Crypto
The Trump Family Is Going All-In on Crypto Projects, From Bitcoin Mining to Stablecoins
(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump and his family have taken a interest in just about every corner of the crypto industry.
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There are nonfungible tokens and digital collectibles; a decentralized finance project; a proposed stablecoin; an effort at Bitcoin mining; and a pair of memecoins, one for the president and one for First Lady Melania Trump.
Taken together, the various projects are approaching $1 billion in paper gains even after accounting for the latest round of trade war-induced market gyrations, according to Bloomberg calculations based on publicly available data.
Donald Trump is already the richest person to have ever become US president, and his non-crypto holdings include significant investments in real estate. After his first election in 2016, Trump’s lawyers created a trust to handle his business affairs. That was managed by his two eldest sons and by Allen Weisselberg, the longtime chief financial officer of Trump’s real estate company.
Eric Trump has emphasized that “there are no conflicts” related to the family’s crypto investments.
“I don’t work with the White House,” Eric Trump said during a Bloomberg TV interview in April. “We’ve believed in crypto for a long time.”
The president’s own public conversion to crypto is still relatively new. Trump called Bitcoin a “scam” as recently as 2021, telling Fox Business at the time that he didn’t like the token “because it’s another currency competing against the dollar” and that it should be regulated “very, very high.”
Trump’s relationship with the digital asset industry has evolved significantly since then. As a candidate, he courted and benefited from significant contributions to his reelection campaign from crypto executives and advocates.
In his second term, Trump has signed executive orders in support of his promise to make the US the crypto capital of the planet, installed David Sacks and Bo Hines to represent the interests of the industry, and continued to tout his memecoin with posts on Truth Social.
“Trump and his family seem eager to establish a broad foothold in the sector prior to further regulatory actions that are likely to boost cryptoasset valuations,” said Eswar Prasad, professor of trade policy at Cornell University.
Here’s how the Trump crypto portfolio has evolved.
Key Takeaways
- LAB token cratered 90% over 48 hours, wiping out billions in market cap.
- ZachXBT slammed top centralized exchanges for failing to halt the July manipulation.
- Investors surged to avoid trading LAB as team token unlocks are set for later in July 2026.
LAB Trade Blames ‘Large Market Participants’
LAB, the native token of the multi-chain trading platform LAB Trade, suffered a catastrophic collapse this week, plunging from just over $7 to $1.25 on Wednesday—a staggering 80% decline in under 24 hours. This crash followed an equally brutal sell-off on Tuesday, which saw the token slide from nearly $17. In total, LAB wiped out nearly 90% of its value in just 48 hours.
The financial fallout was swift: a market capitalization that exceeded $5 billion on Tuesday morning evaporated to just $390 million by 3:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday. The freefall prompted the LAB Trade team to address the panic on X, where they expressed disappointment and deflected blame toward external heavy-sellers:
“While today’s market activity is disappointing, our product roadmap and long-term focus remain unchanged. We’re seeing significant selling pressure from large market participants. Several independent trading firms also hold substantial LAB positions that are not affiliated with our team. We’re working closely with our liquidity partners and continue to monitor market conditions,” the team said on X.
With this crash, LAB joins a notorious lineup of volatile tokens, such as RAVE, RIVER and SIREN. Each of these projects experienced meteoric rises followed by near-instantaneous erasures, sparking widespread “pump-and-dump” allegations against their respective teams and murky distribution networks.
Crypto Sleuth Slams Centralized Exchanges
Prominent on-chain detective ZachXBT, who previously flagged suspicious insider loans and market-maker coordination back in May, blasted major centralized exchanges ( CEXs) for failing to protect retail investors. Taking to X, ZachXBT criticized the lack of proactive intervention:
“Disappointing to see how no action was taken by Binance, Bitget, and Gate earlier to prevent it. If CEXs cared, profits from the accounts manipulating the price would be distributed to users at a minimum. Unlocks for investors were scheduled to begin later this month, however, multiple late vesting changes occurred in the past.”
ZachXBT reiterated his previous warnings that insiders have effectively controlled the entire circulating supply, allowing market makers to orchestrate extreme price manipulation on major exchanges. His final advice to the community was blunt: avoid trading LAB under any circumstances.
ZachXBT Names RAVE, RIVER, SIREN, and LAB as Victims of Bitget-Enabled Market Maker Fraud
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT has renewed his assault on Bitget, accusing the exchange of knowingly enabling market makers to run supply…
ZachXBT Names RAVE, RIVER, SIREN, and LAB as Victims of Bitget-Enabled Market Maker Fraud
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT has renewed his assault on Bitget, accusing the exchange of knowingly enabling market makers to run supply…
ZachXBT Names RAVE, RIVER, SIREN, and LAB as Victims of Bitget-Enabled Market Maker Fraud
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT has renewed his assault on Bitget, accusing the exchange of knowingly enabling market makers to run supply…
STARKVILLE – Potentially higher utility bills and sound pollution topped the list of concerns raised by six residents who addressed the board of aldermen Tuesday about a cryptocurrency mining facility proposed for Industrial Park Road.
Vice Mayor Roy Perkins, who represents Ward 6, said he has fielded similar concerns from constituents following the board’s June 12 work session, during which members heard a presentation about the potential project.
“I know these things need to have full accountability, full transparency and different things,” Perkins said. “… Well you can rest assured the vice mayor is going to be on assignment. I’m going to do my part. I’m not going to do anything that’s going to negatively impact this community.”
The proposed facility would be a specialized type of data center designed to mine cryptocurrency, a digital currency that operates independently of government-backed financial systems. It is stored in digital wallets and fluctuates in value.
Mining facilities use specialized computers that draw large energy loads to secure the digital transactions that take place. The center proposed in Starkville would be much smaller than “hyperscale data centers” that store and process data for large tech companies.
Utility usage topped the concerns of most residents with Pam Jones, the first to speak, set the tone.
“I understand that this is on a smaller scale than the hyper-scale facilities, and I just wanted to be sure that we had ordinances in place that will count the noise, especially at night and that there will be water and power management,” Jones said.
Other residents took issue with what they see as a lack of transparency around the proposed project.
“I was quite disappointed to learn (the mining facility) was not an agenda item today,” said Eadie Keenan, a Ward 7 resident. “… Quite frankly, I have more questions than can fit in three minutes.”
Tiffany Womack, another Starkville resident, echoed Kennan’s concerns, adding utility usage and market volatility to her own list of issues.
“If (the center was) to go bankrupt or something like that, would that possibly fall back on the responsibility of Starkville citizens?” Womack asked.
Mayor Lynn Spruill did not answer each question individually, instead encouraging those with questions to watch the June 12 presentation. Due to the project’s early stage, she noted the board does not yet know answers to all the questions raised during Tuesday’s meeting.
“I brought (the center) to the board as an opportunity for us to begin that process of learning so we are nowhere near making a decision,” Spruill said. “Which is why it isn’t on the agenda and won’t be on the agenda for some time.”
Spruill said the proposed center is currently going through the staff vetting process. Once the process is complete, staff will make a recommendation to the board on whether to pursue the center. At that time, Spruill expects to be able to answer residents’ remaining questions.
Spruill said transparency is important to her and the board while going through the process of vetting the mining center.
“Nothing is being hidden. It’s all out there for everybody to see, and we’ll make decisions based on facts not on Facebook craziness,” Spruill said. “… We want facts, and we want all decisions to be made with facts. And so hopefully that will put some of your concerns (to rest), at least to the extent that this is nowhere near something that will be on the agenda.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 24 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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