The Trump family has amassed a paper fortune of around $5bn (£3.7bn) through its cryptocurrency business, making its holdings in virtual assets more valuable than the property empire built by Donald Trump.
On Tuesday, World Liberty Financial (WLF), a crypto venture co-founded by Donald Trump’s sons Eric, Donald Jr, and Barron, saw its token, WLFI, begin trading on exchanges for the first time. The president holds the title of “co-founder emeritus.”
WLFI tokens launched at 30 cents before slipping to 24 cents. At that price, the family’s stake—22.5 billion tokens, nearly a quarter of the total supply—is valued at $5.4 billion (£4 billion). The tokens remain locked, meaning they cannot yet be sold, but the paper valuation underscores the scale of the family’s foray into digital assets.
The venture was launched last year while Donald Trump was campaigning for the White House, marking a stark shift from his earlier criticism of cryptocurrencies, which he once described as a “scam.”
The rise in crypto wealth now surpasses the family’s real estate assets, long considered the foundation of Trump’s fortune. However, it is unclear how much of this digital wealth could ever be realised; cryptocurrency valuations are notoriously volatile, and any large-scale sell-off could quickly drive down prices.
Trump has positioned himself as a vocal supporter of the sector, declaring that WLF would “help make America the crypto capital of the world.” The company claims it is “upgrading finance for the digital era”, though critics allege it has also been used to secure political favours.
The business has attracted high-profile backers, including Chinese crypto billionaire Justin Sun, who purchased $75m of WLFI earlier this year. US regulators have since dropped a lawsuit against him that began during the Biden administration. WLF has also signed a deal with Pakistan’s crypto council to introduce digital finance technologies into the country’s infrastructure, coinciding with US diplomatic efforts in the region.
The Trump family’s crypto involvement extends further. Both Donald and Melania Trump have launched memecoins, including $Trump, which briefly gave the president a paper fortune of $43bn before its value collapsed by 85%. Meanwhile, Trump Media and Technology Group, owner of the Truth Social platform, has signed a multibillion-dollar deal with Crypto.com.
As Trump continues to reshape his stance on digital assets, his family’s crypto ventures have propelled them into a new financial era—one where fortunes are built not on skyscrapers and real estate, but on the volatile promise of blockchain tokens.
