Donald Trump is cashing in on crypto. Over the last nine months, beginning slightly before the election, he has stirred up new ventures, new coins, new noise. All of it makes the president money, but how much? About $1 billion, according to Forbes’ calculations, lifting his net worth to an estimated $5.6 billion.

Crypto has done more than just make Trump richer—it has also provided liquidity that the president desperately needed. A year ago, he was short on cash, with about $400 million on his balance sheet and more than $500 million in legal judgments against him, the vast majority from a fraud case he lost (and is currently appealing). Now, however, Trump holds roughly $900 million of liquid assets, about half of which come from crypto ventures.

There are hundreds of millions, perhaps billions, more on the way. World Liberty Financial, one of Trump’s ventures, is only just beginning to ramp up. Meanwhile, his memecoin, a nonsensical cryptocurrency that landed right before the inauguration, is beginning to release unlocked tokens to Trump and his partners. So far, they’ve gotten an estimated 8% of their allotment. With the other 92% still coming, it’s little wonder why the president is doing things like holding a private dinner for people willing to purchase his cryptocurrency.

“The team that’s helping him is actually pretty savvy,” says Jeff Dorman, the chief investment officer at digital-asset firm Arca. “They know that you have to continue to add features to give it value.” In other words, the dinner that scandalized Washington may have only been an appetizer.

Crypto insiders are now speculating about what Trump might offer his investors next. “The Trumps opened up a new club in D.C.—maybe you get exclusive access there,” suggests Dylan Bane, an analyst with the crypto firm Messari. “Maybe you get some kind of access to Mar-a-Lago. You know, any of the Trumps’ hotels or resorts or golf courses—maybe you get access there. Maybe you get special rights to invest in other Trump ventures. … The possibilities are endless.”

Especially with a president who has so few qualms about using power to turn a profit.

Trump’s entry into crypto started with absurdity. “MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT!” he posted in December 2022 on Truth Social, another business that allows him to capitalize on politics. “My official Donald Trump Digital Trading Card collection is here!” An image embedded in the post showed Trump dressed as a superhero, a red-white-and-blue cape over his back and a gold title belt around his waist. “GET YOUR CARDS NOW!” he wrote. “Only $99 each!” Even Trump’s most ardent supporters sneered. “Sheer insanity,” said former White House deputy assistant Sebastian Gorka. “I can’t do this anymore,” added onetime strategist Steve Bannon.

Digital-asset obsessives, however, loved it. They snapped up $4.4 million of the cards in a day, leading to additional rounds of sales. Trump, who had a licensing deal to shill the nonsense, received at least $7 million in cash and crypto. He also came away with something more valuable—an understanding that crypto, an industry he had previously mocked as “highly volatile and based on thin air,” could provide him with truckloads of money.

Leading up to the 2024 election, Trump launched another endeavor, World Liberty Financial, taking to Truth Social to unveil the decentralized-finance project. “I promised to Make America Great Again, this time with crypto,” he declared. “#WorldLibertyFi is planning to help make America the crypto capital of the world!” Or, at least to make Trump a few bucks. The project started by hawking a bunch of tokens that promised no share of........

© Forbes