Donald Trump’s ties to cryptocurrency projects, his holdings and those of Trump-backed World Liberty Financial have raised red flags in the crypto community on several occasions. As the Trump administration changes its stance from the U.S. President’s previous term and turns pro-crypto, several crypto companies with close ties to Trump and his aides have gained or set their sights on gaining from association.
In the following research, we uncover Trump family businesses, ties to crypto projects, top five crypto tokens that could benefit during the administration and unpack the controversy around it all.
Trump’s crypto holdings and TRUMP meme coin
The 45th and 47th President of the United States broke more than one record when he was sworn in, on January 20, 2025. From being the first head of state to launch an official meme coin three days before joining the Oval Office to his NFT collection and pro-crypto administration, Trump has kept crypto traders on their toes this market cycle.
On-chain intelligence tracker Arkham Intel identified a wallet associated with President Trump and the holdings of the address are consistent with Trump’s financial disclosures when he was running for office in November 2024.
While it was clear that Trump held Ethereum (ETH) in his crypto wallet, the date or average price of purchase remains unclear, as the Presidential candidate at the time, was not required to disclose the same.
At the time of writing, the Arkham Intel wallet shows $1.437 million worth of crypto in the wallet, it includes meme coins as well as stablecoins, tokens like Polygon (MATIC) and World Liberty Financial’s WFI token.
Trump’s tryst with crypto is not a new one, before his official meme coin TRUMP’s launch, the President dropped an NFT collection, Official Trump Digital Trading Cards (TRUMP). In an interview, the U.S. President said he doesn’t know much about the coin but that it is his official meme coin, and garnered criticism from crypto analysts and experts.
Commenting on the tokenomics of TRUMP token, David Zimmerman, a K33 analyst said,
“There’s no sugar-coating this – these tokenomics are horrendous for a meme-coin.” The project’s tokenomics data shows that 800 million TRUMP tokens, 80% of the total supply, are owned by Trump-controlled entities.
The entities are free to sell their holdings at various points over the next three years, starting in April. On an average, Trump’s companies can sell 24 million TRUMP tokens a month, at the current prices it amounts to $279.84 million of selling pressure a month, or $3.358 billion a year. This data keeps changing as TRUMP price fluctuates. At the time of writing, TRUMP is traded against 11.66 USDT.
TRUMP token ranks in the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
These five crypto tokens held by World Liberty Financial could rally next
The Trump family holds crypto tokens, including First Lady Melania Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, Eric and Barron Trump. Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump’s holdings are not clear from any on-chain wallet address tracker, however the two hold crypto through World Liberty Financial.
In an interview, the U.S. President said his youngest son Barron Trump is the mind behind the World Liberty Financial project and holds crypto tokens in four different wallets. However, no primary sources have been identified to ascertain his holdings.
Melania Trump holds the meme coin MELANIA (MELANIA), launched by her incorporated company MKT World LLC, a firm that powers various ventures for the First Lady, including selling portraits of her during Trump’s previous administration, according to a BBC report.
Details about the MELANIA token are limited, but the official website notes that the first lady’s team has reserved 35% of the token’s supply, and this was locked for the first 30 days post-issuance.
Criticizing Trump and the First Lady, Grzegorz Drozdz, market analyst at investment firm Conotoxia, was quoted by the BBC:
“The introduction of these coins during the presidential inauguration raises concerns about potential conflicts of interest and may undermine the dignity of the president and the first lady.”
Norman Eisen, a former ethics adviser in the Obama administration told the Washington Post,
“This may represent the single worst conflict of interest in the modern history of the presidency.” Eisen believes that Trump’s crypto ties mean that the President stands to gain from his pro-crypto administration and regulatory changes.
The top five tokens held by Trump family-owned business World Liberty Financial are Ethereum, staked Ether (stETH), Move (MOVE), Tron (TRX) and WhiteRock (WHITE), according to on-chain data from Arkham Intel.
The World Liberty Financial wallet reportedly holds over $77.8 million in crypto and their top holdings include $15 million in Ethereum (7.931K ETH), $9.44 million in staked Ether (4.976K stETH), $9 million in Tron (40.178 million in TRX), $3.47 million in Movement (7.581 million MOVE) and $295.84K in Ondo Finance (342K ONDO).
With the Trump administration’s pro-crypto stance, fast-paced regulatory changes, executive orders and events like the White House Crypto Summit, the tokens of these crypto projects are likely to benefit in the long term.
It is worth noting that Sui (SUI), Solana (SOL) and Ondo sponsored Trump’s inauguration event. Eric Trump reportedly holds Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and Sui, according to a Cointelegraph report.
