What’s Inside Trump’s Multi-Billion Dollar Crypto Empire: NFTs, Memecoins & DeFi Platforms

Key Takeaways

• Trump created a new political-financial space linking campaigns and investments.
• Trump ventures raised nearly $1 billion via NFTs, memecoins, DeFi sales.
• While Trump is the public face, operations are handled by LLCs and allies like Zanker, Folkman, and Herro.
• Aqua 1, a shadowy UAE fund, injected $100 million into World Liberty Financial, making it the project’s biggest known investor despite having no visible track record.

President Donald Trump’s transformation from crypto-skeptic to blockchain power broker has produced a sprawling Web3 empire, complete with NFTs, memecoins, and a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform.

While his name, position and likeness are front and center, much of the financial engine behind these projects is driven by a network of little-known business partners, entities with minimal transparency, and wealthy foreign investors.

This article discusses the core components of Trump’s crypto ventures, including Trump NFTs, the $TRUMP and $MELANIA tokens, and the controversial World Liberty Financial (WLF) DeFi platform. It also identifies the hidden figures, legal conflicts, and political stakes surrounding what may be the most unorthodox financial endeavor ever associated with a U.S. president.

Trump’s Crypto Empire: From Critic to Crypto President

In earlier years, Donald Trump openly derided Bitcoin, calling it “a scam.” But following his 2024 reelection, Trump rebranded himself as a champion of cryptocurrency, vowing to become the “crypto president” who would bring digital assets into the mainstream.

His family soon took leadership roles across blockchain initiatives, rapidly monetizing the Trump brand in the digital asset space.

The pillars of Trump’s crypto empire now include:

• Trump digital trading cards (NFTs): Non-fungible token collections featuring Trump in fantasy and patriotic roles.
• Memecoins: The $TRUMP and $MELANIA tokens, launched in early 2025.
• World Liberty Financial (WLF): A DeFi platform founded by crypto entrepreneurs and later overtaken by the Trump family.
• American Bitcoin: A mining venture launched by Trump’s sons Eric and Donald Jr.
• USD1 stablecoin and wallet projects: USD1 is issued by World Liberty Financial. Its fully backed by U.S. dollars and treasuries and is designed for multi-chain use. Donald Trump Jr. confirmed an “official” wallet by World Liberty Financial, the Trump-family crypto firm, is in development.

Each component is backed by complex corporate structures and private fundraising that has drawn in hundreds of millions of dollars, largely from retail investors and foreign capital.

Trump Digital Trading Cards: The NFT Gold Rush

Trump’s first step into Web3 came in December 2022 with the launch of the Trump Digital Trading Cards, an NFT collection of 45,000 digital cards sold at $99 each.

Here are some details about this NFT collection:

• The collection sold out in under 24 hours, bringing in approximately $4.5 million.
• What appeared to be a personal or campaign-backed project was, in fact, run by an obscure company called NFT INT LLC. NFT INT LLC’s ownership remains unknown as of June 2025.
• According to public disclaimers , the company is not owned or managed by Trump or his organization. Instead, it licenses Trump’s name through CIC Digital LLC, a Trump affiliate, allowing a third party to use Trump’s image commercially.
• Artist Clark Mitchell received royalties on resales, but the bulk of initial revenues flowed through NFT INT LLC.

Follow-up series of NFTs were launched in 2023 and 2024, with higher volumes and added incentives. Purchasers of 45 or more NFTs were invited to private dinners at Mar-a-Lago, and other collections included pieces of Trump’s debate suit or digital artwork of him holding Bitcoin.

While profitable, the NFT campaigns also drew public criticism. Former Trump strategist Steve Bannon called the initiative “embarrassing” and demanded those responsible be fired. Despite this, the strategy proved successful enough to fuel further ventures.

Memecoin Strategy: $TRUMP and $MELANIA

Trump’s crypto venture include the release of a memecoin called $TRUMP, launched just three days before his second inauguration in January 2025.

One billion tokens were minted. Of that, 200 million were sold publicly during the initial coin offering (ICO), while the remaining 800 million were retained by CIC Digital LLC and a newly formed company called Fight Fight Fight LLC.

Within 24 hours of launch, frenzied buying pushed the coin’s market capitalization to $27 billion. Trump’s own holdings were briefly worth more than $20 billion on paper. But that valuation was short-lived.

As the price crashed, blockchain forensics revealed a troubling trend: while Trump’s affiliated companies earned approximately $350 million in fees, retail investors experienced significant losses. According to one Financial Times analysis, for every dollar in fees earned by Trump’s partners, investors lost an estimated $20 in value.

$TRUMP was quickly followed by the launch of the $MELANIA token, named after the First Lady. Released within 48 hours of $TRUMP’s debut, the coin saw a brief surge before crashing below $1, reflecting a growing skepticism even among Trump’s loyal base.

In April 2025, the $TRUMP team offered private dinner access with Donald Trump to the top 220 token holders, triggering a 60% price surge . Critics, including Senator Chris Murphy, condemned the move as unethical pay-to-play politics , accusing Trump of effectively selling access to the presidency for crypto investments.

