Trump Media Files for Bitcoin,

Why it matters: The incumbent President held a summit at his private residence, Mar-a-Lago, for his crypto asset business, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), bringing together the CEO of Goldman Sachs, the CEO of Franklin Templeton, 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 described as a "conflict of interest."

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

What Happened

• Event Overview — The "World Liberty Forum" was held on February 20, 2026, in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. Approximately 300 financial, tech, and policy leaders participated. It 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, a $300 million project, scheduled for completion in 2030). It will be offered to qualified investors under Regulation D Rule 506(c).
• Apex Group Partnership — Apex Group, which provides services to over $3.5 trillion in assets, partnered with WLFI. They are considering a pilot program for institutional investors to manage 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) of it, 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 revenue from token sales. By the end of 2025, the Trump family had recorded a profit of $1 billion and held an additional $3 billion worth of unsold tokens.

Overview

Historical Context

An incumbent President holding an industry summit at his private residence that is directly connected to his business interests — there is no precedent for this scene in American history. Past presidents have voluntarily complied with 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 the utmost care to avoid even the suspicion of a conflict of interest. This norm, which has lasted for more than 40 years, was based on respect for democracy rather than legal obligation.

Under the Trump administration, this norm was 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 his inauguration 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 suspended 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 the CEO of WLFI.

Structural changes have also progressed on the regulatory front. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, appointed by Trump, announced "Project Crypto" and withdrew the enforcement actions that the previous administration had been pursuing against Binance and Coinbase one after another. 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. Middle East envoy Witkoff, who is subject to conflict of interest reporting obligations, still maintained a financial interest in WLFI in his disclosure documents in August 2025.

Congress has launched multiple investigations. Senator Warren called it an "astonishing 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 CEO at the top of Wall Street to the recently pardoned CZ, and even Nicki Minaj — every layer of power and capital gathered at the President's private residence.

Stakeholder Map

Structure in Data

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

🔍 BETWEEN THE LINES — What the Reports Aren't Saying

The essence of this summit is not the "industry conference" depicted in the reports. Goldman's Solomon joked that he "came because he was called by a client," but that "client" is the President's 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, "I want to do tokenization, but regulations are getting in the way," but the one who has the authority to change those regulations is none other than the summit's organizer. This is not a structure of "market participants petitioning regulators," but rather "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

An unprecedented structure of fusion of power and capital in which the President's family directly earns revenue from the regulated industry while personally developing the regulatory environment for that industry.

Regulatory Capture: When the "Regulator" and the "Regulated" Become the Same Person

Regulatory Capture refers to the phenomenon in which regulatory authorities are co-opted by the industry they regulate. However, what is happening in Mar-a-Lago goes beyond even that textbook definition.

Typical Regulatory Capture is a process in which industry lobbyists influence the personnel and policies of regulatory authorities over many years. Revolving door appointments, political donations, information asymmetry — through these mechanisms, regulations gradually become more industry-friendly. However, in the case of WLFI, the regulator and the revenue earner are literally the same family. This is a phenomenon that should no longer be called capture, but rather "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 the enforcement actions that the previous administration had been pursuing against Binance and Coinbase for "policy reasons." Formal SEC investigation orders in 2025 decreased by 35% compared to 2023, and no-action letters (notifications to companies that "there are no problems") increased by more than 150% instead. Who are the direct beneficiaries of easing the regulatory spear? It is Binance, and that 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, "I don'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 the business relationship → revenue repatriation.

It is ironic that Goldman's Solomon stated at the summit that "it is very important to codify a rules-based system." Because he is saying that 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 by the $500 Million UAE Investment

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

In January 2025, four days before the inauguration, 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 business entities, and $31 million flowed directly into Witkoff family business 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 is investing in the President's family's crypto asset business, investing in Binance using the stablecoin of that business, and CZ's Binance, which received the Presidential pardon, holds 87% of that stablecoin. U.S. diplomatic 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 suspended 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 the CEO of WLFI. 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.

Congressional response is limited. Senator Warren criticized it as an "astonishing 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, holding 15.75 billion WLFI tokens (worth billions of dollars), an estimated annual revenue of over $200 million from USD1, and the authority to design the regulatory environment that governs all of this themselves. This "conflict of interest" is no longer accidental, but a designed system.

Intersection of Dynamics

Regulatory Capture and Moral Hazard are completely fused at the Mar-a-Lago summit. Normally, Regulatory Capture is a process in which the industry "captures" the regulatory authorities, 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 in a legal vacuum. At the point where these two dynamics intersect, the Goldman CEO is invited as the President's family's "client," 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

2001: Enron Scandal — Classical Form of Regulatory Capture

Enron gutted regulations through accounting fraud and political donations. The company promoted deregulation of the energy market throughout the 1990s, made huge political donations to both parties, and influenced the personnel of regulatory authorities. Collusion with Arthur Andersen, exerting influence over FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission), market manipulation during the California electricity crisis — these were all textbook cases of Regulatory Capture. However, even Enron did not directly "own" regulatory authority. It distorted regulations through indirect mechanisms such as lobbying and donations.

Structural Similarities with This Time: While Enron was "indirect Regulatory Capture," WLFI is "direct regulatory ownership." Enron influenced regulatory authorities, but the situation in which the President's family owns 60% of the regulated company is redefining the concept of capture itself.

2008: TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) —