Since Trump’s inauguration,
- Ethereum price dropped by 41%
- stakedEther is down over 42%
- TRX is down 7.22%
The top five tokens held by World Liberty Financial are currently down in double-digits since the day of inauguration, except for TRX.
With these tokens in the firm’s wallet there is a likelihood of their recovery and gains in the later part of the market cycle, therefore sidelined traders can do their research and consider taking a position in ETH, TRX, ONDO, MOVE and WHITE or consider adding the cryptos to their portfolio while they trade within the buy zone in the dip.
PayPal mafia and their ties with Trump and crypto
Trump’s ties with crypto run deeper and deeper even when executives in the administration are considered. Author Jimmy Soni’s book, “The Founders: the Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley,” examines PayPal’s founders, and this is where Soni coined the term PayPal mafia.
Of the group, David Sacks (AI & Crypto Czar in Trump’s administration), Elon Musk (head of the Department of Government Efficiency) and Peter Thiel (supporter of Trump and Vice President J.D.Vance) are the prominent figures in this market cycle.
Trump’s pick for AI & Crypto Czar, Sacks, has been touted as a Solana bull for a long time in the crypto community. On investigating the ties of the executive with the crypto project, it is clear that PayPal wants to make payments on Solana through its PYUSD stablecoin. Solana has found a place in Trump’s executive order for Strategic Crypto Reserve, and the project funded Trump’s inauguration.
PayPal is also associated with Layer Zero and Aptos (APT) for their investment in the projects.
Interestingly, Solana is among one of the tokens held by Eric Trump, as mentioned earlier in the story.
Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, a venture capital firm, invested $200 million and bought Bitcoin and Ethereum later summer to early fall of 2024. While it is clear that the VC firm acquired the two cryptocurrencies, there is no information about the average purchase price.
Founders Fund started buying BTC when the price was $30,000, according to a Reuters report from February 2024.
Thiel is a special mention among close aides of the Trump administration since the PayPal founder said on the Joe Rogan podcast that he would do everything in his capacity to support Trump except to endorse him. Thiel’s VC firm has since invested in nearly half a dozen crypto projects, Helius DEX on Solana, and the Pudgy Penguins NFT collection, among others.
Musk has been in murky waters with regulators for his association with Dogecoin, his comments on X and his contact with the development team since 2019. The DOGE department is a nod to the ticker symbol of the largest meme coin in the crypto ecosystem.
Why Ethereum could rise from the grave
Ethereum has been declared dead since the token’s drop under the $1,800 support, the lowest level since November 2023. The $2,000 level was considered a key psychological support level for Ether, and closing under this level, the altcoin quashed hopes of a recovery in March 2025.
While Ethereum is in a state of decline, it may be inappropriate to declare Ether dead just yet. With Ethereum ranking as the highest-valued holding in WLF’s crypto wallet, the largest altcoin is likely poised for a recovery, even if it comes a cycle behind Bitcoin.
To support the thesis, it is key to note that Vitalik Buterin recently commented on changes within the Ethereum Foundation. The entity addressed the rumours and speculation surrounding the Foundation’s dissolution, and Buterin shared an optimistic vision for the project.
At the Based Rollup Summit, Buterin reminded the community of Ethereum’s core objectives and said the project continues to focus on providing a decentralized network that prioritizes openness, censorship resistance, and security. The foundational principles continue to guide Ethereum’s development as the chain prepares to scale for further adoption.
FULL PANEL: The Future of Ethereum & the Role of Based Rollups, featuring Ethereum co-founder @VitalikButerin, Taiko co-founder & CTO @Brechtpd, and Nethermind founder & incoming Co-Executive Director of the Ethereum Foundation @tkstanczak.
Based Rollup Summit – March 10, 2025. pic.twitter.com/mcTAsnYpzj
— Taiko.eth 🥁 (@taikoxyz) March 11, 2025
Unpacking the story of Trump family’s interest in a stake in Binance
Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that the Trump family is looking to buy a stake in the world’s largest centralized crypto exchange, Binance. The story explained founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao’s role and stated facts that CZ has since denied.
The story says CZ was pardoned for his 2023 guilty plea as discussions for stake in Binance’s U.S. arm advanced. CZ treats the contents of the story as allegations and denies it in a tweet on X, telling the crypto community of traders that no part of it is true.
4. Sorry to disappoint. The WSJ article got the facts wrong.
More than 20 people have told me they were asked by the WSJ (and another media), "Can you confirm that CZ made some deal for a pardon?"
They probably asked hundreds of people to have 20 people reach out to me. In… https://t.co/ELyDPmKD3G
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) March 13, 2025
In his following tweets, CZ explains how most parts of the story are simply not true and says the WSJ publication is reminiscent of the previous administration’s “war on crypto.”
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