Corporate Infighting Over the Trump Crypto Brand

In June 2025, a public dispute erupted over which entity had the right to develop the “official” $TRUMP wallet. Fight Fight Fight LLC, the company behind the $TRUMP coin, announced a wallet project in partnership with NFT marketplace Magic Eden. Promotional materials referred to it as “the official $TRUMP wallet by President Trump.”

The Trump Organization responded immediately, with Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. disavowing the project. They insisted it was unauthorized and warned Magic Eden to cease using the Trump name. The Trump sons had been developing their own wallet under World Liberty Financial and viewed Zanker’s competing effort as an overreach.

This conflict highlighted a broader problem: multiple groups are leveraging the Trump name in crypto without consistent oversight or coordination, resulting in a fractured and litigious ecosystem.

Key Entities Behind $TRUMP Token

Two Trump-affiliated entities control the majority of the $TRUMP supply:

• CIC Digital LLC: An official Trump Organization vehicle that licenses his brand.
• Fight Fight Fight LLC: A company formed by Bill Zanker, Trump’s long-time business partner and co-author. Zanker’s firm administered the $TRUMP launch, manages promotional assets, and receives a share of fees and token supply.

The ownership structure of Fight Fight Fight LLC is difficult to trace, with multiple layers of filings obscuring its principals.

Zanker’s involvement positions him as one of the key figures profiting from Trump’s token ecosystem, despite not holding an official role in the Trump Organization or campaign.

World Liberty Financial: DeFi or Smoke and Mirrors?

World Liberty Financial (WLF) launched in late 2024 as a Trump-endorsed DeFi initiative. Promising a new ecosystem for financial freedom, WLF sold $WLFI governance tokens in private placements and raised an astounding $550 million, primarily from high-net-worth investors.

Unlike traditional governance tokens, $WLFI could not be traded on public exchanges and provided no rights to revenue or equity. Nonetheless, the Trump endorsement and election win drove a surge in demand. As a result, the WLFI team reversed course, announcing plans to enable trading after user demand, sparking both excitement and skepticism.

Initially led by entrepreneurs Zak Folkman and Chase Herro, WLF was quietly restructured in January 2025. Trump’s newly formed entity, DT Marks DeFi LLC, took 60% ownership of WLF’s holding company, effectively placing the Trump family in control. Eric Trump joined the board, and the original founders were moved into operational roles with limited authority.

WLF has also partnered with established crypto startups like Ondo Finance on yield products. However, concrete results remain to be seen. What’s clear is that the Trump family has already extracted enormous wealth from WLF upfront. In fact, Forbes reported that crypto now accounts for the majority of Donald Trump’s net worth, thanks largely to the cash generated by WLF token sales and the $TRUMP coin fees.

According to legal filings and interviews, roughly 75% of net revenue from token sales is now directed to Trump family entities. Only a small percentage, less than 5%, remains earmarked for product development.

The structure is highly unusual, even in the DeFi space. Academics have called it an outlier , noting that typical DeFi projects offer equity, tradeability, or community incentives. WLF offers none of these.

Also, Folkman and Herro’s track record and low profile raise questions – The New York Times uncovered past litigation, unpaid debts (of Dough Finance), and even a venture called ‘Date Hotter Girls’ (by Folkman) in his early career.

Justin Sun and the Foreign Influence Puzzle

One of WLF’s largest known investors is Justin Sun, the Chinese-born founder of the TRON blockchain. Sun invested $30 million shortly after Trump’s 2024 victory and later increased his position to $75 million. He also took on an advisory role.

At the time, Sun was under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for fraud. In an unusual move, the SEC paused enforcement proceedings against Sun in February 2025, citing “public interest.” While no evidence has directly linked his investment in WLF to regulatory leniency, the timing has drawn scrutiny.

Also, Sun was the top $TRUMP holder with $18.6M in tokens and attended a private dinner and VIP reception with Donald Trump. Sun’s involvement exemplifies how foreign crypto players have intertwined with Trump’s crypto empire.

Additionally, WLF investments have come from firms with ties to Chinese, Emirati, and Qatari capital, raising further questions about national security and emoluments.

Aqua 1: The $100 Million Ghost Investor

In June 2025, an obscure entity known as Aqua 1 Foundation surfaced with a massive $100 million investment into World Liberty Financial, the largest single buy-in ever recorded for the Trump-backed DeFi platform.

Officially described as a UAE-based fund, Aqua 1 has no verifiable presence in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, or any known financial registry. Attempts to trace its leadership have turned up little beyond a name: “Dave Lee,” a figure with no public business record, crypto background, or traceable digital footprint.

What makes Aqua 1 particularly unusual is its complete absence from the broader crypto ecosystem. Blockchain analysis shows no prior or subsequent transactions beyond its WLFI token acquisition. The fund holds no known assets, posts no updates, and has never commented publicly.

This level of anonymity has raised red flags among regulators and national security analysts, especially given the direct financial benefits flowing from WLFI to Trump-affiliated LLCs.

While foreign capital has always played a role in global crypto, the Aqua 1 case is unique for its size, silence, and proximity to political power. With no clear regulatory disclosures and no accountability, questions remain about whether Aqua 1 is a legitimate investment vehicle or a proxy front for hidden influence.

