AMNA NAWAZ: As President Trump's administration# has loosened regulations on cryptocurrency and## pledged to make the U.S.

the crypto capital of# the world, his family's ties to the industry## are raising ethical concerns and blurring# the lines between business and government.

Our White House correspondent,# Liz Landers, takes a closer look.

LIZ LANDERS: For more than a year, President# Trump's two oldest sons, Eric and Don Jr.,## have been on something of a globe-trotting road# show preaching the virtues of cryptocurrency... ERIC TRUMP, Executive Vice President,# Trump Organization: I think it's going## to change your modern financia.. (CHEERING) Trump family called World Liberty Financial.

DONALD TRUMP JR., Executive Vice President,# Trump Organization: Yes, we call it the World## Liberty because of the lib.. right?

This isn't just about America.

LIZ LANDERS: Launched in September 2024,## World Liberty Financial bills itself as a# -- quote -- "decentralized finance company."

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United# States: Big news, the World Liberty## Financial token sale is now live.

Crypto is# the future.

Let's embrace this incredible## technology and lead the world in digital# economy.

Go to worldlibertyfinancial.com.

LIZ LANDERS: Its Web site features President# Trump labeled as a co-founder emeritus and## lists his three sons, Eric, Don Jr.

and# Barron Trump, as co-founders.

Also listed,## co-founder emeritus Steve Witkoff, now# President Trump's diplomatic special envoy,## and Witkoff's two sons Zach# and Alex, both co-founders.

A footnote on the Web site notes# that both President Trump and## Steve Witkoff were both -- quote# -- "removed upon taking office."

Last month, President Trump pardoned Changpeng# Zhao, the billionaire founder of Binance,## the world's largest crypto exchange.

In 2023, the# company admitted to evading U.S.

sanction laws,## and Zhao, known as C.Z., pleaded guilty# to violating anti-money laundering laws.

President Trump told 60 Minutes after# issuing the pardon that he doesn't know Zhao.

DONALD TRUMP: I don't know who# he is.

I know he got a four-month## sentence or something like that, and# I heard it was a Biden witch-hunt.

LIZ LANDERS: White House Press# Secretary Karoline Leavitt: KAROLINE LEAVITT, White House Press Secretary:# He means he does not have a personal relationship## with this individual.

And when it comes to# pardons, the White House takes them with the## utmost seriousness.

There's a whole team of# qualified lawyers who look at every single## pardon request that ultimately make their# way up to the president of the United States.

MAN: We are excited to announce today... LIZ LANDERS: Earlier this year, when a# state-owned investment firm in the United## Arab Emirates sought to invest in Binance,# Zhao's company gave a high-profile boost## to World Liberty Financial's credibility,# reportedly pushing for the $2 billion deal## to be paid using World Liberty Financial's new# stablecoin, USD1, a type of cryptocurrency that## maintains a constant price, and, in the# case of USD1, is tied to the U.S.

dollar.

Binance CEO Richard Teng denied# reports his company pushed to use USD1.

RICHARD TENG, CEO, Binance: We# didn't partake in that position.## USD1 was listed on other exchanges# before it was listed on Binance,## right?

So a lot of these reports just# miscategorized.

They are totally false.

LIZ LANDERS: It was one of# World Liberty Financial's## first major deals and a potential# windfall for the Trump family.

ZEKE FAUX, Bloomberg: You can kind of# think of this like Binance putting a## $2 billion deposit at the bank of the# Trumps.

And so that $2 billion has been## parked there since as far as we know.

And# the World Liberty is earning interest on it.

LIZ LANDERS: Zeke Faux is an investigative# reporter for Bloomberg and author of "Number## Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild# Rise and Staggering Fall."

Do we know how much the Trump family has made# off of World Liberty Financial at this point?

ZEKE FAUX: On World Liberty, I'd estimate# $400 million, $500 million.

And that's## just one of their many crypto businesses.# The Trumps have likely made more than a## billion dollars off crypto while -- just in# the year that Donald Trump's been in office.

LIZ LANDERS: That total dwarfs what# the Trump family earned from its other## businesses in the first half of this year,# $33 million from golf clubs and resorts,## and $23 million from licensing the Trump name,# according to a recent investigation by Reuters.

DONALD TRUMP: My sons are into it.

I'm glad# they are because it's probably a great industry,## crypto.

I think it's good.

They're running# a business.

They're not in government.

DONALD TRUMP JR.

: And so this whole# notion of democratizing finance,## that's not going to be done in the traditional# banking way.

That's going to be done in crypto.

LIZ LANDERS: In early August, a Nasdaq# company called ALT5 Sigma purchased $750## million worth of another World Liberty# product, digital tokens called WLFI.

ERIC TRUMP: What we are going to do with this## company is absolutely amazing,# and I could not .. LIZ LANDERS: The Trump family company# receives up to 75 percent of revenue## from sales of the World Liberty# Financial token after expenses.

DAVID YAFFE-BELLANY, The New York# Times: This coin has created a new## way for people to channel money to the president.

LIZ LANDERS: David Yaffe-Bellany covers the# crypto industry for The New York Times.

He## says the Trump crypto ventures offer a new# way to get around campaign finance laws.

DAVID YAFFE-BELLANY: With crypto, none# of those rules exist.

And so people who## are based in foreign countries and are# banned from donating to the political## process in the U.S.

have this new route# for directing money toward the president.

LIZ LANDERS: When asked about the potential for# foreign governments to invest in the company to## curry favor with the president, a spokesman# said -- quote -- "World Liberty Financial is## a private financial technology company# and not in any way a political entity."

Separate from World Liberty, another crypto# vehicle, Trump meme coins.

There's one called## Trump and another one named after Melania.# The Trump family and its partners have made## more than $300 million in fees from sales# of the coins, according to several analyses.

But for investors, it's a different story.

The# Trump coin's value has fallen about 90 percent## from its all-time high shortly after debuting in# January.

The Melania coin has dropped 99 percent.

ZEKE FAUX: Creating a meme coin really# doesn't take much.

You're selling like## a made-up token that doesn't do anything for# real money.

So it's pretty much pure profit.

LIZ LANDERS: In May, President Trump held# a crypto dinner at his Virginia country## club with some of the largest investors in his# Trump meme coin, among the guests, Justin Sun,## a Chinese-born crypto billionaire who had been# facing SEC charges for securities fraud.

Sun## has also invested more than $75 million in# the Trump-backed World Liberty Financial.

A## few weeks after the purchases, the# SEC paused the case against him.

Is this a way for foreign investors or foreign## companies or foreign individuals to try# to gain influence with the president?

DAVID YAFFE-BELLANY: It's a complicated# question.

There's absolutely no doubt## that some of the people who have bought this coin,## used the coin want to have influence with the# president and see this as a means of getting it.

My colleagues and I have spoken to some of them,## and they have been very up front# about what their motivations are.

LIZ LANDERS: In a statement, White House# Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in## part -- quote -- "The media's continued# attempts to fabricate conflicts of## interest are irresponsible and reinforce the# public's distrust in what they read.

Neither## the president nor his family have ever engaged# or will ever engage in conflicts of interest.## The administration is fulfilling the president's# promise to make the United States the crypto## capital of the world by driving innovation# and economic opportunity for all Americans."

In just the last year, the president's# estimate net worth jumped $3 billion,## according to Forbes, the primary# source of that wealth, cryptocurrency.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Liz Landers.