left the White House Crypto Council.
AUGUST 26
Truth Social and Crypto.com announce a creation of a new crypto entity and a utility token on Truth Social.
This deal involved the creation of Trump Media Group CRO Strategy which will be majority owned by Trump Media, Crypto.com and Yorkville Acquisition Corp- a special purpose acquisition company with numerous ties to Trump ventures.
AUGUST 2025
AUGUST 7
President Trump signs Executive Order 14330 directing the Secretary of Labor to re-evaluate the Labor Department’s position on cryptocurrency, and other assets, as a part of 401(k) plans, reversing previous guidance and causing Bitcoin prices to rise.
In light of the Executive Order, the price of bitcoin surged as the Order further opened the door for the cryptocurrency to intermix with the $12.2 trillion held in 401k accounts. This decision is in line with a May 2025 decision from the Department of Labor to drop the Biden Administration regulation directing employers to exercise “extreme caution” when considering cryptocurrency assets in retirement plans. (See Executive Order 14330)
The SEC & Ripple Labs drop cross-appeals, ending years-long litigation and the potential for a $2 billion fine relating to Ripple’s alleged sale of unregistered securities. Ripple Labs will pay a $125 million fine but could have owed up to $2 billion in fines had the SEC won its appeal.
SEPTEMBER 2025
SEPTEMBER 1
World Liberty Financial tokens ($WLF) start publicly trading, creating a potential $5 billion windfall for the Trump family.
SEPTEMBER 12
Crypto company Tether, which issues the largest stablecoin, appointed former White House aide Bo Hines as the new CEO of its stablecoin.
Hines recently left the Trump Administration as the head of the Presidential Council of Advisors for Digital Assets.
SEPTEMBER 17
The SEC approved rules changes that allow for digital commodities to be listed on regulated exchanges under generic rules, making it easier for such crypto products to be offered.
SEPTEMBER 23
The CFTC announced “an initiative for the use of tokenized collateral including stablecoins in derivatives markets.”
The initiative could pave the way for crypto tokens to be used as collateral for margin calls in derivative trading.
SEPTEMBER 7
Bloomberg reports that the public offerings of World Liberty Financial and American Bitcoin netted the Trump family $1.3 billion.
SEPTEMBER 3
American Bitcoin, a Trump family joint-venture company, goes public on the Nasdaq.
SEPTEMBER 5
Justin Sun declares his plan to buy $20 million more in Trump family-affiliated crypto products.
Sun, a Trump family business partner previously investigated by the SEC, announces in a since deleted tweet his intent to invest an additional $10 million in both WLFI and ALT5 Sigma.
SEPTEMBER 15
The New York Times reports on the conflicts of interest that plagued the United Arab Emirates’ sovereign wealth fund’s $2 billion investment in World Liberty Financial and the U.S.-UAE A.I. microchip deal.
The Times’s report focused on the roles played by members of the Witkoff family and David Sacks.
SEPTEMBER 30
The White House withdrew Brian Quintenz’s nomination to chair the CFTC after “crypto billionaires Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss pressed President Donald Trump to reconsider his selection.”
SEPTEMBER 2
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a joint statement clarifying that trading spot crypto products was permissible on regulated exchanges.
The move means that cryptocurrencies can be bought and sold at their current market price like other assets, opening the door for institutional investors to buy and sell cryptocurrencies.
OCTOBER 14
President Trump’s DOJ makes a deal with “Bitcoin Jesus,” Roger Ver, to avoid prosecution for allegedly evading tens of millions of dollars in tax payments. Ver agrees to pay up to $49.9 million in penalties as part of the deferred prosecution agreement.
OCTOBER 15
The Guardian reports that Bitmain, a Chinese company, “is giving preferential access to its technology and providing unusually beneficial payment terms on hundreds of millions of dollars worth of specialized equipment” to American Bitcoin, which is partly owned by Eric Trump.
OCTOBER 2025
OCTOBER 22
Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority sues HTX, a crypto exchange advised by Justin Sun, alleging that it is “unlawfully promoting crypto asset services to UK consumers.”
OCTOBER 23
President Trump pardons Binance founder, Changpeng Zhao.
OCTOBER 13
The value of leading cryptocurrencies suddenly crashes after President Trump threatened to levy new tariffs on Chinese imports, demonstrating the volatility of the crypto market and how closely tied it is to U.S. policy.
NOVEMBER 2025
NOVEMBER 4
Politico reports that “[o]verseas crypto currency giants like Binance and Tether,” which had been investigated by the DOJ, “are enjoying a newfound embrace from President Donald Trump that could help them penetrate the mainstream American financial system.”
NOVEMBER 21
Forbes reports that Alt5 Sigma, a crypto company linked to World Liberty Financial, may have violated SEC rules by failing to make a timely report of the suspension of Alt5 Sigma CEO Peter Tassiopoulos.
NOVEMBER 26
Leading stock exchanges warn in a letter to the SEC that exempting crypto companies from existing regulations so they can sell “tokenised” stocks could introduce new risks to investors.
The letter comes in response to recent statements by SEC Chairman Paul Atkins regarding the agency’s hopes to create an “innovation exemption” for crypto companies that create new business models.
NOVEMBER 12
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins describes his agency’s “Project Crypto” as an effort to create a new “regulatory framework” for digital assets, explaining he “believes that most crypto tokens trading today are not themselves securities.”
NOVEMBER 18
Two U.S. Senators raised concerns with the DOJ about World Liberty Financial’s ties to “various suspicious entities” in North Korea and Russia.
NOVEMBER 17
The New York Times reports that “at least $28 billion tied to illicit activity has flowed into crypto exchanges over the last two years.”
NOVEMBER 25
The New York Times reports that the “families of 300 U.S. citizens hurt or killed in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel sued Binance, claiming the cryptocurrency exchange aided Hamas and other terrorist groups by transferring more than $1 billion among accounts they controlled."
In 2023, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money launder program after the DOJ accused the company of allowing money to flow to terrorist groups. Trump pardoned Zhao in October.
News
"It doesn't look as scary or nefarious [when corruption happens out in the open], and in fact, it normalizes it and it makes it look like it's OK. It perpetuates the idea that everybody does it. Nobody does it like this."
Virginia Canter
Chief Counsel and Director of Ethics and Anti Corruption,
Democracy Defenders Fund
on how crypto is making Trump hundreds of millions
October 13, 2025, Four Corners Documentary, Australian Broadcasting Company
January 13, 2026
Democracy Defenders Fund
Crypto ventures expose Trump and Treasury market to the whims of major investors
April 25, 2025
The Contrarian
DDF Chief Ethics Counsel Ginny Canter joins Richard Painter and Jen Rubin
October 13, 2025
Australian Broadcasting Company
Featuring DDF’s Executive Chair Amb. Norm Eisen (ret.) and Chief Ethics Counsel Ginny Canter
April 23, 2025
Democracy Defenders Fund
In just a few months, President Donald Trump has significantly increased his wealth, due to his business’s involvement in the cryptocurrency market.
Congress is abandoning centuries-old ethics lessons in its crypto push
October 9, 2025
The Hill
By DDF Chief Ethics Counsel Ginny Canter and Senior Ethics Counsel Chris Swartz
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