US President Donald Trump, with an estimated net worth of more than $6 billion, has reportedly added at least $620 million to his portfolio in a matter of months, thanks to ventures connected to the cryptocurrency industry.
According to a Wednesday Bloomberg report, Trump’s crypto holdings represented “a sizeable portion” of his wealth for the first time, mainly due to windfalls from his family-backed crypto business World Liberty Financial and his personal memecoin, Official Trump (TRUMP).
Though the bulk of his net worth comprised stakes in his media venture, Trump Media and Technology Group, and real estate, crypto ventures reportedly accounted for roughly 9% of his wealth as of June.
Trump and his three sons reportedly earned $390 million through the $550 million in token sales at World Liberty Financial, and collectively hold more than $2 billion worth of the company’s governance tokens, WLF. The business also could have netted $100 million following a $2 billion deal in which Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX used the platform’s USD1 stablecoin to settle an investment in crypto exchange Binance.
Concerning his memecoin, which drew criticism from many US lawmakers after the president announced a dinner for the top 220 tokenholders and a “VIP tour,” Trump’s investment was reportedly worth roughly $150 million. However, millions of TRUMP tokens are set to be gradually unlocked over the next three years, and it remains unclear whether the president will be entitled to claim additional tokens.
Related: Trump discloses $57M crypto windfall from World Liberty Financial
In addition to World Liberty Financial and the memecoin, two of the president’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, own 20% in American Bitcoin, a subsidiary of crypto mining firm Hut 8.
The company reported in June that it had raised $220 million for equipment and Bitcoin (BTC) investments. It also plans to go public through a merger with crypto mining company Gryphon Digital Mining.
Calls from Congress to address conflicts of interest
Since taking office in January, Trump’s ties to the crypto industry have caused many Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives and the Senate to propose legislation to specifically bar any US president, vice president, member of Congress and their families from promoting or owning digital assets.
With Democrats in the minority in both chambers, the amendments to existing legislation or standalone bills have not had enough support from Republicans to pass, but lawmakers do not seem to be shying away from continuing to bring up the issue.
As recently as the Senate debate over Trump’s budget bill this week, Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley submitted an amendment to address conflicts of interest with the president’s crypto ventures.
Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions
