Trump's crypto money: the memecoin, World Liberty Financial and the stablecoin

Melania Trump launches $MELANIA on inauguration eve; $TRUMP drops 20-40%

$2.15BThe family

On the Sunday evening before the inauguration, Melania Trump posted that investors could 'buy $MELANIA now.' Her coin reached a market value of about $2.15 billion the next morning, while the $TRUMP coin fell about 20% on Monday and, by one count, briefly as much as 40%. Both coins later lost most of their value.

Source: CNBC

First-week crypto order and SEC rule change reward an industry that funded the campaign

A donor

Three days into his term Trump signed an executive order promoting digital assets, creating a working group to study a government crypto stockpile and banning a Federal Reserve digital dollar. The same day the SEC withdrew SAB 121, an accounting rule that had made it costly for banks to hold crypto. CNBC described the moves as a quick return for an industry that poured tens of millions of dollars into the 2024 campaign.

Source: CNBC

Executive Order 14233 creates a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve the government may not sell

The President

Trump signed Executive Order 14233 establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve of bitcoin forfeited to the government, which 'shall not be sold,' plus a separate Digital Asset Stockpile. It told the Treasury and Commerce secretaries to find 'budget neutral' ways to buy more bitcoin. The order was signed while the President and his family held large crypto positions through the $TRUMP coin and World Liberty Financial.

Source: GovInfo (Compilation of Presidential Documents)

WSJ: Trump family explored a stake in Binance.US while its founder sought a pardon

The family

The Wall Street Journal reported that representatives of the Trump family had held exploratory talks about taking a financial stake in Binance.US, possibly through World Liberty Financial, and that Binance founder Changpeng Zhao had been pushing the administration for a pardon. Bloomberg separately reported that World Liberty had discussed working with Binance on a stablecoin.

The response: Zhao said the Journal 'got the facts wrong' and denied seeking a pardon. World Liberty Financial called the reports 'unsubstantiated' and 'politically motivated' in a March 14 statement on X.

Source: The Block, The Block

Reuters: Trump family entity controls about 60% of World Liberty's holding company

The family

Reuters reported that a new holding company, WLF Holdco LLC, held the only membership interest in World Liberty Financial, and that DT Marks DeFi LLC, an entity affiliated with Donald Trump and family members, owned about 60% of its equity. The restructuring replaced co-founders Zak Folkman and Chase Herro as sole directors. World Liberty later said the Trump-affiliated stake was 38%.

Source: The Block (citing Reuters), CNBC

Democrats call MGX deal a 'staggering' conflict; Waters walks out of crypto hearing

The public

Senators Jeff Merkley and Elizabeth Warren asked the Office of Government Ethics to investigate the MGX-Binance-USD1 deal, which they said could indirectly pay the Trump and Witkoff families hundreds of millions of dollars and might violate the Emoluments Clause. The next day Rep. Maxine Waters blocked a joint House hearing on crypto legislation, saying 'I object to this joint hearing because of the corruption of the President of the United States,' and Senate Democrats introduced the End Crypto Corruption Act to bar the President and his family from profiting from digital assets.

The response: White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly: 'President Trump's assets are in a trust managed by his children. There are no conflicts of interest.'

Source: Office of Sen. Jeff Merkley, CNBC, Banking Dive, CBS News

Chainalysis: 764,000 wallets lost money on $TRUMP while creators collected $324 million

$324MThe public

On-chain analysis shared with CNBC found that of roughly 2 million wallets that bought $TRUMP, about 764,000 lost money, most of them small holders. Fifty-eight wallets made more than $10 million each, about $1.1 billion combined. Since January more than $324 million in trading fees had gone to wallets tied to the project's creators, because the token's code takes a cut of every transaction.

Source: CNBC

Nasdaq firm ALT5 Sigma raises $1.5 billion to buy WLFI; Eric Trump joins its board

$1.5BThe family

ALT5 Sigma announced a $1.5 billion stock sale to build a treasury of World Liberty's WLFI tokens, with World Liberty as lead investor paying in tokens. Zach Witkoff became ALT5's chairman and Eric Trump was named a director, later downgraded to a non-voting board observer to satisfy Nasdaq rules. Securities filings showed World Liberty would receive ALT5 shares in exchange for $750 million of WLFI. ALT5's shares fell 8% on the news and later collapsed.

