Trump Media’s Crypto.com Deal Puts Presidential Business Ties Under Scrutiny

Key Points

Crypto.com spent more than a year under scrutiny by U.S. financial regulators, facing the prospect of enforcement action tied to its operations in the cryptocurrency market. That risk faded after Donald Trump returned to the White House. Within months, the company emerged not only free of investigation but tied financially to Trump’s media business.

The crypto exchange later committed roughly $1 billion in digital assets to a joint venture with Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social. The arrangement has drawn attention from legal scholars and ethics specialists, who say it highlights concerns about business relationships involving companies overseen by federal regulators and a sitting president whose family controls private enterprises.

Crypto.com confirmed that a regulatory inquiry into the company was closed earlier this year. Public records show that, during the same period, the firm increased its political spending, including donations to committees aligned with Trump and payments to a lobbyist with close ties to the president.

From investigation to partnership

Under the previous administration, regulators had warned Crypto.com that enforcement action was under consideration. The inquiry was later dropped after Trump’s election victory. The company says the decision was based on a lack of evidence, not politics.

Shortly afterward, Trump Media announced a new venture focused on managing reserves for Crypto.com’s Cronos token. Trump Media contributed limited capital to the project but received a significant ownership stake, according to regulatory filings. The bulk of the assets backing the venture came from Crypto.com.

Trump Media, which has reported large operating losses since launching in 2021, has been expanding beyond social media into financial services and digital assets. The Cronos treasury deal marks one of its largest crypto-related moves to date.

Political spending and access

Campaign finance disclosures show that Crypto.com donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund and $10 million to a political action committee supporting his candidacy. The company also hired a lobbyist who worked closely with Trump allies and later contacted regulators on crypto policy matters.

Crypto.com says the lobbyist had no role in the investigation and denies any link between its political contributions and the outcome of the regulatory review.

Ethics experts argue that the sequence of events creates an appearance problem, even if no rules were broken. Modern presidents have typically taken steps to separate themselves from private business dealings to avoid such situations, said former government ethics officials.

Trump Media’s move into crypto

Trump Media was created to support Truth Social, a platform launched after Trump was removed from major social networks following the January 6 Capitol attack. The company later went public and has since struggled to reach profitability, reporting losses exceeding $400 million last year.

After the listing, Trump Media broadened its ambitions. It announced plans for a streaming service, financial products, and digital-asset ventures. Trump’s own views on cryptocurrency have also changed over time. After dismissing Bitcoin as a scam in 2021, he later embraced the sector during his campaign and pledged to ease oversight.

Members of Trump’s family have launched separate crypto businesses and token projects. Some companies and individuals involved in those efforts later benefited from regulatory decisions, including paused investigations or presidential pardons, according to public records.

Structure of the Crypto.com deal

The Cronos venture is structured so that Crypto.com supplies most of the funding in the form of its own digital tokens. Trump Media’s contribution consists largely of branding rights and intellectual-property licenses, filings show. A third partner, a financial firm that has previously worked with Trump Media, is providing credit support.

All parties are expected to hold majority interests, though exact ownership percentages have not been disclosed.

Critics say the economics of the deal raise questions about whether the arrangement would have been possible without the regulatory outcome. Supporters counter that the partnership reflects market confidence and shared commercial interests.

Official responses

The White House has said the president placed his business assets into a trust overseen by his sons and that neither he nor his family engages in conflicts of interest. Trump Media has rejected claims that the deal is improper, dismissing reporting on the matter as politically motivated.

Crypto.com maintains that its regulatory case was closed on the merits and that its political activity played no role. Regulators have not commented publicly on the specifics of the decision.

What remains clear is that the deal places a major cryptocurrency firm and a company controlled by the president’s family in a shared financial venture—an arrangement that continues to fuel debate over ethics, influence, and oversight in Washington’s approach to digital assets.

Also Read: Trump Media Partners With Crypto.com to Launch Truth Predict Market on Truth Social