Legal and Ethical Implications

Trump’s crypto ventures have triggered multiple investigations and public condemnations:

1. Conflict of interest: Trump is both President and a crypto entrepreneur. He is in a position to regulate or promote the very assets he profits from.
2. Foreign emoluments: Entities linked to foreign governments have invested in Trump crypto products, possibly violating the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause .
3. Pay-for-access concerns: Promotions offering Mar-a-Lago dinners to token holders have been likened to auctioning presidential access.
4. Insider trading risks: Trump’s public statements often move the price of tokens linked to his brand, raising market manipulation concerns.
5. Legislative action: Lawmakers have proposed the MEME Act, which would prohibit federal officials from promoting personal digital assets.

Despite the controversies, Trump’s crypto empire shows no signs of retreat. If anything, it’s expanding into more niches. In March 2025, Trump’s sons Eric and Don Jr. announced a new Bitcoin mining venture called American Bitcoin, with Eric installed as Chief Strategy Officer. The plan is to build a publicly traded mining company that amasses a large Bitcoin treasury.

Separately, the Trump-backed Truth Social parent (Trump Media & Technology Group) raised $2.5 billion to buy Bitcoin for its corporate treasury. This means Trump-affiliated entities are now competing in the market to accumulate Bitcoin as a reserve asset – a strategy reminiscent of corporate Bitcoin holders like Strategy.

Each of these moves further intertwines Trump’s financial interests with the cryptocurrency ecosystem, blazing a new trail of “political finance” (some call it “PoliFi”) where political capital and crypto capital merge. It’s a high-wire act balancing innovation, hype, and potential corruption.

Key US Legislations Targeting Political Crypto Activity

MEME Act (Members Eliminate Market Exploitation Act)

• Sponsored by Senator Chris Murphy and Rep. Sam Liccardo
• Prohibits federal elected officials , including the President, Vice President, and members of Congress, from creating, promoting, or endorsing cryptocurrencies, NFTs, or any digital financial asset tied to their likeness or political office
• Enforces steep penalties including fines and potential imprisonment for violations
• Directly inspired by controversies surrounding Trump’s $TRUMP coin and associated promotional events

COIN Act (Curbing Officials’ Income from Novelty tokens)

• Proposed by Senator Adam Schiff
• Bans presidents, cabinet members, and their immediate family from launching or owning digital assets tied to political influence
• Requires mandatory disclosure of any crypto holdings by federal officials
• Seeks to restore public trust by preventing potential “crypto pay-for-access” schemes

End Crypto Corruption Act

• Introduced by Senators Jeff Merkley and Elizabeth Warren
• Outlaws the use of public office for private crypto enrichment
• Targets promotional deals, token-based access events, and hidden crypto holdings
• Requires the Department of Justice and SEC to issue compliance guidelines for politicians with existing crypto assets

Why These Crypto Laws Matter

• Protect U.S. markets from manipulation by powerful individuals with regulatory influence
• Close constitutional loopholes in the Emoluments Clause by targeting digital payments and blockchain assets
• Restore faith in democratic processes by preventing financial conflicts of interest tied to political decisions
• Ensure crypto innovation in the U.S. is not tainted by personal profiteering at the highest levels of government

Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” Passes Senate, But Crypto Reforms Get Slashed

Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” is a massive 940-page economic package narrowly passed by the Senate in a 51–50 vote, with VP J.D. Vance breaking the tie. While promoted as a pro-growth initiative, the bill has sparked backlash over what it omits as much as what it includes.

Key crypto tax reforms, like exemptions for microtransactions and staking rewards, were cut at the last minute, stripping the bill of any real clarity for crypto investors.

Elon Musk called the bill “utterly insane,” warning of “debt slavery,” and hinting at political retaliation. Meanwhile, the crypto industry is lobbying for relief in future amendments.

Now headed to the House, the bill’s trajectory is uncertain, but for Trump’s digital empire, it’s already a win cloaked in policy.

What’s Next for Trump’s Crypto Empire?

Trump’s crypto empire shows no signs of slowing down. His sons have launched American Bitcoin, a mining company aimed at accumulating BTC as a corporate reserve. The parent company of Truth Social has raised $2.5 billion to buy Bitcoin, and development continues on a Trump-branded stablecoin (USD1).

With massive revenues, unregulated tokenomics, and overlapping political duties, Trump’s ventures represent a historic test of how cryptocurrency, politics, and personal wealth can collide.

Conclusion

Donald Trump has redefined political fundraising by fusing it with blockchain speculation. He has turned campaign slogans into digital assets, and his supporters into token holders.

The driving forces behind this empire — Bill Zanker, Zak Folkman, Chase Herro, and Justin Sun — are behind Trump’s rapid and aggressive push to monetize Web3 like no other public figure to date.

But with the White House, Congress, and the SEC all watching closely, the sustainability of Trump’s crypto empire remains uncertain. It may soon become either a case study in political innovation, or the catalyst for a new wave of regulation aimed at separating public service from private gain.

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