What are cryptocurrencies?Also known as cryptos, they are a digital or virtual form of currency that uses cryptography for security;Are digital tokens;Are not legislated and are generally not secured by an underlying asset.<\/p>\n
The tokens or coins sold during an ICO represent a new cryptocurrency or digital asset, according to Elvira Sojli, an associate professor at the School of Banking and Finance at the University of New South Wales.<\/p>\n
Those tokens can then be used within the project’s ecosystem or traded on cryptocurrency exchanges.<\/p>\n
“Some cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin or Ethereum, are well-accepted means of payment,” Dr Sojli said.<\/p>\n
“These payments remain unknown or untraced to anyone, except the two parties involved in the transaction: the payer and receiver.<\/p>\n
“In this sense, cryptocurrencies are more like hard cash.” Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, are digital tokens.\u00a0(Getty Images: Michael Nagle\/Bloomberg)<\/p>\n
Unlike hard cash, however, not everyone is convinced of their value.<\/p>\n
Chris Brycki, CEO of investment platform Stockspot, told the ABC that cryptocurrencies were speculative and volatile assets whose value is driven by sentiment in the short-term.<\/p>\n
“They can’t replace the reliability of a diversified portfolio built on shares, bonds and gold, which provide enduring growth, income and inflation protection through cycles.”<\/p>\n
How much money has Trump made from crypto?<\/p>\n
The White House says the president has stepped back from his businesses since taking office and his assets are now in a trust managed by his children.<\/p>\n
The Trump family has likely earned several hundred million dollars from crypto ventures to date, based on available disclosures and market estimates, Dr Sojli said.<\/p>\n
“It is difficult to assess how much has actually been converted to liquid cash against how much is locked or on paper,” she said. The Trump family has likely earned several hundred million dollars from crypto, Dr Sojli says.\u00a0(Getty Images: Justin Chin\/Bloomberg)<\/p>\n
World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a crypto firm majority owned by Trump family interests, said in March it raised $US550 million ($840 million) by selling so-called governance tokens, $WLFI, from two separate sales.<\/p>\n
Dr Sojli told ABC that, of the $US550 million, reports claimed about $US390 million was attributed to the Trump family.<\/p>\n
Most of those token sales took place after Trump’s election win in November 2024, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n
Loading…What is $TRUMP?<\/p>\n
In January, just days before taking office, Mr Trump took a high profile turn and launched a so-called meme coin \u2014 which refers to a cryptocurrency token based on an internet meme, joke or cultural phenomena<\/a>. Think, Dogecoin.<\/p>\n The then US president-elect issued a total of 1 billion $TRUMP meme coins, 20 per cent of which were released publicly in an ICO, and 80 per cent of which remained held by Trump-affiliated entities.<\/p>\n “Analysis from various market experts estimates [Trump and his family were benefiting from the] total net generation of around $US350 million \u2014 $US314 million from token sales + $US36 million from transaction fees,” Dr Sojli said.<\/p>\n What’s behind Donald Trump’s latest crypto adventure?<\/a><\/p>\n There’s a lot of money in crypto, but who are the winners in Trump’s latest adventure?<\/p>\n Reuters reported that crypto-related entities behind the US president accumulated nearly $US100 million in $TRUMP trading fees within less than two weeks since its launch.<\/p>\n The ABC could not independently verify how much the Trump family made from the $MELANIA meme coin, which was also launched this January.<\/p>\n However, the market values of $TRUMP and $MELANIA meme coins have since slumped to $US1.7 billion and $US144 million, respectively, from $US9 billion and $US1.6 billion shortly after launch, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n In April, WLFI issued a dollar-backed stablecoin \u2014 a distinct digital token from meme coins called USD1 \u2014 with a market value of $US2.5 billion, Reuters reported, quoting CoinGecko.<\/p>\n Stablecoins are commonly used by crypto traders to move funds between tokens.<\/p>\n In July, Trump Media and Technology Group (Trump Media) announced that the company had “accumulated approximately $US2 billion in bitcoin and bitcoin-related securities”.<\/p>\n “The holdings now comprise around two-thirds of Trump Media’s approximately $US3 billion in liquid assets,” Trump Media said.<\/p>\n Mr Trump’s net worth is $US5.1 billion, from $US2.3 billion in 2024, according to Forbes’s 2025 World’s Billionaires List<\/a>.<\/p>\n The ABC has contacted the White House, World Liberty Financial and Trump Media for comment.<\/p>\n What about potential conflicts of interest?<\/p>\n The US president’s business dealings while in office have been subject to extensive scrutiny by the global press, including by ABC’s Americas editor John Lyons, who was recently rebuked by Mr Trump for asking questions on the topic<\/a>.<\/p>\n If Mr Trump’s crypto business or affiliated entities stand to benefit from regulatory, enforcement, or monetary policy decisions made by the US government \u2014 under his own leadership \u2014 it could create “textbook conflict of interest”, Dr Sojli said.<\/p>\n She added that “this crypto dynamic raises the stakes” because the crypto market was unregulated and easily manipulated.<\/p>\n “Trump-linked tokens like $TRUMP can be created, controlled, and liquidated at will, and there’s no current legal framework forcing crypto asset disclosure or divestment by public officials,” she said.<\/p>\n $TRUMP was released just three days before Mr Trump was inaugurated as president.<\/p>\n In May, Mr Trump hosted a private gala dinner, which he promoted on his Truth Social account, at his National Golf Club in Washington.<\/p>\n The top 25 holders of the $TRUMP meme coin were promised “an ultra-exclusive private VIP reception with the President” as well as a “Special Tour” on the $TRUMP meme coin website.<\/p>\n The US’s first federal legislation on digital assets \u2014 the National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, dubbed the GENIUS Act<\/a> \u2014 was signed into law by Mr Trump in July.<\/p>\n Democrats have criticised the act for giving Mr Trump a green light to continue profiting from crypto.<\/p>\n The White House told the ABC Four Corners program that Mr Trump is doing nothing wrong, insisting that he is abiding by all conflict of interest laws that are applicable to the president and his business interests have nothing to do with his presidential decision making.<\/p>\n How is money made from crypto?<\/p>\n People typically earn money from cryptocurrencies in ways similar to other financial markets, according to Dr Sojli from UNSW.<\/p>\n Justin Arzadon, head of digital assets at Betashares, said recent developments, including a new US regulatory framework for stablecoins, were a positive sign for the maturity of the asset class.<\/p>\n There are several ways for people to make money from cryptocurrencies.\u00a0(Getty Images: Paul Yeung\/Bloomberg)<\/p>\n
Conflicts of interest need to be considered when an individual is in a position of public trust, according to Dr Sojli.\u00a0(Getty Images: Andrew Harnik)<\/p>\n
Donald Trump’s Truth Social post on the Gala Dinner.\u00a0(Truth Social)<\/p>\n