Source: The Block, The Block, CNBC

Eric Trump's American Bitcoin lists on Nasdaq, briefly valued near $8.5 billion

$8.5BThe family

American Bitcoin, created in March 2025 when miner Hut 8 spun its mining business into a new company, went public in early September 2025. Hut 8 kept 80%; the other 20% went to shareholders of American Data Centers, a company launched by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. Eric Trump is co-founder and chief strategy officer. The company was valued at nearly $8.5 billion at its September 9 peak and had five employees; by mid-January 2026 the stock was down more than 70%.

Source: Fortune, CoinDesk

World Liberty freezes largest investor Justin Sun's wallet after WLFI falls 40%

$100MA donor

After WLFI dropped about 40% to around 19 cents, Sun moved $9 million of tokens and blockchain data showed World Liberty then froze his wallet. Sun said more than $100 million of crypto he bought from the project had been frozen. The freeze touched off a legal war between the company and the investor whose $75 million had helped launch it.

The response: World Liberty said it 'respond[s] when alerted to malicious or high-risk activity.' Sun said 'No buying or selling was involved.'

Source: Fortune

World Liberty asks the Trump-appointed Comptroller for a national bank charter

$3.3BThe family

World Liberty's subsidiary WLTC Holdings LLC filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a Treasury bureau led by a Trump appointee, to create World Liberty Trust Company, a national trust bank 'purpose-built' to issue and hold reserves for USD1. The company said USD1 had passed $3.3 billion in circulation in its first year; days later it launched a lending app, World Liberty Markets, built on the Dolomite protocol.

Source: The Block, CoinDesk

Pakistan signs a deal to explore USD1 as Zach Witkoff meets the prime minister and army chief

The circle

Pakistan's Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority announced a memorandum of understanding with SC Financial Technologies, a Delaware company that co-owns the USD1 brand with World Liberty and is also run by Zach Witkoff, to explore bringing USD1 into Pakistan's regulated payments system. During the visit Witkoff, son of the U.S. special envoy, met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the finance minister and Field Marshal Asim Munir. It followed an April 2025 letter of intent with the Pakistan Crypto Council and was described as World Liberty's first agreement with a sovereign state.

The response: Pakistan's regulator said the MoU does not commit the country to adopting USD1 and is exploratory. The Block said World Liberty had not responded to its request for comment.

Source: Reuters (via Dawn), The Block

Bloomberg: crypto added $1.4 billion to the Trump family fortune in year one

$1.4BThe family

On the first anniversary of the inauguration, Bloomberg estimated that crypto-related ventures had added about $1.4 billion to the Trump family's wealth, roughly a fifth of a $6.8 billion total, with more than $1 billion in realized profits mainly from World Liberty and the $TRUMP coin. Bloomberg left out the family's locked World Liberty founder tokens, then worth about $3.8 billion. The gains were offset by the fall in Trump Media's share price, so the family's total was almost unchanged.

Source: The Block (citing Bloomberg)

SEC settles its fraud case against World Liberty backer Justin Sun for $10 million

$10 million penaltyA donor

A court filing showed the SEC agreed to end its 2023 civil fraud case against Justin Sun, with one of his companies paying a $10 million penalty and the claims against Sun, the Tron Foundation and BitTorrent Foundation dismissed. The case had been paused in February 2025, weeks after Sun put $75 million into World Liberty. The original complaint alleged illegal token distributions, inflated trading volume and hidden celebrity payments.

The response: Neither Sun's lawyers nor the SEC responded to Reuters' requests for comment. NBC News reported the case 'was dismissed in March after he agreed to pay a $10 million fine.'

Source: Reuters (via Yahoo Finance), NBC News

World Liberty borrows against its own token on an adviser's platform; WLFI hits record low

$75MThe family

On-chain data analyzed by CoinDesk showed World Liberty's treasury had pledged billions of WLFI tokens on Dolomite, a lending platform co-founded by its own adviser and CTO Corey Caplan, to borrow stablecoins, with more than $40 million routed to Coinbase Prime. WLFI fell about 10% to a record low near 8 cents, down 82% from its September 2025 high, and the lending pool was so heavily drawn that other depositors could not withdraw. Fortune reported Bubblemaps' warning that a forced liquidation could crash the thinly traded token.

The response: World Liberty said its loan positions are 'nowhere near liquidation,' called itself the 'anchor borrower' for WLFI and said: 'That's not a risk. That's how this works.' It said it had repaid $25 million.

