Trump says fraud investigations made a very big dent in overseas crypto scams as his family’s crypto gains draw scrutiny

President Trump said fraud investigations have made a “very big dent” in overseas scams^3,5. He spoke at a roundtable on cybercrime in the East Room of the White House on Wednesday, alongside Stephen Miller¹².

The president’s team highlighted work to crack down on overseas crypto scams^4,5. The event was set up to tout seizures of fraudulent crypto sites². Ahead of it, the administration planned to throw a spotlight on overseas crypto abuses^1,13.

The roundtable focused on cybercrime losses in 2025¹⁰. During the event Trump avoided the word “cryptocurrency”, using “cybercurrency” instead¹¹. One account put the scams’ losses at $7.2 billion, set against $2.3 billion in gains for the Trump family⁸. Miller also spoke about the president’s record on scams^4,5.

Why it matters to investors

The crackdown coincides with questions about Trump’s own cryptocurrency businesses, particularly World Liberty Financial and the TRUMP meme coin⁸. Coverage of the event linked the Trump family’s $2.3 billion in crypto gains to the administration’s new scam crackdown^6,8. Those gains include about $600 million from World Liberty Financial and $636 million from the sale of Trump-branded meme coins⁹.

World Liberty Financial, the crypto firm run by the Trump family, has faced scrutiny over how its USD1 stablecoin was used^10,11. The company is at the centre of controversy¹¹.

Critics also point to the president’s pardon in October 2025 of Changpeng Zhao, the convicted founder of the Binance exchange^1,2. Zhao, who is Canadian, had stepped down after the company’s legal troubles^3,7. Trump has been criticised for the pardon⁷. The administration’s emphasis on overseas scams leaves the questions about domestic crypto ventures to its critics^6,8.

What to watch

The administration’s claims about the effect of its fraud investigations are its own account; the coverage does not include independent figures on how much the crackdown has reduced scam losses^3,5. Further seizures of fraudulent crypto sites would be the clearest public measure of the effort². The White House has framed the work as a crackdown on overseas operators in particular^12,13.

Scrutiny of World Liberty Financial and its USD1 stablecoin is likely to remain part of the debate over the government’s crypto policy^8,10. Questions over the Trump family’s gains are set to follow the administration’s enforcement push⁶.