Trump’s Business & Crypto Controversy

I didn’t think I’d be writing about cryptocurrency and politics in the same article this year. But here we are.

According to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, a majority of Americans believe Donald Trump and his family made money in ways they shouldn’t have through crypto. 63% called it “inappropriate.” And the reason people are talking about it isn’t just the poll. It’s the number attached to it: $1.4 billion earned from crypto ventures in the last year alone.

That’s billion with a B. And for a lot of people, including me, that raises a pretty basic question: is this smart business, or is this a conflict of interest?

What actually happened

Let me break down what we know, because the headlines can get messy.

Over the last 12 months, companies tied to Trump and his family launched and promoted several crypto projects. That includes new coins, NFT collections, and partnerships with crypto trading platforms. The ventures weren’t run directly by the White House, but the Trump name was front and center on marketing, and Trump himself posted about them on social media.

Financial disclosures filed earlier this summer showed that those ventures brought in about $1.4 billion in revenue last year. That number includes token sales, licensing fees, and what the filings called “digital asset partnerships.”

At the same time, the administration was making policy decisions that affected crypto. There were new rules about stablecoins, changes to how the SEC treats certain tokens, and a push to make the US a “crypto capital.”

That overlap is what’s making people uncomfortable.

Why 63% of Americans have a problem with it

The Reuters/Ipsos poll asked a simple question: do you think it’s appropriate for a president and his family to profit from crypto while in office? 63% said no.

I get why. When I hear that number, my first thought is about trust.

In my house, we talk a lot about fairness. If my boss made a rule at work and then made money off that rule the next week, I’d have questions. It feels the same here.

People aren’t necessarily saying crypto itself is bad. A lot of Americans own crypto. My cousin does. My neighbor mines Bitcoin in his garage. The issue is timing and access.

Critics argue that when you’re in a position to influence regulation, and your family is also selling a product in that same industry, it creates the appearance of a conflict. Even if nothing illegal happened, it looks bad. And in politics, appearance matters.

Supporters push back. They say Trump is a businessman. He’s always had brands, hotels, golf courses. Why should crypto be different? They argue that $1.4 billion proves the market believes in these products, and that blocking a president’s family from doing business would be unfair.

I see both sides. But I also see why most people landed on “inappropriate” in the poll.

Where the $1.4 billion came from

The disclosures don’t give us a line-by-line receipt, but reports and public filings point to a few main sources:

1. Token launches. Several new coins were released with the Trump brand attached. When a coin launches, early buyers and the team behind it can make money if the price goes up.

2. NFT collections. This isn’t new. Trump has sold digital trading cards before. But the 2025-2026 collections were bigger and tied to membership perks and events.

3. Exchange and platform deals. Partnerships with crypto trading apps where the Trump name was used in promotions. Those deals reportedly included revenue sharing.

4. Licensing. Companies paid to use the Trump name on crypto products, similar to how his name has been used on real estate for years.

Is it legal? So far, there’s no criminal charge. Is it unprecedented? Yes. No modern president has had family members making nine figures from a brand-new, heavily regulated industry while that same administration is writing the rules for it.

What this means for me and for voters

I’m not a crypto trader. I own a little Ethereum that I bought in 2021 and mostly forgot about. But this story matters to me for reasons beyond crypto.

First, it’s about who we trust to make rules. If I’m a small business owner and I know the people writing tax law also own competing businesses, I’m going to wonder if the rules are fair. Same idea here.

Second, it’s about the midterms. Voters are already stressed about prices. Gas is up. Groceries are up. Then they see a headline about $1.4 billion in crypto profits. That doesn’t feel connected to their lives. It feels disconnected. And disconnected voters stay home or vote differently.

I’ve talked to friends who voted for Trump in 2024. Some of them are defending this. They say “he’s playing the game.” Others are frustrated. One told me, “I didn’t vote for him to get richer. I voted for him to make my life cheaper.”

That’s the tension right now.

The administration’s response

The White House has said there’s no wrongdoing. Spokespeople argue that the Trump family’s businesses are in a blind trust, that Trump isn’t involved in day-to-day decisions, and that crypto policy is being made by experts at Treasury and the SEC.

They also point out that crypto was a campaign promise. “Make America the crypto capital of the world” was on the website. So they say: we’re delivering.

But the poll numbers suggest that message isn’t landing with most Americans. 63% is a big number. And it includes independents, not just Democrats.

The bigger picture: crypto and politics

This isn’t just about one family. Crypto has become political.

Democrats have generally pushed for more regulation. Republicans have leaned into “innovation” and “freedom from big government.” That made crypto a partisan issue in 2024.

Now that Republicans are in power, the industry is getting what it wanted: friendlier rules. But when the same people who benefit from those rules are also profiting personally, it muddies the water.

I think that’s why this story has legs. It’s not just about coins. It’s about whether policy and profit can be separated.

What happens next

Three things I’m watching:

1. Congress. Expect hearings. Expect Democrats to call for divestment and new ethics rules. Expect Republicans to call it a witch hunt. Nothing will probably pass before midterms, but it will be on TV a lot.

2. The market. Crypto is volatile. If one of these Trump-linked tokens drops, the headlines will get louder. If it goes up, supporters will say “see, it’s working.”

3. Voters. This will come up at town halls. “Senator, did you know about the $1.4 billion?” I think candidates will need an answer that’s better than “no comment.”

For me personally, I’m watching to see if there’s transparency. Show me the contracts. Show me who made what and when. If everything was above board, prove it. If not, then we need new rules.

My take

I’m not anti-crypto. I’m not anti-business. But I am pro-clear lines.

When you’re president, you represent all of us. And when your family makes $1.4 billion in an industry you’re regulating, most people are going to have questions. That 63% in the poll isn’t just partisan anger. It’s people saying “this doesn’t feel right.”

I wanted a president who would fight for my paycheck. I don’t want to spend 2026 arguing about digital coins and ethics forms.

Maybe nothing illegal happened here. Maybe it’s all within the rules. But legality and trust are two different things. And right now, trust is low.

If the goal was to make America a leader in crypto, they’ve done that. If the goal was to keep people from thinking the game is rigged, they’ve missed the mark.

With midterms 90 days away, this controversy isn’t going away. It’s going to be on ads, in debates, and in my group chat. Because at the end of the day, people care less about blockchain and more about whether the system is fair.

And $1.4 billion makes a lot of people think it isn’t.