Source: CoinDesk, Fortune

Senators question a Gaza reconstruction stablecoin that could benefit World Liberty

The circle

Senators Merkley, Warren, Van Hollen and Sanders wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio about reports that the Trump-backed 'Board of Peace,' whose members include Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, might create a dollar-backed stablecoin for Gaza's reconstruction. They asked whether World Liberty Financial, which sells its own stablecoin, would have a role, and requested answers by April 24, 2026.

Source: Office of Sen. Jeff Merkley

Justin Sun sues World Liberty for fraud; the Trump company countersues for defamation

A donor

Sun, once World Liberty's largest investor, sued the company in California federal court alleging breach of contract and fraud, saying it froze his tokens to pressure him into promoting its USD1 stablecoin on his Tron network, which he called extortion. Blockchain tracker Bubblemaps estimated his frozen holdings had fallen by more than $80 million to about $43 million. On May 4 World Liberty sued Sun for defamation in Florida state court, accusing him of a 'scorched-earth pressure campaign' and prohibited transfers to Binance.

The response: Eric Trump called the suit 'ridiculous.' Zach Witkoff called the claims 'entirely meritless' and said World Liberty 'looks forward to getting the case thrown out promptly.' Sun called the countersuit 'a meritless PR stunt.'

Source: ABC News, NBC News, The Block

Trump hosts 297 top $TRUMP holders at Mar-a-Lago as the coin sits 95% below its peak

$336MThe President

Trump gave the keynote at what he called the 'most exclusive' crypto and business conference in the world, held at his Mar-a-Lago club for 297 of the largest registered $TRUMP holders, with the top 29 attending a VIP reception. Rankings were based on token holdings and purchases of Trump merchandise between March 12 and April 14. The coin traded near $2.53 that day, down more than 95% from its $75 peak; the winners held about $29 million of $TRUMP, compared with $148 million held by the May 2025 dinner guests. A Reuters examination found the family had taken in more than $1 billion from crypto asset sales, including at least $336 million tied to meme-coin sales in the first half of 2025.

The response: White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said the President's assets are in a trust managed by his children and 'There are no conflicts of interest.' Trump said he felt an 'obligation' to support the crypto industry.

Source: Reuters (via The Irish Times)

Trump Media pulls its Truth Social bitcoin ETFs; its bitcoin treasury sits on heavy losses

$557.1MThe President

Trump Media, in which a Trump trust holds about half the shares, withdrew its SEC registrations for the Truth Social Bitcoin ETF and Bitcoin & Ethereum ETF, saying it would 'not pursue the public offering at this time.' Its quarterly report for the period ending June 30, 2026 showed the company held 9,477 bitcoin bought for about $1.0 billion but worth $557 million, plus Cronos tokens worth $41 million against a $114 million cost; digital asset losses of $361 million drove a $644 million six-month net loss. The bitcoin was bought with about $2.36 billion raised in 2025 through convertible notes and a private stock placement.

The response: Fund sponsor Yorkville America said it would pursue a different ETF strategy under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Trump Media's 10-Q says it 'does not use derivatives for speculation.'

Source: The Block, SEC EDGAR

Commerce eases chip export rules for MGX and G42, the UAE firms behind World Liberty's biggest deals

$263MA donor

A Commerce Department rule said the government would 'favorably review' export licenses for MGX, the Abu Dhabi fund that used USD1 to pay for its $2 billion Binance stake, and gave the UAE government, G42 and its cloud arm access to license exceptions for advanced computing equipment. Senator Warren called the provision 'corrupt' and, citing Trump's disclosure, said the MGX deal produced a $263 million windfall for him; she demanded that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testify. CNBC noted there was no evidence in the rule that the UAE's dealings with World Liberty influenced the decision.

The response: Commerce said the rule 'will significantly upgrade the status of the United Arab Emirates,' citing its status as a Major Defense Partner and its support for U.S. national security interests.

Source: CNBC

American Bitcoin does a 1-for-15 reverse split; Eric Trump's stake down $600 million

$600MThe family

American Bitcoin consolidated every 15 shares into one to meet Nasdaq's $1 minimum price after the stock fell more than 95% from its September 2025 peak; its market value shrank to about $374 million. Bloomberg estimated that Eric Trump owns about 6% of the company and that the slump wiped more than $600 million off the value of his stake over ten months. The company kept buying bitcoin, holding 6,899 BTC in March 2026, the 16th-largest public holder.

