Trump Family's $800 Million Cryptocurrency Empire Exposed! Barron Trump Involved in Insider Trading Allegations

Reuters investigation reveals that in the first half of 2025, the Trump family in the United States profited over $800 million from selling encryption assets, with potentially billions of dollars in unrealized paper gains. Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Barron Trump are listed as co-founders of World Liberty, raising questions about conflicts of interest and insider trading. Experts warn that investors are betting on the Trump family to gain “immunity only the president can provide.”

Barron Trump’s Role as Co-Founder Sparks Conflict of Interest Concerns

(Source: Reuters)

On its website, World Liberty Financial features a portrait of President Trump, calling him an “Honorary Co-Founder.” Another honorary co-founder is billionaire real estate investor Steven Witkoff, who served as Trump’s Middle East peace envoy. Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and their brother Barron are listed as co-founders, along with Witkoff’s two sons, Zach and Alec, also listed as co-founders. Zach Witkoff has been closely associated with the Trump brothers, traveling the world to promote tokens.

As the youngest son of Trump, Barron has rarely been involved in family business activities. His role as co-founder at World Liberty Financial has sparked widespread controversy. Government ethics experts say that the Trump family’s cryptocurrency plans align with President Trump’s public role as overseer of U.S. cryptocurrency policy, creating an unprecedented conflict of interest in modern presidential history. Does this conflict of interest constitute insider trading? The key question is whether family members are using policy advantages for profit.

(Source: Reuters)

“These people invested in the Trump family’s business not because of Donald Trump Jr.’s savvy,” said Katherine Clark, a law professor at the University of Washington specializing in government ethics. She commented on Reuters’ findings, stating, “They are doing so because they want to escape legal constraints and gain immunity only the president can provide.” This suggests that investors are betting not on the business model but on political protection.

Since Trump’s second inauguration, his administration has reversed many positions of the previous government, clearing obstacles for the growth of the U.S. cryptocurrency industry. The Department of Justice disbanded the cryptocurrency enforcement team, regulators withdrew previous guidance cautioning banks about crypto-related risks, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has paused or dismissed several high-profile lawsuits against crypto companies. This policy shift coincides closely with the explosive growth of Trump family crypto ventures, raising insider trading suspicions.

Analysis of $800 Million in Overseas Funds and Investor Motivations

Most of these funds come from overseas, as Donald Trump’s sons have been actively pitching their ventures to international investors. Cryptocurrency analytics firm Nansen, commissioned by Reuters, found that among the 50 wallets holding the most World Liberty tokens, 36 wallets (holding $804 million worth of tokens) may be linked to overseas buyers. Only four wallets are associated with U.S. investors, holding $889 million worth of tokens, mostly ($781 million) held by Alt5 Sigma.

This overseas-dominated funding model raises serious ethical concerns. Reuters interviewed six foreign cryptocurrency entrepreneurs who had met with the Trump brothers. Five of them said they sought contact with Donald Trump Jr. to explore business opportunities because of their close ties to the 79-year-old president, hoping to leverage his political and economic influence for profit. This explicit motive of trading influence for profit is at the core of the insider trading controversy.

Dorji Rabten, a venture capitalist based in Seoul at Oddiyana Ventures, purchased an unspecified amount of WLFI tokens in January. Rabten said he has never met Trump’s sons, but their family’s involvement was a key factor in his investment. “When we first saw this project, we thought it would be very successful, especially since it’s run by the president’s sons,” Rabten said. This investment logic is entirely detached from business fundamentals, purely betting on political connections.

Ruiying Jin, a finance professor at Santa Clara University, stated, “Without Trump’s name, you wouldn’t see World Liberty Financial raising so much money.” She believes that the technology and services announced by World Liberty Financial lack significant value, describing its value proposition as “joining this circle.” This further confirms investors’ true motives.

The Technological Reality of World Liberty Financial

Promised P2P Financing Platform: Not launched since announcement last year

USD1 Stablecoin: Issued and operated by a third party, with World Liberty only sharing profits

Limited Token Utility: WLFI holders have limited governance rights, no profit sharing

Technical Evaluation: Investors who met with Eric consider it “still very primitive”

Zhou Guoren Money Laundering Case and $100 Million Transaction in the UAE

The Chinese businessman who met with Eric Trump in Dubai is Zhou Guoren (pseudonym, also known as Bobby Zhou), who holds executive positions in several companies. According to documents submitted to the UK National Crime Agency and the Royal Courts of London in an immigration case, he is currently under investigation in the UK for money laundering. A court ruling from an independent case in February 2024, related to his UK immigration status, states he was arrested in 2021 on suspicion of money laundering. The UK National Crime Agency transferred the case to prosecutors in 2022 and confirmed to Reuters that Zhou remains under investigation.

