Bessent defends Trump crypto earnings as scrutiny over accounts grows

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent brushed aside concerns over Donald Trump’s crypto earnings, even as the president’s latest financial disclosure showed at least $1.4 billion in crypto- and memecoin-related income in 2025. In a CBS News interview, Bessent said, “I don't think there's an appearance problem,” and called the administration’s approach to digital assets “an innovation presidency.”

Trump’s financial disclosures have raised the question of whether a president can oversee a sector that is also enriching him and his family. The administration’s push to loosen crypto regulation overlaps with that conflict. The Trump family’s crypto ventures have generated billions in wealth since late 2024, while investors in some projects have faced paper losses.

Bessent’s comments also landed as Treasury expanded another Trump-branded initiative, the tax-deferred Trump Accounts program. Contributions are set to begin on July 4, 2026, and eligible U.S. citizen children born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028, will receive a one-time $1,000 federal contribution under Treasury and IRS guidance. Parents, guardians and other authorized individuals can establish the accounts as a new type of IRA for children.

In late May, Treasury launched a Trump Accounts app nationwide and began sending activation emails ahead of the July 4 rollout. On July 2, individuals and corporations became able to donate shares of stock to Trump accounts, adding a new financing mechanism to the program as families begin signing up.

The accounts were created by the 2025 reconciliation law.

Bessent also used the interview to describe the wider economy as strained but still manageable, with inflation, the Iran war and broader uncertainty weighing on households and markets. He has also faced congressional questions in recent weeks over Trump-related tax and audit issues.