US President Donald Trump recorded around US$1.2 billion in income from his family's cryptocurrency activities during his first year back in office, according to financial disclosures.

According to the 927-page document released on Tuesday by the US Office of Government Ethics, Trump received nearly US$550 million from his ties to the 2025 start-up World Liberty Financial (WLF), co-founded in September 2024 by Trump's sons and the son of Trump's Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff.

The filings also mention US$635 million in royalties received under a licensing agreement related to the $Trump cryptocurrency, launched just hours before the president's inauguration in January 2025.

The president's crypto activities are the main reason for the near tripling of his personal fortune, which rose from US$2.3 billion to US$6.5 billion between 2024 and 2026, according to Forbes.

The former real estate developer is regularly accused of conflicts of interest, in particular for having invested in the cryptocurrency industry while as president taking several measures to deregulate the sector, causing asset prices to soar.

The White House rejected any ethical concerns, with principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly saying "neither the president nor his family has ever engaged – or will ever engage – in conflicts of interest".

"All actions by President Trump and his administration are taken in the best interest of the American people – and any so-called 'reporters' pushing otherwise are recycling the same, tired, false narrative that Democrats and the legacy media have been pushing for a decade," Kelly added.

A 1978 law requires the president and vice president of the United States to declare their income as well as their assets.

First Lady Melania Trump's income is also set out in her husband's financial disclosure. It includes more than US$10 million for an Amazon documentary about her, and more than US$500,000 for her book "Melania."

The disclosures make several mentions of World Liberty Financial, which issued its own cryptocurrency, WLFI, whose initial sale brought in US$550 million.

Since becoming tradable in September 2025, its value has plummeted from 46 cents per unit to its current price of six cents.

Trump and his three sons also obtained, via an intermediary company, DT Marks Defi, an additional 22.5 billion WLFI, currently worth around US$1.3 billion.

Trump has also earned several million dollars from shares in various publicly listed companies active in cryptocurrencies, such as the Coinbase exchange platform.

There are also earnings from Trump-branded goods, ranging from clothing to bumper stickers – and more than US$208,000 from bibles sold in partnership with country singer Lee Greenwood. (AFP)





Edited by Robert Kemp