Scott Bessent Rejects Idea That Trump’s Crypto Billions Are a ‘Problem’: ‘All Americans Are Benefitting’

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent rejected concerns that President Donald Trump’s multibillion-dollar cryptocurrency earnings were a “problem” in contrast to affordability challenges many Americans say they are facing.

Trump’s latest annual financial disclosure, released on Tuesday by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, showed the president more than tripled his income in 2025, the year he returned to the White House, making over $2 billion.

A large part of that income, more than $1 billion of it, was generated from cryptocurrency-related ventures, according to the filing.

The documents listed more than $635 million from a licensing agreement with Celebration Coins and roughly $500 million in proceeds from token sales distributed by World Liberty Financial LLC, the Trump family-backed crypto company launched in 2024.

Congressional Democrats have argued the windfall creates a conflict of interest because the Trump administration has pursued policies designed to loosen federal oversight of the cryptocurrency industry.

In an interview with CBS News on Thursday, Bessent was pressed on the matter by CBS News anchor and MoneyWatch correspondent Kelly O’Grady.

“I don’t think there’s an appearance problem,” Bessent said.

“This is an innovation presidency,” he continued, framing the administration’s approach as part of a broader push to promote emerging technologies. “So whether it’s digital access, whether it’s AI, whether it’s everything that is going on in the tech ecosystem that, you know, all Americans are benefiting from that.”

Trump himself claimed that “there’s nothing illegal” or “wrong” about his 2025 earnings earlier the same day in an interview with CNBC’s Joe Kernen.

Some working Americans and even Trump-voting Florida residents, however, have said they were “frustrated” by the disclosures.

Disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after the president began his war with Iran in February have fueled higher oil prices and pushed inflation higher.

In his sitdown with CBS News, Bessent went on to argue that Americans struggling with higher prices should expect relief in the coming months.

“Gasoline prices are a little stickier on the way down,” he said. “We’re trying to give the gasoline retailers a little bit of a nudge. We’re telling them we’re watching them. We’ve had some good uptake from some of the bigger retailers from some of the bigger retailers in terms of what they want to do for consumers.”

Despite a weaker-than-expected June jobs report, Bessent also predicted inflation would ease, and wages would soon outpace rising prices.

“I would expect, perhaps, as soon as this month, we’re going to see real wage gains,” he said, adding that the stock market’s recent strength signals confidence that “we’ll get to the other side of this.”

Watch above via CBS News.

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