Democrats attack Trump on crypto. Will it be enough to win the midterms?

Democrats are aching for a fight.

After a bruising presidential election, the Democratic Party has everything to play for in the upcoming midterm elections this November.

And crypto ventures linked to US President Donald Trump’s family increasingly feature in their attack lines.

In February alone, leading democrats like anti-crypto firebrand Elizabeth Warren called for a probe into one of the Trump family’s top crypto ventures and launched an investigation into Binance, which custodies nearly 90% of a Trump-linked stablecoin.

More will come, say Democratic Party strategists.

“As the midterm elections approach, various political actors are naturally highlighting distinctions in policy and personal financial involvement to mobilise their respective bases,” Clay Miller, partner at digital asset consultancy Penrose Partners and previous Brooklyn County Democratic Committee member, told DL News.

“These critiques often surface during periods of heightened legislative debate, such as the current discussions surrounding the Clarity Act and executive branch ethics.”

The attacks add to a growing barrage that includes the drip-fed release of the Epstein Files, Trump’s chaotic approach to foreign policy, his heavy-handed immigration strategy, and the escalating war in the Middle East — all of which have forced his approval ratings into a nosedive.

Just 40% of Americans say Trump has the right idea, according to a March poll from YouGov.

The question is, will these attacks be successful?

Crypto backing

Trump didn’t start out as a crypto evangelist.

He dismissed Bitcoin as “a scam against the dollar” in 2021.

But in May 2024, Trump took to the stage at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida retreat, and announced himself as a pro-crypto candidate.

“If you’re in favour of crypto you’d better vote for Trump,” he said.

The crypto industry then poured $10.5 million into his campaign and just under $71 million to support Republican candidates ahead of the 2024 election, according to data compiled by White.

In total, the industry spent $197 million in that cycle.

Once he returned to the Oval Office, Trump signed sweeping executive orders to create a national crypto stockpile, banned the creation of a central bank digital currency, pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, appointed industry-friendly people to key government positions, and signed a landmark stablecoin bill into law.

Venture capitalists have since returned to fund crypto ventures, Wall Street has openly strengthened its digital asset chops, and the value of the overall cryptocurrency market reached a record high of $4.2 trillion in October, only to lose about half of its value.

Trump-linked crypto ventures

Trump’s family has also launched crypto ventures of its own.

The day before his inauguration, Trump launched official memecoins for himself and First Lady Melania Trump. Both those tokens now trade 96% and 99%, respectively, below their all-time highs.

This has drawn criticism from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, and from House Democrats like Warren.

Crypto researcher Molly White told DL News that “in races where Democrats are challenging explicitly MAGA Republicans, I expect they will challenge those opponents to defend or disavow Trump’s corruption.”

But the big project linked to Trump is World Liberty Financial.

First announced in 2024, the Ethereum-based decentralised finance protocol wants to replace traditional finance and banks with blockchain rails.

In January, it applied for a banking licence to make USD1 the go-to stablecoin, and last month, Mar-a-Lago hosted a conference attended by crypto bigwigs.

Democrats attack

Democrats have wasted no time in attacking Trump for the different crypto ventures linked to him.

“Congress has failed to rein in Trump’s self-enrichment,” said White. ”The degree to which he is profiting from the office seems to make headlines practically every other week.”

After top investors in Trump’s memecoin were invited to a gala dinner in 2025, US Senator Jon Ossoff called the launch of the venture an “impeachable offense.”

Speaking to DL News, the late Representative Gerry Connolly alleged Trump has 100 conflicts of interest and that his direct dealings with the crypto industry were “open corruption.”

And lawmakers like representatives Maxine Waters and Stephen Lynch have even attacked bills signed by the president to regulate stablecoins or ban CBDCs as bad ideas.

“Donald Trump has turned the Oval Office into the world’s most corrupt crypto startup operation, minting staggering personal fortunes for him and his family in less than a year,” Democratic Representative for Maryland Jamie Raskin alleged in a report last year.

Most recently, though, it is World Liberty Financial that has attracted Democrats‘ ire.

Senator Warren has described the DeFi protocol as “corruption, plain and simple.”

Democrats have launched a formal investigation after a Wall Street Journal article reported that a UAE firm bought a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial for $500 million, days before Trump’s inauguration.

World Liberty Financial did not respond to questions from DL News.

Will attacks succeed?

Despite the attacks, some have hinted that going after World Liberty Financial is not the best idea.

“It really wouldn’t play into [the Democrats’] hands,” Ishmael Green, a partner at law firm Bochner PLLC, told DL News.

“When you understand monetary policy, [investment in World Liberty Financial] is a win-win for everyone, because we want the UAE to buy our treasuries anyway,” he continued, referring to the UAE’s investment in the crypto project’s USD1 stablecoin.

The White House, when contacted by DL News, denied allegations from Democrats that the president and his family had engaged in conflicts of interest.

“The fact is that no President in modern history has worked harder or accomplished more for the American people than President Trump did during his first historic year in office,” Karoline Leavitt, press secretary for the White House, said.

“President Trump proudly made the United States the crypto capital of the world through executive actions, supporting legislation like the Genius A, and other commonsense policies to drive innovation and economic opportunity for all Americans.”

Mathew Di Salvo is a news correspondent with DL News. Got a tip? Email at [email protected].