Additionally, court records reviewed by Reuters show that in three civil cases from 2017 to 2023, Zhou and a family member were found by Chinese courts to have unpaid loans totaling 19.4 million RMB (approximately $2.4 million at current exchange rates). Zhou did not respond to requests for comment, but Aqua Labs issued a statement saying, “Any allegations of misconduct are false. Mr. Zhou has never been convicted of any financial crimes in any jurisdiction.”

Reuters cannot confirm whether Eric Trump was aware of these details during their meeting. This is one of the focal points of the insider trading controversy: Did the Trump family conduct sufficient due diligence on investors? If they knowingly accepted funds linked to money laundering investigations, could they be complicit in money laundering? If unaware, does such negligence meet the prudence standards expected of publicly traded companies or presidential families?

About a month after Zhou’s meeting with Eric Trump, in mid-June, local government records show that Web3Port in the British Virgin Islands renamed itself to Aqua1, changing from “Web3Port.” Just days later, on June 26, Aqua1 Foundation announced a $100 million purchase of World Liberty tokens. The timing of this change raises further questions: Is there a deliberate connection between the entity’s renaming and the token purchase?

Timeline of MGX Stablecoin Trade and CZ’s Pardon

In May, Abu Dhabi state-owned investment firm MGX used USD1 stablecoin to acquire a $2 billion stake in the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance. MGX’s board chairman is Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, brother of UAE National Security Advisor and President Mohammed bin Zayed. The deal drew widespread criticism, with Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley calling for investigations by the Office of Government Ethics, warning that MGX’s use of stablecoins for acquisitions “may violate the U.S. Constitution’s Emoluments Clause,” which prohibits federal officials from accepting payments or gifts from foreign governments.

By the end of 2023, Binance admitted to a federal court that it failed to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program and paid a $4.3 billion fine. Its billionaire founder, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), a Chinese-born entrepreneur, pleaded guilty to similar charges, served nearly four months in prison, and resigned as CEO but retained his shares in Binance. In May, shortly after MGX announced using Trump’s stablecoin to invest in Binance, CZ told a podcast host that he had applied for a pardon from the Trump administration. Last week, the White House announced that President Trump granted CZ a pardon.

This timeline raises serious insider trading suspicions. MGX’s use of USD1 stablecoin to buy Binance shares (benefiting the Trump family) → CZ’s pardon application → Trump’s approval of the pardon. Does this sequence constitute an exchange? Is there an implicit agreement to “trade stablecoins for a pardon”? While all parties deny any connection, the timing makes such suspicions difficult to dismiss.

Another controversial figure is Sun Yuchen. In 2023, the SEC accused Sun of fraud, selling unregistered securities, and concealing payments to celebrities promoting his products. As Trump returned to the White House, the SEC paused the case in February. Just weeks earlier, Sun announced that he had increased his purchase of World Liberty tokens to $75 million. Does the timing of the SEC’s pause and his increased holdings of WLFI tokens constitute another form of insider trading?

Legally Permissible but Morally Gray Areas

Ethics experts say that unless the Trump brothers explicitly promised access to the president or special treatment during their promotion, they did not violate any laws. “It’s legal but immoral,” said Richard Peint, former chief ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush and current law professor at the University of Minnesota. This “legally permissible but morally questionable” gray area is at the heart of the difficulty in definitively resolving the insider trading controversy.

More than a dozen individuals who met with the Trump brothers or their partners told Reuters they did not hear anyone explicitly promise access to the president or special treatment in exchange for investments. However, lack of explicit promises does not mean there are no implicit expectations. When the president’s sons promote tokens globally, investors naturally associate their investments with political connections, even if the brothers never explicitly state so.

The White House repeatedly denies any conflicts of interest, stating that after taking office, the president placed his businesses into trust funds managed by his children, thereby ending his direct involvement. However, as a beneficiary of the trust controlling the Trump Organization, the former president can still access the family’s current earnings after leaving office. While this arrangement may be legally compliant, it is ethically controversial.