Trump's Crypto Hustle Is Peak Conflict Of Interest

2025-09-29 09:01:17

(MENAFN- Asia Times) US President Donald Trump's“meme coin” $TRUMP fell about 8% in five minutes in late September 2025, wiping millions off its value. Users can buy and sell this cryptocurrency , inspired by an internet meme, on the open market.

Shortly before retaking office, Trump had posted on X :“My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE! It's time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING!” Below the post was a drawing of Trump with the words“FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT” – an allusion to his assassination attempt.

Soon after that announcement came the creation of the $MELANIA coin, named after the first lady, which also slid on the markets in late September 2025.

There are concerns that these and other crypto businesses the president and his family are involved with are creating an unprecedented ethical minefield – blurring the line between private profit and public office.

The personal profit Trump might receive from these meme coins is unclear. The website gettrumpmemes suggests that while the product is endorsed by the president, it has“nothing to do with any political campaign.” The Trump Organization, a holding company for Trump's business ventures, and Fight Fight Fight LLC own 80% of the coins, it states.

But critics such as Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren worry that Trump could be leveraging the presidency to add to his family's wealth. Norman Eisen, a former ethics adviser to President Barack Obama, has argued that Trump's crypto dealings may be“the single worst conflict of interest in the modern history of the presidency.”

One inquiry by the New York Times into Trump's budding crypto empire contended that it has“erased centuries-old presidential norms, eviscerating the boundary between private enterprise and government policy in a manner without precedent in modern American history.”

Eric Trump on the benefits of bitcoin.

In response to allegations that Trump has profited off interests while in the Oval Office, his assistant press secretary, Anna Kelly, released a statement saying his assets are“in a trust managed by his children”, and that there was not a conflict of interest.

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