Trump Family Quietly Cuts Stake in Crypto Firm World Liberty Financial Amid Rising Scrutiny

As all eyes remain on the Middle East and whether the US will join Israel in its attack on Iran – something US President Donald Trump just said he’d decide in the next two weeks – the Trump family is quietly taking some profits off the table and divesting from crypto.

According to a Forbes report, a Trump-affiliated entity, DT Marks DEFI LLC, recently reduced its ownership in World Liberty Financial (WLF) from 60% to 40%.

Forbes reports that the company had already downsized its original 75% stake earlier this year, following a rapid US$200 million (AU$308 million) token sale in January. By March, total token sales had reached US$550 million (AU$847 million).

Forbes also suggests that Trump “continues conducting backroom deals while he serves in office”.

World Liberty Financial, which Trump launched in September 2024 during his re-election campaign, sells non-resalable tokens that direct 75% of proceeds (after the first US$30 million, or AU$46 million) to Trump and his family. Ownership of the business was structured through several Delaware-registered entities linked to Trump’s children, according to Forbes.

Read also: AUDD Launches Natively on Hedera, Pioneering Australian Dollar Stablecoin Innovation

Trump’s involvement with the crypto sector – once hailed as the best thing since sliced bread – has become somewhat of a sore point for many in the industry.

According to The Guardian, Harvard University’s Steven Levitsky called Trump’s crypto involvement one of the largest displays of government corruption.

Memecoins, Stablecoins and Fancy Dinners

Much of the criticism centres on Trump’s memecoin, a stablecoin, his dinner invitations to major investors, and his close ties to Tron founder Justin Sun.

Sun, who the US Securities and Exchange Commission had slapped with fraud charges, has made large investments in Trump’s memecoin and also in WLF – and the charges have since been paused.

In March, WLF introduced a USD-pegged stablecoin, which quickly secured a US$2 billion (AU$3.08 billion) investment pledge from a UAE-based firm. According to Forbes, if valued similarly to Circle – whose IPO nearly tripled in value upon listing in June – Trump’s crypto venture could be worth as much as US$1.7 billion (AU$2.6 billion).

The Trump Organization has not publicly commented on the recent reduction in its stake.

Related: Traders Crypto 2025 Top Ten: ETH Surges, AVAX Slumps, Portfolio Still in the Red