Trump Brushes Off Criticism Over Crypto-Linked Earnings Amid Election-Year Spending Surge

US President Donald Trump has pushed back against criticism of his financial disclosures, telling CNBC that there was 'nothing illegal' and 'nothing wrong' about earning income tied to his crypto investments while in office.

The remarks came after the US Office of Government Ethics (OGE) released Trump's 2025 financial disclosure report, which shows he earned more than $2 billion from his businesses and investments during that year. About $1.4 billion of this total is linked to crypto ventures, including his memecoin and activities tied to World Liberty Financial.

Trump argued that others were responsible for his crypto-related investments and that he did not 'even know who they are', without directly addressing concerns about whether his position could influence policy affecting the digital asset industry. Critics have flagged the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act as an example of the kind of policy initiative they believe could benefit from a more transparent and strictly separated approach.

The controversy comes amid increasing crypto spending ahead of the 2026 elections, with advocacy groups arguing that Trump's financial ties to the industry raise conflict-of-interest concerns. Public Citizen reports that companies linked to the crypto industry contributed $189 million toward the 2026 election cycle as of June.