Trump defends earning more than $1bn on crypto

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday defended earning around $1.2 billion from his family's cryptocurrency activities last year, saying "everybody's profiting" from his time in power.

"You know why I'm profiting, because the stock market's going up, everybody's profiting," Trump told reporters as he prepared to take his first flight on a new Air Force One plane gifted by Qatar.

Asked about criticisms that he was using his position to enrich himself, the billionaire president said his earnings were placed in blind trusts to ensure that he could not do so.

"I don't get involved in my personal (finances); we have funds that run my money," Trump said. "I've made a lot of money before I became president, and they invest my money, and I don't talk to them."

Trump also insisted that his wealth was due to his prior career, despite the fact that the earnings were related to crypto ventures launched during his first year back in the White House.

"I don't know if I've had a better career in politics or business, but I had a great career in business, and you know, you saw the cash, and you report the different things," he said.

"So we're all profiting. I'm profiting because I have a lot of money and a lot of cash."

According to financial disclosures released by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics on Tuesday, Trump received nearly $550 million from his ties to the startup World Liberty Financial in 2025.

World Liberty Financial (WLF) was co-founded in September 2024 by Trump's sons and the son of Trump's Middle East special envoy, Steve Witkoff.

The 927-page filings also mention $635 million in royalties received under a licensing agreement related to the $TRUMP cryptocurrency, launched just hours before the president's inauguration in January 2025.

The president's crypto activities are the main reason for the near tripling of his personal fortune, which rose from $2.3 billion to $6.5 billion between 2024 and 2026, according to Forbes.

While in power, Trump has enacted measures to deregulate the sector, causing asset prices to soar.

The White House said he had "proudly made the United States the crypto capital of the world."

AFP