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Trump defends crypto windfall
President Donald Trump defended his family’s crypto-related earnings after financial disclosures showed he reported at least $1.4 billion in crypto income for 2025, telling CNBC in a White House interview that there was “nothing wrong” or illegal about the income.
“The president reported at least $1.4 billion in crypto income for 2025.”
In the same CNBC interview, Trump said when asked whether he knew about the ventures, “I could know about it. I didn't.”
The disclosures released by the federal Office of Government Ethics made Trump the largest crypto earner in U.S. politics, showing about $636 million tied to his eponymous memecoin, roughly $594 million from World Liberty Financial, and nearly $197 million from a stablecoin venture.
The reporting also tied the disclosures to Trump’s decision to hand day-to-day control of his businesses to his two eldest sons before taking office and not divest his assets.
While the crypto market turned downward, Reuters reported that Bitcoin was down roughly 50% from the record above $126,000 it set in October, even as Trump’s disclosed crypto income remained a central political flashpoint.
Blind trusts and criticism
Donald Trump told reporters as he prepared to board a new Air Force One provided by Qatar that he earned about $1.2 billion through his cryptocurrency activities in 2025 and said his income was placed in blind trusts.
Trump insisted, “I don't handle my personal finances; we have funds that manage my money,” adding that he did not talk to the managers and that he made money before becoming president.
Business Insider reported that a federal filing released by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics showed Trump’s profits from his various crypto businesses reached $1.2 billion in 2025 and that the 925-page document broke down exposure including $50 million in bitcoin and $500 million from the World Liberty Financial token.
White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told Business Insider that “There are no conflicts of interest,” and said all of the President’s assets are held in fully discretionary accounts managed by independent third-party financial institutions.
Market voices in the same Business Insider piece argued the disclosures would draw criticism, with Dan Weiskopf saying that listing about $1.4 billion from Crypto income in 2025 is “not the Clarity needed to push forward his agenda” to get the Market Structure Bill on his desk.
Taxes, transparency, and risk
CBS News reported that taxes on Trump’s $1.4 billion crypto income could total hundreds of millions of dollars, quoting an accountant who said it was reasonable to believe Trump would have to pay at least $250 million on this income.
“it was reasonable to believe Mr. Trump would have to pay at least $250 million”
Omri Marian, a law professor specializing in cryptocurrency taxation, told CBS News, “This is like looking at a black box and I can't see inside,” and said limited descriptions of the income sources made it impossible to determine whether the money would be considered capital gains or ordinary income.
CBS News also noted that if the entire $1.4 billion were to be taxed at a federal individual income rate, Trump would owe the IRS $518 million based on the maximum statutory rate of 37%, without accounting for potential deductions.
The same CBS News report said the White House declined to respond to questions about any taxes Trump paid on the crypto income and whether operating losses were applied to his crypto-related tax bill.
NBC News added that many who invested in the cryptocurrencies disclosed by Trump “weren’t so lucky,” while the reporting context emphasized that Trump disclosed more than $1 billion in income from crypto ventures tied to his family’s businesses.
