President Trump and his family's relationship with cryptocurrency is becoming increasingly close. The latest example occurred last week, when Eric Trump announced that the UAE venture capital firm MGX will use the stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial (a blockchain company owned by the Trump family) to pay for its $2 billion investment in the cryptocurrency trading platform Binance.
The Trump family and their business partners are expected to profit from this deal, but the exact amount is difficult to determine, as the details are not transparent. Binance did not respond to a request for comment, and a spokesperson for World Liberty Financial also refused to provide details beyond public information.
Despite limited information disclosure, Fortune, through interviews with stablecoin domain experts and analysis of the current crypto ecosystem, has provided an upper limit estimate of the Trump family's potential profits.
The Stablecoin Business: Large and Invisible
Stablecoins are the latest component of Trump's expanding crypto empire, but they have long been an important part of the crypto industry. Tether, Circle, and later PayPal and Ripple have all made substantial profits from issuing stablecoins. Tether's revenue in the most recent quarter reached $5.6 billion, and Circle's total revenue in 2024 also reached $1.7 billion.
As a result, World Liberty Financial issued its own USD stablecoin, USD1, in late March this year. Like most USD-pegged stablecoins, USD1 is backed by short-term Treasury bonds and other dollar-like assets, typically generating around 4% annual yield—with most of these interest usually belonging to the issuing institution.
If Binance holds USD1, World Liberty Financial would collect interest on its underlying reserve assets, which could potentially generate up to $80 million in revenue within a year at a 4% rate. However, this figure is highly variable. For instance, if World Liberty exclusively retains all interest income, Binance would have no incentive to hold USD1 long-term and might exchange it for BNB or other yield-generating assets.
Additionally, according to the spokesperson, USD1's reserve assets include various "cash equivalents" beyond Treasury bonds. However, World Liberty has not disclosed the specific asset composition, so there might be cash components that do not generate income.
Omid Malekan, a crypto scholar at Columbia Business School, pointed out that MGX may not have actually sent funds to Binance, and if Binance immediately liquidates USD1, World Liberty would earn no interest. Moreover, Binance might use these USD1 tokens for platform transaction settlements or employee salary payments. Edward Woodford, co-founder and CEO of Zero Hash (a stablecoin infrastructure provider), also stated: "Suppliers and employees need payment, so these tokens might be destroyed quickly." ("Destroyed" means exchanging stablecoins for cash with the issuer.)
Might Binance Get a Share?
Todd Phillips, a law professor at Georgia State University, noted that Binance might have signed a profit-sharing agreement with World Liberty Financial. He cited an example where Binance previously made a similar agreement with Circle, paying a one-time $60 million and monthly fees for USDC promotion, with a commitment to keep some funds in the stablecoin.
If Binance has a similar collaborative arrangement with World Liberty, the latter's earnings might significantly decrease, but the stablecoin's liquidity and market visibility would substantially increase. Binance previously collaborated with Paxos to launch BUSD, which was halted by regulators in early 2023. Currently, USD1 is primarily issued on Binance's own blockchain.
"Why USD1?" Malekan said, "They might have just given Binance the best cooperation terms." In summary, while the Trump family could theoretically profit $80 million through USD1, this depends on whether the tokens will be destroyed or if profits need to be shared.
Democratic Counterattack: "Blatant Conflict of Interest"
Regardless of the specific agreement between Binance and World Liberty, Democratic lawmakers have viewed this transaction as new evidence of a conflict of interest between the Trump family and the crypto industry. Maxine Waters, a senior Democratic representative from California on the House Financial Services Committee, dramatically left a blockchain hearing on Tuesday, protesting the Trump family's profiteering while participating in regulatory legislation.
In a statement to Fortune, she said: "I am extremely concerned that Republicans not only turn a blind eye to Trump's corruption but are even helping him and his family legitimize their self-enrichment through cryptocurrency." This controversy has also impacted the Stablecoin Regulation Bill, which previously had bipartisan support in Congress. A group of Democratic senators who previously supported the bill collectively opposed the latest version last weekend, due to concerns about Trump's connection to USD1.
Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts was even more direct: "This is blatant corruption, and no senator should support it."
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