CNN host Erin Burnett halted her show on Tuesday when it was announced Donald Trump made more than $1bn (£750m) last year from business dealings in cryptocurrency, according to his mandatory financial report for 2025.
In a staggering 927-page disclosure, it reported the US president earned $635 million in royalties from a company that issues $TRUMP, a crypto token that he launched three days before taking office for his second term. He also reported over $500m in income from World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm founded by his own sons and the children of his special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The earnings from his latest financial disclosure far outpace the previous ones for 2024, when Trump disclosed over $600m of income.
The CNN host began: “Trump just disclosing that he’s earned over $1bn from his crypto ventures. [The disclosure] does include more than $526m in income from World Liberty Financial which is a crypto venture Trump founded with his sons.” Erin showed a chart that appeared on-screen titled “Trump Crypto: Family Gains vs Investor Losses.” One line showed Trump had gained from the investment, while investors appeared to have lost up to $2bn, the correspondent claimed.
Erin asked: “What is your reaction to the scale of what we’re seeing in this disclosure? Is it legal?” Former White House lawyer Ty Cobb replied: “I don’t think so.”
He dubbed the crypto industry “slimy”, adding, “the average American should be staggered” by this outcome.
Cobb claimed: “We are seeing the greatest onslaught of corruption in the history of mankind – this is somebody who everyday is devoted to the accumulation of wealth and power.
“It’s got to be the longest disclosure in the history of the American presidency.”
He added: “This disclosure on top of the disclosure last month, where he listed recent trades, up to $750million in trade, many of which involved government contractors.”
Tuesday’s disclosure shows his crypto earnings far overshadow income from his real estate business, which first catapulted him to fame. He earned around $77m from his Mar-a-Lago club and $122m from his golf club in Doral, Florida.
The White House, however, has repeatedly emphasised that Trump has placed his businesses in a trust managed by his sons, and denied any conflict of interest.
White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said the president had proudly made the US “the crypto capital of the world”.
“Neither the President nor his family has ever engaged – or will ever engage – in conflicts of interest,” she said in a statement.
She added: “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.”
The president himself has also highlighted that he is not subject to federal conflict of interest laws.
