Important points
Reuters estimates that Trump-linked ventures made $802 million in crypto revenue in early 2025.
The income was generated from the yield of WLFI token, TRUMP coin and USD1 stablecoin.
Alt5 Sigma trading and overseas buyers helped turn the value of the token into cash.
As the U.S. crackdown on cryptocurrencies eases, experts have raised possible concerns of conflict.
In the first half of 2025, Trump-related ventures posted about $802 million in crypto revenue, primarily from World Liberty Financial (WLFI) token sales and Trump Official (TRUMP) meme coins, dwarfing revenue from golf, licensing, and real estate.
A Reuters research and methodology document details where the cash came from and how it was counted. This guide explains how it works, who buys it, and the policy background without the hype.
What is World Liberty Financial?
WLFI was launched in late 2024 as a token-centric project tied to the Trump family. Its governance token, WLFI, offers limited owner rights compared to traditional decentralized finance (DeFi) governance models. The company’s lawyers claim the token has “actual utility.”
The core monetization model is simple. According to WLFI’s Gold Paper, affiliates of the Trump Organization will be entitled to 75% of the proceeds from the token sale, excluding expenses. Reuters used this document as the basis for its revenue model.
Reuters estimates that WLFI token sales will become the largest cash contributor in the first half of 2025. They accounted for the bulk of the family’s crypto windfall.
Alt5 Sigma Trading
In August 2025, WLFI closed a Nasdaq deal in which Alt5 Sigma raised hundreds of millions of dollars to purchase WLFI tokens. The move provided a huge demand boost, converting some of the paper value into real cash for the Trump-controlled companies.
A separate report in August outlined broader plans for a $1.5 billion WLFI “financial” strategy related to Alt5. The plan aims to retain a large portion of the token supply, details of which help explain the scale of inflows into WLFI.
How the TRUMP meme coin generated cash
The TRUMP coin was launched on January 17, 2025, and its creators earned a portion of trading fees from Meteora, the exchange where it was first traded. Within two weeks, on-chain forensics firms cited by Reuters estimated fees, primarily related to Meteora, at between $86 million and $100 million.
In its analysis for the first half of 2025, the outlet modeled coin sales at approximately $672 million and, using a conservative 50% share assumption, estimated that approximately $336 million would come from Trump-related profits. This method allows for uncertainty because the ownership and fee divisions are not fully disclosed.
Who bought the token?
Although most WLFI buyers use fake wallet addresses, the study found several high-profile participants and intensive overseas demand. The investigation focuses on the $100 million purchase of WLFI by the Aqua1 Foundation and reports that Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. participated in a global investor roadshow promoting the token.
The review also notes that key identified buyers include foreign investors. Although attribution remains probabilistic, foreign participation in large WLFI holders appears to be significant.
USD1 Stablecoin (and its interest rate flow)
WLFI is also promoting USD1, a dollar-pegged stablecoin backed by cash and US Treasury reserves, with BitGo in charge of custodianship.
A Reuters report notes that the US$1-backed reserve generates an estimated $80 million in annual interest rate increases at prevailing yields, with some of that interest accruing to companies 38% owned by the Trump Organization, but the actual amount realized in 2025 has not yet been determined.
In May 2025, Abu Dhabi-backed MGX announced a $2 billion investment in Binance, which was to be settled at $1, according to WLFI reports and public statements. This transaction serves as a prime example of how WLFI’s stablecoin is positioned to facilitate very large-scale transactions.
How Reuters achieved “$802 million”
Much of Trump’s business empire is private, so Reuters combined the president’s public disclosures, property records, court-released financial information, and on-chain transaction data. It was then reviewed by academics and CPAs, applying explicit assumptions such as WLFI’s 75% revenue share and TRUMP’s 50% share in the WLFI token sale.
The outlet concluded that in the first half of 2025, only $62 million of the Trump family’s income came from traditional businesses, compared to almost $802 million from crypto ventures.
Did you know? WLFI disputes some of Reuters’ analysis, arguing that the revenue model is oversimplified, wallet data is misinterpreted, and the project’s real-world utility is overlooked.
Policy context (and conflicting issues)
Since January 2025, the US enforcement stance towards cryptocurrencies has changed. The Justice Department disbanded its national cryptocurrency enforcement team and narrowed its priorities, while the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission dropped or suspended several high-profile cases, including a motion to dismiss Coinbase and a stay of litigation against other major companies.
Ethics experts told Reuters that having a sitting president oversee crypto policy while his family earns significant crypto income creates a new conflict of interest, even if it is not illegal.
The White House and company representatives have denied any wrongdoing.
Findings and broader context
So what looks like an $800 million “gold rush” is underneath the surface a combination of brand-driven token sales, high-fee memecoin structures, high-speed government bond trading, and high-yielding stablecoins.
Totals are derived from documented splits and modeled flows. But the debate centers on who the buyers are, how transparent the ventures are, and how U.S. policy has changed as the money has flowed in. For those following crypto politics, this story now serves as a living case study on incentives, disclosure, and governance risk.