Source: Barchart (via Yahoo Finance, citing Bloomberg), CoinDesk

Zach Witkoff: $4 billion of USD1 in circulation; 'I don't spend my time thinking about' conflicts

$4BThe circle

On CNBC's Squawk Box, World Liberty CEO Zach Witkoff said more than $4 billion of USD1 was in circulation with over $1 billion in daily trading, and that this refuted the charge that the stablecoin is a vehicle to send money to the Trump family. CNBC noted Trump's disclosure showed about $515 million in income from World Liberty token sales and $65 million from equity sales in 2025, and that the family was reportedly entitled to roughly $500 million from the ALT5 Sigma deal, whose shares later plunged.

The response: Witkoff said he has 'never talked to' Trump about business, and on conflict-of-interest charges: 'I don't spend my time thinking about those things.'

Source: CNBC

Senate blocks the CLARITY Act 49-50 over Trump's crypto profits

The public

The crypto market-structure bill failed a procedural vote 49-50, short of the 60 needed, after Democrats said its new ethics clause, which barred officials from issuing digital assets but left enforcement to Trump's own Justice Department and did not cover his bank or his children, would not stop the President from profiting. Warren called it a 'weak fig leaf' and said the bill 'would turbocharge Donald Trump's unprecedented corruption'; Senator Mark Warner said the 'fundamental conflict of interest made it impossible for me to support moving forward.'

The response: White House spokesperson Liz Huston said Republicans had addressed Democrats' stated policy goals and urged Democrats to pass the bill so the U.S. can stay ahead of foreign competitors.

Source: CBS News, CNBC, The Block

Third $TRUMP dinner set for Nov. 22; at least 52 of top 100 holders used offshore exchanges

$532MThe President

Fight Fight Fight's website announced a Nov. 22, 2026 gala at Trump National Golf Club outside Washington for the 185 largest $TRUMP holders, ranked by a time-weighted score, with the top 29 getting a VIP reception with the President. CBS News found at least 52 of the top 100 leaderboard accounts had moved funds through exchanges that bar U.S. customers, including Binance, holding nearly $6.8 million of the $15 million on the board. The coin's market value had fallen more than 95% from its January 2025 peak to about $532 million. CIC Digital and Fight Fight Fight still own 80% of the supply.

The response: A White House official said the administration only acts in the 'best interest of the American people' and called the dinner 'a private event, not a government function.' The Trump Organization did not respond to CBS News.

Source: CBS News

Trump headlines a White House event on overseas crypto scams as his own coin's buyers nurse losses

$833MThe public

The White House said Trump would use an October 21 cybercrime event to highlight the administration's work against overseas crypto scam centers, citing about $833 million in crypto halted, 503 fraudulent sites seized and nearly 9,000 Americans warned they were being victimized. CoinDesk noted that Trump's personal crypto ties were a political liability ahead of the midterms, with digital assets featuring in self-dealing accusations against him.

Source: CoinDesk

Nine senators demand answers on the Nov. 22 meme-coin dinner by Oct. 30

The public

Senators led by Adam Schiff, with Elissa Slotkin, Richard Blumenthal, Dick Durbin, Catherine Cortez Masto, Kirsten Gillibrand, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Chris Van Hollen and Elizabeth Warren, wrote to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles asking whether ethics officials were consulted, whether foreign entities can buy access through token purchases, how much revenue the President and his family could gain from leaderboard-driven trading, and whether the White House will publish an unredacted attendee list. They asked for written answers by October 30 and a briefing by November 6, 2026.

The response: No White House response to the letter had been reported as of Nov. 1, 2026.

Source: Office of Sen. Elissa Slotkin

Record $6.3 billion Binance hack; World Liberty freezes $27 million of USD1; Trump: 'it's a hack'

$6.3BA donor

Binance, whose pardoned founder Zhao remains a major shareholder, said about $6.3 billion was stolen from its hot wallets in the largest crypto heist ever, which analysts tied to North Korea. World Liberty co-founder Zach Witkoff confirmed about $27 million of USD1 was frozen and BitGo moved to freeze USD1 at an address that received stolen funds. At a Friday press conference Trump said he was looking into it and that Binance says customers will get their money back, adding 'But it's a hack.' The stalled CLARITY Act, held up partly over Trump's crypto holdings, returned to debate.

The response: Binance said it would 'cover all losses.' Zhao: 'As a shareholder, I expect all user funds will be fully covered.'

Source: NBC News, CoinDesk, The Block