The Trump Family Crypto Summit — From Goldman's CEO to Nicki Minaj, the Completion of Regulatory Capture

Why it matters: The current president held a summit at his private residence, Mar-a-Lago, for his crypto asset business, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), bringing together the Goldman Sachs CEO, the Franklin Templeton CEO, and the pardoned Binance founder CZ. The president himself is developing the regulatory environment for a business in which the president's family receives 75% of the token revenue — this is a new form of fusion of power and capital that cannot be contained by the word "conflict of interest."

📝 Summary: The Goldman CEO, Binance CZ, and even FIFA gathered at the President's private residence to discuss the President's family's crypto asset business — this is not an industry summit, but a ceremony to celebrate the completion of Regulatory Capture.

What Happened

• Event Overview — The "World Liberty Forum" was held on February 20, 2026, at Mar-a-Lago, Florida. Approximately 300 financial, technology, and policy leaders participated. This was WLFI's first large-scale forum.
• Key Participants — Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson, Binance founder CZ (his first public appearance in the U.S. after Trump's pardon), FIFA President Gianni Infantino, real estate mogul Barry Sternlicht (over $125 billion AUM), Kevin O'Leary, and rapper Nicki Minaj.
• Announcement the Day Before — On February 19, WLFI announced a partnership with Securitize and DarGlobal PLC to tokenize the loan revenue of the Trump International Hotel & Resort Maldives (approximately 100 ultra-luxury villas, $300 million in size, scheduled for completion in 2030). The offering is made to accredited investors under Regulation D Rule 506(c).
• Apex Group Partnership — Apex Group, which services over $3.5 trillion in assets, has partnered with WLFI. They are considering an institutional investor pilot for the USD1 stablecoin and offering WLFI tokenized assets on the London Stock Exchange Group's digital infrastructure.
• USD1's Scale — WLFI's stablecoin, USD1, reached a circulating supply of $5.4 billion in just 11 months since its issuance in March 2025. Binance holds 87% (approximately $4.7 billion), the highest single exchange concentration ever. It generates an estimated annual revenue of over $200 million.
• WLFI Revenue Structure — The Trump family owns 60% of WLFI and receives 75% of the net proceeds from token sales. By the end of 2025, the Trump family recorded a profit of $1 billion and holds an additional $3 billion worth of unsold tokens.

The Big Picture

Historical Context

A sitting president holding an industry summit at his private residence that is directly linked to his business interests — there is no precedent for this spectacle in American history. Past presidents have voluntarily adhered to the separation of public office and private interests, such as Jimmy Carter placing his peanut farm in a blind trust, George H.W. Bush entrusting his asset management to a third party, and Barack Obama taking meticulous care to avoid even the suspicion of conflicts of interest. This norm, which has lasted for more than 40 years, was based more on respect for democracy than on legal obligations.

Under the Trump administration, this norm has been fundamentally undermined. When WLFI was established in 2024, the President's family became one of the most influential players in the crypto asset industry. Four days before taking office in January 2025, the UAE royal family (Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi) invested $500 million to acquire 49% of WLFI. Shortly thereafter, the Trump administration approved the export of advanced AI chips to the UAE, which the previous administration had halted due to security concerns. Steve Witkoff, WLFI's Middle East envoy, is said to have promoted this export deal, and his son, Zach Witkoff, serves as WLFI's CEO.

Structural changes have also progressed on the regulatory front. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, appointed by Trump, announced "Project Crypto" and successively withdrew enforcement actions that the previous administration had been pursuing against Binance and Coinbase. In October 2025, he pardoned Binance founder CZ, who continues to contribute to the Trump family's business through Binance, the largest holder of USD1. Witkoff, the Middle East envoy who is required to report conflicts of interest, still maintained a financial interest in WLFI in disclosure documents in August 2025.

Congress has launched multiple investigations. Senator Warren called it a "staggering conflict of interest," and Senator Blumenthal opened a "Trump Crypto Corruption" investigation. However, the President and Vice President are not subject to federal conflict of interest rules, and even if Congress tries to pass a "Presidential Conflict of Interest Act," the bill has not passed. The Mar-a-Lago summit in February 2026 was held in this structural vacuum. From Goldman's CEO at the top of Wall Street to the recently pardoned CZ and Nicki Minaj — every layer of power and capital converged at the President's private residence.

Stakeholder Map

By the Numbers

• $5.4 billion — Circulating supply of USD1 stablecoin (reached in 11 months from zero in March 2025). Binance holds 87%.
• 75% — Percentage of net proceeds from WLFI token sales received by the Trump family. Unusually high compared to the revenue sharing ratio of typical DeFi projects.
• $500 million — Amount paid by the UAE royal family to acquire 49% of WLFI shares four days before inauguration. Of this, $187 million flowed directly into Trump family entities.
• Over $1 billion — Amount of profit earned by the Trump family from the crypto asset business by the end of 2025. They also hold an additional $3 billion worth of unsold tokens.
• $4 trillion — Market size of tokenized real estate by 2035, as predicted by Deloitte. A rapid growth from less than $0.3 trillion in 2024 is expected.
• 35% decrease — Rate of decrease in the number of SEC formal investigation orders in 2025 compared to 2023. Instead, no-action letters increased by over 150%.

