Trump Denies Knowledge of Crypto Earnings, Says ‘Nothing Illegal’ Amid Ethics Concerns
Highlights
- President Trump said that he did not know about his crypto earnings.
- He added that there was nothing illegal if he did know about the crypto earnings.
- This comes amid ethics concerns over the Trump family's involvement in crypto.
President Donald Trump has denied being aware of the income he earned from his crypto ventures last year, following the disclosure of his 2025 financial disclosures. He also noted that there was nothing illegal about knowing, with this coming amid concerns of the conflict of interest with his family’s involvement in the crypto industry.
Trump Says He Did Not Know About Crypto Earnings
In a CNBC interview, the president said that he did not know about the crypto earnings, although he could if he wanted to. He added that there was nothing illegal about knowing, despite concerns about a conflict of interest given his family’s involvement in crypto.
This follows the release of Trump’s 2025 financial disclosure earlier this week, which revealed that the president made at least $1.4 billion in crypto income. The disclosure showed that he made this sum mainly from licensing deals involving his TRUMP meme coin and WLFI token sales.
As CoinGape reported, Trump defended his market profits following the release of this disclosure, attributing it to the stock market rally. However, the president did not comment on his crypto earnings at the time.
It is worth noting that the president’s family involvement in crypto has also led to criticisms of liquidity extraction following the launch of the TRUMP and MELANIA meme coins last year. WLFI, the native token of the Trump-backed World Liberty Financial, also launched last year, with all these tokens significantly down from their all-time highs (ATHs).
President Reiterates Need To Lead In Crypto
During the interview, President Trump reiterated the need for the U.S. to lead in crypto just as it is leading in AI. He warned that if they do not lead in crypto, China or Japan could take over the industry, which he considers to be a very large one.
He had previously called on Congress to pass the CLARITY Act as part of the plans to make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world. However, the CLARITY Act odds have fallen to new lows since the release of his financial disclosures.
Polymarket data show a 41% chance that President Trump will sign the bill into law this year. Ethics concerns among Democrats over the president’s involvement in crypto remain a stumbling block to the bill’s passage, and now, the bill is facing a race against time before the Senate heads for its August recess.
For more information about Trump coins, please check our page on Top Trump Coins To Buy
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