Forbes reported Monday that President Donald Trump’s holdings in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin are estimated to be around $870 million — a revelation that, coupled with his administration’s pro-crypto policies, has sparked an online uproar with critics accusing him of “fraud.”
Despite criticizing cryptocurrency as a “scam” as recently as 2021, Trump has gone on to become among the largest Bitcoin investors in the world, having inched closer in recent years to holding $1 billion’s worth of the popular digital currency. This is in addition to Trump’s holdings in his own meme cryptocurrency called “$Trump,” which has reportedly enriched the president to the tune of more than $20 billion.
Critics, however, have noted that Trump’s personal investment in Bitcoin could pay off handsomely given his executive order signed in March that will direct the federal government to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile, a move that would see Americans’ tax dollars be used to invest in Bitcoin, and thereby, raise the value of the digital currency.
“Presidential fraud is glorious,” wrote Julie Bush, a screenwriter for films and television, in a social media post on X Sunday.
Others, like Gordon Johnson, the founder and CEO of the research firm GLJ Research, noted that Trump’s newfound wealth comes amid continued economic hardships for working-class Americans.
“Meanwhile, 47% of Americans say groceries are harder to afford than they were last year, per Axios,” Johnson wrote in a social media post on X Monday. “Meanwhile: U.S. BEEF PRICES SOAR TO ALL-TIME HIGH.”
Trump has faced scrutiny throughout his second term in office for his relationship with cryptocurrency, including recent allegations of insider trading after reports suggested that an anonymous trader netted tens of millions of dollars in profits after making a major bet on Bitcoin falling in value, and just minutes before Trump made a major tariff announcement that saw the value of the digital currency plummet.
“That means it would be a conflict of interest if he tries to buy [Bitcoin] with U.S. [government] money,” wrote X user “Morituritesalu0,” who frequently shares content critical of corporations and the Trump administration. “Is it an impeachable offense to buy the most speculative asset with no value with govt money to enrich his family? Or is there no law & order anymore?”
Presidential fraud is glorious https://t.co/DVDxGU7Klw
— Julie Bush (@julie_bush) October 12, 2025