Between the Lines — What Reports Don't Say

The essence of this summit is not the "industry conference" depicted in reports. Goldman's Solomon joked that he came because he was "called by a client," but that "client" is the Trump family. CZ was pardoned by Trump, and his Binance holds 87% of USD1, bringing $200 million in annual revenue to the Trump family. Sternlicht said he "wants to do tokenization, but regulations are in the way," but the very organizer of the summit has the authority to change those regulations. This is not "market participants petitioning regulators," but "regulators inviting their business partners to their home." The fact that Nicki Minaj took the stage at the end to talk about her fake nails symbolizes that the reality of this event is not a "policy discussion" but a "visualization of the magnetic field of power."

NOW PATTERN

Regulatory Capture × Moral Hazard

The President's family directly profits from a regulated industry while personally developing the regulatory environment for that industry — an unprecedented fusion of power and capital.

Regulatory Capture: When the "regulator" and the "regulated" become the same person

Regulatory Capture refers to the phenomenon in which a regulatory agency is co-opted by the industry it is supposed to regulate. But what is happening at Mar-a-Lago goes beyond even that textbook definition.

Normal Regulatory Capture is a process in which industry lobbyists spend years influencing the personnel and policies of regulatory agencies. Through revolving door appointments, political donations, and information asymmetry, regulations gradually become more industry-friendly. But in the case of WLFI, the regulator and the profit-taker are literally the same family. This is not capture, but rather a phenomenon that should be called "self-ownership of regulation."

Let's look at the specific mechanisms. Trump appointed Paul Atkins as SEC Chairman. After taking office, Atkins announced "Project Crypto" and withdrew enforcement actions against Binance and Coinbase that the previous administration had been pursuing for "policy reasons." In 2025, SEC formal investigation orders decreased by 35% compared to 2023, while no-action letters (notifications to companies that there are "no problems") increased by over 150%. Who are the direct beneficiaries of easing regulatory pressure? Binance, and Binance is WLFI's largest partner, holding 87% of USD1.

The most direct exercise of power, the pardon, is also incorporated into this structure. Trump, who pardoned CZ in October 2025, stated on 60 Minutes in November that he "doesn't know who CZ is at all." However, CZ's Binance processed the $2 billion Binance investment executed by UAE investment company MGX in USD1, and that USD1 is a source of revenue for the Trump family. There is a direct causal relationship between the exercise of power → continuation of business relationship → return of revenue.

It is ironic that Goldman's Solomon stated at the summit that "it is very important to legislate a rules-based system." He is saying this to his business partners at the private residence of the person who has the authority to write those rules.

Moral Hazard: The "chain of favors" reflected in the $500 million UAE investment

The President and Vice President are not subject to federal conflict of interest rules. This legal vacuum "legally" enables conflicts of interest on an unprecedented scale.

In January 2025, four days before taking office, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the UAE acquired 49% of WLFI for $500 million. Of this, $187 million flowed directly into Trump family entities and $31 million into Witkoff family entities. Sheikh Tahnoon is also the chairman of MGX, and MGX invested $2 billion in Binance using USD1. In other words, the UAE royal family invests in the President's family's crypto asset business, uses that business's stablecoin to invest in Binance, and CZ's Binance, which received a presidential pardon, holds 87% of that stablecoin. U.S. foreign and security policy is moving within this circular structure.

What is particularly problematic is that the Trump administration approved the export of advanced AI chips to the UAE immediately after this investment. The previous administration had halted this export due to concerns about technology leakage to China. Steve Witkoff, WLFI's Middle East envoy, promoted this deal, and his son, Zach Witkoff, is WLFI's CEO. A foreign government that invested in a company run by the family of a diplomatic envoy is obtaining security concessions through the channels of the same diplomatic envoy — this is a clear departure from the spirit of the Foreign Emoluments Clause.

Congress's response is limited. Senator Warren criticized it as a "staggering conflict of interest," and Senator Blumenthal opened a "Trump Crypto Corruption" investigation. However, the President is not subject to conflict of interest laws, and the "Presidential Conflict of Interest Act" bill has not passed. Being legally legal and being democratically legitimate are completely different issues. The Mar-a-Lago summit was held at the point where this distinction disappeared.

Let's reconfirm the scale of the Trump family's crypto asset empire. 60% ownership of WLFI shares, 75% acquisition of token revenue, ownership of 15.75 billion WLFI tokens (worth billions of dollars), estimated annual revenue of over $200 million from USD1, and the authority to design the regulatory environment that governs all of this. This "conflict of interest" is no longer accidental, but a designed system.

Dynamics Intersection

Regulatory Capture and Moral Hazard are completely fused at the Mar-a-Lago summit. Normally, Regulatory Capture is a process in which an industry "captures" a regulatory agency, but in the case of WLFI, the holder of regulatory authority (the President) directly "owns" the industry. Conflicts of interest are usually "a problem if found," but in the case of WLFI, they are openly structured and operated within a legal vacuum. At the point where these two dynamics intersect, the Goldman CEO is invited as a "client" of the President's family, the pardoned CZ reappears as the largest business partner, and the UAE royal family functions as an investor and diplomatic counterpart. The financial elites who participated in the summit have no incentive to criticize this structure — because they themselves are beneficiaries of this structure.

Pattern History