US Middle East Envoy's Crypto Venture with Trump Raises Conflict-of-Interest Concerns

Steve Witkoff, serving as the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East and also handling Ukraine-related matters, earned a large amount of money from cryptocurrency through World Liberty Financial, a firm he created with Donald Trump in 2024. Financial disclosures released by the White House reveal that his earnings more than tripled in the most recent year. The partnership between the envoy, Trump, and one of Trump's senior aides has sparked scrutiny over possible conflicts of interest within the federal administration.

According to the administration, Witkoff has severed ties with World Liberty Financial and his earlier commercial activities do not intersect with his current diplomatic responsibilities. Earlier calculations by France-Press, based on ethics office documents, indicated that the president also received notable crypto-related income, further highlighting the issue of high-level officials benefiting from digital assets.