The Trump family has fully joined the cryptocurrency space with their company, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), which owns Truth Social. This action has raised significant ethical and regulatory red flags. From these efforts have been met with enormous backlash and raised concerns. People like Justin Sun are jumping in, which further complicates the landscape. TMTG’s stated plans to enter the fintech sector under the “Truth” brand reveal possible conflicts of interest and call into question regulatory capture.
Trump's Digital Trading Cards and the NFT Market
These NFTs, today called Trump Cards, previously had the world’s attention in late December 2022 when Donald Trump made public his first collection of “digital trading cards.” Though intentionally understated as NFTs, these cards represented the Trump family’s first venture into the non-fungible token space. The announcement garnered international attention and brought with it a wave of ardent supporters and hardcore naysayers. It did open the door to more engagement on the crypto front.
Or perhaps they decided to do the smart thing and avoid the use of “NFT” label in bad faith. We assume this strategy is meant to reach a wider audience and avoid the baggage that the term usually brings. Industry insiders have criticized the move.
"absurd and setting a new low for stupidity" - industry insiders
Despite the criticism, the Trump Cards proved to be a lucrative venture, demonstrating the potential for the Trump family to capitalize on their brand within the digital asset market.
$MELANIA Meme Coin and Controversy
These charges came to a boil when Trump’s launch of the $MELANIA meme coin was revealed, plunging the Trump family even deeper into the controversial crypto world. Unsurprisingly, as designed, this token excludes nearly all non-US citizens and involves “qualified investors.” Until now the ETF has been criticized over its limited availability and trading restrictions. The token is currently not tradable.
Under added scrutiny, the suspicions towards the Trump family continue to grow. It’s alleged that they sold about $4.5 million worth of the tokens from late March to early April. This proposed illegal sale has led to speculation regarding possible insider trading, as well as the overall financial motives of the family in the burgeoning crypto market.
It’s concerning that $MELANIA is only available to non-US citizens and “qualified investors.” People are legitimately asking whether this is legal and whether this is an effort to evade US securities laws. The absence of tradability makes the token less useful, but more worrying from a regulatory standpoint.
TMTG's Fintech Ambitions and Justin Sun's Involvement
In January 2024, TMTG unveiled its intentions to venture into the fintech industry with the launch of a brand dubbed “Truth.” This initial move is likely part of a larger ambition to weave cryptocurrency and blockchain technology into the company’s overall operations. This complexity and cause for concern deepens with the involvement of controversial actors, like Justin Sun.
Foreign crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun donated $75 million to the effort. Unfortunately, for him, he’s currently under investigation by both the SEC and the Department of Justice for fraud. The Department of Justice came out with the news the disbandment of the cryptocurrency investigation team was effective on April 8, 2025. This decision, made pursuant to an executive order signed by Donald Trump, terminated all federal law enforcement actions and raised serious concerns about due diligence and possible conflicts of interest in the original investigation.
Eric Trump said that the company plans to go public in the future and will cooperate with World Liberty Financial. With their long-term strategy now in a question, the prospect is creating ripples across the larger financial market.
Ethical Concerns and Potential Conflicts of Interest
The Trump family's involvement in the crypto space has sparked widespread ethical concerns, surpassing the "emoluments clause" controversy that arose during Donald Trump's first term. Conflicts of interest are an ever-present danger. The oligarchic family could personally benefit from tokens and companies everywhere, all while lobbying for regulatory policy that protects their investments.
The Trump family’s new frontier in cryptocurrency has paved the way for all sorts of profitable ventures. This comes as these billionaires are profiting from specific tokens and companies they’ve promoted, lobbying for favorable, crypto-friendly regulatory policies, and being accused of insider trading. This leads to a multifaceted tangle of conflicts that need acute sensitivity and attention.
That intersection of political influence and financial gain should sound alarm bells about transparency and accountability. The public deserves at least some transparency about the Trump family’s crypto business. They have the right to know that all such activities are fair, ethical, and free from undue influence or self-dealing.
