Trump's crypto empire set to expand with new stablecoin and investment
fund offerings
[March 26, 2025] By
ALAN SUDERMAN
President Donald Trump’s crypto empire is expanding with the recent
announcements of a new dollar-backed stablecoin and investment funds for
digital assets. The moves are the latest in the norm-defying ways the
president has leaned into crypto projects that could significantly boost
his personal wealth while in office.
World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture Trump helped launch
last year, announced Tuesday that it plans to launch USD1, a stablecoin
pegged at a 1-to-1 ratio to the U.S. dollar.
Stablecoins are among the fastest growing segments of the cryptocurrency
industry. They are typically backed by a government-issued currency,
like the dollar, or to gold, making them better suited to commercial
transactions than more volatile digital assets like bitcoin or other
cryptocurrencies.
“We’re offering a digital dollar stablecoin that sovereign investors and
major institutions can confidently integrate into their strategies for
seamless, secure cross-border transactions,” Zach Witkoff, a World
Liberty Financial co-founder, said in a statement Tuesday.
World Liberty’s announcement comes amid a push by Congress, with strong
support by the White House, to pass legislation that supporters say
would make it easier for stablecoin companies to operate and grow in the
U.S.
Witkoff and his father, Trump’s special diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff,
helped launch World Liberty Financial with Trump and his sons last year.
Under the terms outlined on the company’s website, a Trump-owned company
has the “right to receive 75% of the net protocol revenues” from World
Liberty Financial after expenses.
On Monday, Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. announced it was
partnering with the crypto-trading firm Crypto.com to launch
exchange-traded funds for investors to purchase. The funds, which are
set to be released later this year, will include a “unique ETF basket of
cryptocurrencies” as well as “securities with a Made in America focus
spanning diverse industries such as energy,” TMTG said in an
announcement.
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Then Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024
Conference, July 27, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark
Humphrey, File)
 TMTG is the parent company of
Trump’s social media company, Truth Social. Trump has no
decision-making role at the company, but he owns a majority stake
and is its largest shareholder. TMTG’s stock price jumped following
the announcement.
The recent announcements add to a growing list of crypto-related
projects that Trump has endorsed in ways that critics say are
inappropriate for a public office holder.
Just days before taking office, Trump launched his own meme coin
that initially saw a massive price spike followed by a prolonged
slide. Meme coins are highly speculative assets that often start as
a joke and have no real value. Trump has also promoted online watch
and sneaker stores that have branched out into selling
crypto-related Trump products, including a “Crypto President”
timepiece that sells for $100,000.
Once a crypto skeptic, Trump has since embraced digital assets and
pledged to make the U.S. the “world capital” for cryptocurrencies.
He’s taken several early steps to help boost the crypto industry,
which spent heavily to help Trump win last year’s election and has
emerged as a potent political force.
Before taking office, the Trump family business released a voluntary
ethics agreement that prohibits the president from “day-to-day”
decision making of his companies and limits financial information
shared with him. But that agreement doesn't bar him from promoting
his crypto-related products, like he did on social media Sunday when
touting his meme coin.
“I LOVE $TRUMP — SO COOL!!! The Greatest of them
all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,” Trump said on Truth Social, which briefly
caused a spike in the meme coin’s price.
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