US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he does not believe the recent disclosure of President Donald Trump’s billions in crypto earnings poses a problem for the leader, Bessent said in an interview with CBS News on Thursday.
“I don’t think there’s an appearance problem,” he said referring to Trump’s earnings from the digital asset.
The remarks come after a financial disclosure released earlier this week showed that Trump reported earning approximately $1.4 billion in 2025 from investments linked to cryptocurrencies and memecoins.
Democrats flag conflict of interest concerns
Congressional Democrats have criticised , arguing it presents a conflict of interest since his administration has sought to ease regulations on cryptocurrency, CBS News reported.
During his presidency, Trump has reportedly championed a pro-cryptocurrency agenda, saying the United States should become the “crypto capital of the world” by easing regulations, creating a strategic Bitcoin reserve and promoting the use of dollar-backed stablecoins.
“This is an innovation presidency,” Bessent told the broadcaster. “So whether it’s digital access, whether it’s AI, whether it’s everything that is going on in the tech ecosystem that, you know, all Americans are benefiting from that.”
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told CBS News on Tuesday that “there are no conflicts of interest” in the disclosure.
A breakdown of Trump’s earnings from crypto assets
Trump’s holdings include his “” $TRUMP and earnings from World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company backed by the president and his family, according to his financial disclosure filings.
The president reported earning approximately $594 million from World Liberty Financial and about $636 million in income from his memecoin business. He also made nearly $197 million from an equity sale involving Stablecoin Holdco.
Trump claims he is not fully aware of the size of his crypto investments
While some critics have raised concerns over a potential conflict of interest, Trump claimed on Thursday that he was not fully aware of the size of his family’s cryptocurrency holdings. He also maintained that his association with the crypto ventures was entirely legal following disclosures of significant profits from family-linked digital asset businesses.
“I could know about it. I didn’t,” Trump mentioned in an interview at the White House.
He also told CNBC: “I’ve always made money. I’m a business person. I’m a really good business person. I made money. I made a tremendous amount of money.”
When questioned about the billions of dollars he had earned from cryptocurrency ventures, Trump dismissed concerns over a potential conflict of interest, in line with what Bessent said too during an interview with CBS News.
“The way I view crypto is a little differently. We have to be at the top, otherwise China is going to take it over,” he said.
The also said he does not personally manage his crypto investments, stating that they are handled on his behalf. He added that he is not aware of the identities of the investors involved.
“I let people invest it. I don’t even speak to – I don’t even know who they are. My son Eric handles it. I don’t talk to him about things such as this,” he further said.
