How Trump’s crypto empire became the center of a new influence economy

A new staff report released by House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin alleges that President Donald Trump has significantly utilized the presidency to expand his personal wealth through cryptocurrency ventures.

The report, titled Trump, Crypto, and a New Age of Corruption, outlines a series of findings suggesting that the Administration’s policy decisions, including the dismantling of regulatory enforcement teams and the issuance of pardons, have directly benefited the President’s personal financial interests.

According to the document, President Trump’s cryptocurrency portfolio is valued as high as $11.6 billion, with income from crypto asset sales exceeding $800 million in the first half of 2025 alone.

The 50-page document argues that the President’s holdings in World Liberty Financial (WLF) and the memecoin TRUMP create a structural conflict of interest that current federal ethics laws are ill-equipped to address.

The committee staff also contends that foreign and corporate actors have utilized these digital asset platforms to funnel capital into the President’s ventures, effectively bypassing traditional campaign finance restrictions.

“Shadow lobbying”

A central focus of the report is the mechanism by which the President’s family business allegedly receives funds.

The committee describes a dynamic where “foreign actors and corporate interests” purchase tokens or provide liquidity to Trump-linked decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.

The report argues that these transactions constitute unregulated lobbying. Unlike traditional political donations, which are capped and disclosed to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), token purchases and liquidity provision on decentralized exchanges can, in theory, be unlimited and anonymous.

“Donald Trump has turned the Oval Office into the world’s most corrupt crypto startup operation,” Raskin stated in the release accompanying the report.

The document alleges that by holding governance tokens rather than traditional equity, the President benefits from price appreciation driven by his own policy announcements, a dynamic the report characterizes as “self-dealing.”

The report stated:

The report highlights a specific sequence of events involving the cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its former CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, as evidence of this “shadow lobbying.”

According to the committee’s timeline, Binance agreed to a $4.3 billion settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2023, with Zhao stepping down as part of the plea deal.

The report alleges that, in the months that followed, Binance-linked entities provided promotional support and capital to World Liberty Financial, the Trump family’s crypto venture.

On Oct. 23, President Trump issued a full pardon to Zhao. The report draws a direct correlation between support for World Liberty Financial and executive clemency, describing the pardon as part of a pattern in which “bad actors” who support the President’s ventures receive relief from federal penalties.

Regulatory policy

The committee staff report details extensive changes to the federal regulatory structure, which it claims were designed to protect the President’s investors and donors.

Specifically, the report cites the dissolution of the DOJ’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), a unit established to prosecute criminal activity in the digital asset space.

Furthermore, the document alleges that the Administration has intervened to halt or terminate investigations into several major cryptocurrency firms, including Coinbase, Kraken, Ripple, and Gemini.

The report notes that these firms or their executives have been significant donors or supporters of the President’s political and business endeavors.

The report also examines the market impact of the Administration’s “crypto-strategic reserve” policy. It notes that the decision to include specific tokens, such as Solana (SOL) and Ripple (XRP), in the Federal Reserve led to immediate price appreciation of 25% and 33%, respectively.

The committee argues that by selecting specific assets for state backing, the Administration has manipulated market valuations to benefit donors who hold large positions in those particular tokens.

National security concerns

Beyond domestic financial policy, the report raises national security concerns regarding the Administration’s dealings with foreign entities. It details an alleged transaction involving MGX, a UAE-based investment firm, and G42, a technology holding company.

According to the report, MGX invested billions into Binance—capital that the report claims indirectly supported the Trump crypto ecosystem.

Simultaneously, the report alleges that White House officials, including World Liberty Financial co-founder Steve Witkoff, negotiated to provide G42 with access to advanced American-made artificial intelligence (AI) chips.

The committee staff asserts that this arrangement proceeded despite objections from the National Security Council (NSC) regarding potential technology diversion to China.

The report states that six NSC staff members were fired after expressing concerns about the deal, suggesting that national security protocols were subordinated to the President’s financial interests.

Legislative gaps

The report concludes by identifying what it describes as “severe weaknesses” in current anti-bribery and conflict-of-interest laws.

It argues that statutes such as the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and domestic bribery laws are predicated on traditional financial instruments and do not adequately cover decentralized digital assets.

The committee warns that, without legislative reform, the “pseudonymous” nature of cryptocurrency creates a new channel of influence that is technically legal but ethically compromising.

So, Raskin is calling for immediate congressional reforms to close these loopholes and restore “accountability and integrity” to the executive branch.

As of press time, the White House has not issued a formal response to the specific allegations regarding the firing of NSC staff or the methodology used to value the President’s holdings at $11.6 billion, as cited in the report.

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