Trump's $1.4 billion in crypto revenue intensifies ethics controversy over Senate Market Structure

Donald Trump's 2025 financial disclosure: Cryptocurrency revenue exceeds US$1.4 billion

U.S. President Donald Trump's 2025 financial disclosure submitted to the U.S. Office of Federal Ethics shows that his 2025 cryptocurrency-related revenue exceeds US$1.4 billion. According to the document reported by Roll Call magazine, total revenue includes $635 million in royalties from Celebration Coin, a licensing agency associated with TRUMP's mine-coins,$527 million from World Free Finance token sales, and approximately $263 million in proceeds from the sale of holding company interests related to World Free Finance and its stablecoin business. Together, these cryptocurrency projects account for more than half of Trump's reported revenue of approximately $2.2 billion in 2025.

The disclosure comes as Senate members negotiate legislation on cryptocurrency market structure. Tim Scott, Republican of South Carolina, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said he wants the bill to be considered in the Senate in July 2026, while Democrats are pushing for stricter ethics provisions to restrict current public officials from profiting from cryptocurrencies while in office. Estimates from other media outlets, including Reuters and CNBC, are slightly lower due to rounding and reporting differences, but disclosures from the Federal Ethics Office remain the main source of the figure.

Comparison of net profit with publicly listed U.S. cryptocurrency companies

Comparisons with publicly traded cryptocurrency companies require important background information. Trump's disclosures show that he achieved more than $1.4 billion in cryptocurrency-related revenue in 2025, while company earnings are reported based on different accounting standards and different fiscal periods. Coinbase's net income in 2024 will be approximately $2.6 billion, which exceeds Trump's reported cryptocurrency revenue on this indicator. Most other U.S. -listed cryptocurrency companies report much smaller profits. Galaxy Digital's net income reaches hundreds of millions of dollars, while the latest annual reports from Riot Platforms and MARA Holdings show its results are well below Trump's reported cryptocurrency revenue. At the same time, Strategy holds the largest corporate bitcoin reserves, but most of its bitcoin gains are recorded in the form of unrealized accounting adjustments rather than realized operating income, so direct comparisons are imperfect.

This comparison has important limitations. Trump's more than $1.4 billion represents his personal realized royalties, token sales and asset trading income, while listed companies report net income after deducting operating costs, taxes and other accounting adjustments. Trump's reported cryptocurrency revenue matches or exceeds the latest annual net income of many listed cryptocurrency companies, although it does not exceed Coinbase's 2024 net income of $2.6 billion. However, the disclosure highlights how cryptocurrencies will become one of the biggest contributors to Trump's personal wealth in 2025.

Senate Cryptocurrency Market Structure Bill: Democratic Ethics Provisions, Anti-Profit Amendments, and OGE Disclosure of Why Complicates Vote Calculations

The Senate Banking Committee approved an alternative amendment to the Cryptocurrency Market Structure Act on May 14, 2026 by a vote of 15 to 9. Arizona Democrats Ruben Galego and Maryland Democrat Angela Assobrooks voted in favor, but said their support for eventual passage depends on stronger moral guarantees. After Trump's financial disclosures, Galego criticized the president on social media, accusing him of using the presidency to profit from cryptocurrencies and vowed to continue to push for stricter supervision of Trump's cryptocurrency-related business activities. He wrote: "Trump is using the presidency to profit from the American people. I will continue to do everything I can to crack down on his corrupt cryptocurrency trading." Assobrooks said ethics clauses remained a key negotiating issue. She believes any final legislation should include rules that apply to presidents, vice presidents, members of Congress and other senior officials. Elizabeth Warren, a senior committee member and Democrat of Massachusetts, also pointed out that the disclosure proves that the bill should prohibit senior government officials and their families from profiting from the cryptocurrency industry while in office. Galgo also criticized the White House for backing down from early discussions of moral restrictions, leaving issues unresolved as Senate negotiations continued.

A Senate Republican aide told Roll Call magazine that Republicans intend to move forward with a cryptocurrency market structure bill even as bipartisan negotiations are deadlocked. The aide said Republicans wanted to allow time for bipartisan dialogue, but would still seek a full Senate vote if discussions were delayed indefinitely. Republican French Hill of Arkansas, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, also urged the Senate to take action before its August recess, increasing pressure on lawmakers to resolve remaining differences. One of the biggest outstanding issues is the ethics clause advocated by Democrats, which has received renewed attention after Trump's financial disclosures.