Goldman, Nasdaq CEOs to headline Mar-a-Lago crypto ‘forum’ hosted by Don Jr. and Eric Trump

President Trump is not slated to appear at the conference, as he did at a dinner honoring top buyers of his meme coin ​in ​May.

CRYPTO BOOSTS TRUMP FAMILY WEALTH

The event as envisioned is a convergence of Trump family business interests, regulators, political appointees, lawmakers ​allied to the president, and financial executives who have a stake in shaping evolving ‌crypto policy.

Chris Swartz, a former attorney at the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, including under both Trump administrations, said that he is concerned about the appearance of the Trump family using its patriarch's public office for the benefit of their private crypto businesses.

“Any reasonable person would have serious questions about the propriety of this event,” said Swartz, who now serves as senior ethics counsel for Democracy Defenders Action, a legal advocacy group.

Andy Grewal, a professor of law at University of Iowa, said that it was not unusual for business executives to try to align themselves with the current administration.

“The presidency has inescapable conflicts. It's up to the voters to decide who they believe will or will not ethically handle those,” Grewal said.

In a statement, Wachsman said “there is nothing unprecedented about leaders in finance, technology, and government convening to discuss the future of critical markets,” adding ‌that “characterizing standard cross-sector dialogue as a ‘conflict of interest’ misrepresents both the event and its participants.”

World Liberty Financial has become central ​to the Trump family’s wealth since it was launched by the president and his three sons just before the 2024 U.S. ​presidential election, prompting criticism of President Trump leveraging his public role for personal gain from Democratic politicians ​and other observers.

During Trump’s first year in office, his family has made more than $1 billion from crypto projects, according to a Reuters analysis. Much of that has come from ‌World Liberty, whose main product, the USD1 stablecoin, which is backed by the ​U.S. dollar, has surpassed $5 billion in circulation to become the ​fifth-largest stablecoin globally, according to Wachsman.

In January 2025, just days before President Trump’s inauguration, an investment vehicle linked to a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family purchased a 49% equity stake in World Liberty Financial for $500 million, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. The deal was later confirmed to Reuters by Wachsman, the World Liberty spokesman.

Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman, ​said in a statement that the president's assets are in a trust managed ‌by his children and “there are no conflicts of interest."

David Warrington, White House Counsel, wrote in an additional statement that “the president has no involvement in business deals that would implicate his ​constitutional responsibilities."

As a beneficiary of the trust controlling the Trump Organization, Trump will have access to the income generated by these ventures when he leaves office.

(Reporting by Lawrence Delevingne in ​Boston and Michelle Conlin in New York. Additional reporting by Tom Bergin in London. Editing by Tom Lasseter.)