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- > Trump continues venture into crypto amid public spat with Elon Musk
- > Vietnam becomes latest country to release a digital currency framework
- > XRP developers ripple Down Under with million-dollar grant
Trump continues venture into crypto amid public spat with Elon Musk
It feels like only yesterday US President Donald Trump was on record saying crypto is ‘highly volatile and based on thin air’, and that it ‘seems like a scam’.
A lot has changed since then (such as Trump being banned, and then unbanned, from Twitter…or Twitter being renamed ‘X’).
Over the past 12 months, not many have benefited more from the crypto industry than Trump. He capitalised on the community’s dissatisfaction with Gensler and Biden’s treatment of the digital asset market to help secure an election victory, made millions (on paper) off the release of his own memecoin and was involved in the launch of a DeFi project, WLFI.
Some skeptics believed Trump’s newfound adoration of crypto was purely a political ploy – one that would unravel upon his election. But his transformation from non-believer into major player has accelerated more than many could’ve anticipated.
According to a recent filing, Trump’s DeFi platform – which supports borrowing and lending crypto, including its own stablecoin USD1 – netted the president $57 million USD throughout 2024. It’s worth noting this income is likely just Trump Snr’s, suggesting that WLFI has garnered a significantly larger chunk of change since its inception in September last year.
The disclosure noted that Trump’s biggest earnings were from his golf resort company ($110 million USD), while his Mar-a-lago estate pulled in $50 million USD.
Notably, Trump’s income from WLFI only stretches to September, AND proceeds from his TRUMP memecoin weren’t included in the financial filing. When you factor all this in, it’s quite possible that the US President’s largest source of income is…cryptocurrency.
Meanwhile, speaking at Coinbase’s State of Crypto Summit, the President reiterated his support of the GENIUS stablecoin bill, which officially passed through the US Senate with a vote of 68-30. (Pav covered this in more detail in last week’s Swyftx Squawk).
So, what does this mean for the crypto market?
Some in the community have voiced concerns about someone with such political influence to have such a financial interest in decentralised currency, labelling it a ‘roadmap for corruption’.
‘Trump’s dealings in crypto appear to present the greatest conflicts of interest and avenues for corruption any president has ever embraced.’
– Larry Noble, former general counsel at the Federal Election Commission
At the same time, Trump’s power and loyalty to crypto can also be perceived as a good thing for addressing and evolving industry regulation.
Still, it’s hard to blame investors getting a little tired of market pullbacks based on social media back-and-forths between the president and other influential figures like Elon Musk.
The online eruption between the two came after Musk criticised Trump’s budget bill, with the price of BTC and DOGE dipping in the immediate aftermath.
Vietnam becomes latest country to release a digital currency framework
Vietnam is the most recent country to push regulatory clarity in the crypto industry, following the release of a legal framework for digital assets and related technologies.
The motion, which passed earlier this week, officially recognises and legalises digital assets within the Vietnamese financial ecosystem – although the regulations won’t come into play until the 1st of Jan 2026.
The basis of the framework is splitting digital assets into two categories: Crypto assets and virtual assets. Crypto assets are exactly what they sound like, cryptocurrencies backed by a distributed ledger (blockchain). Virtual assets are digital tokens that don’t necessarily need a blockchain to operate, which may encompass in-game NFTs, centralised stablecoins and so on.
According to the Vietnamese Government, this makes the country the first in the world to create a ‘standalone law specifically dedicated to digital technology industry’.
Crypto in the South-East Asian nation had sat in a grey area for several years, with Bitcoin technically legal to own but illegal to use as tender. Basically, you could trade digital currencies on an exchange, but were out of luck if you wanted to spend it at a local restaurant.
Or, at least, that’s where the regulatory confusion comes into play, with some people finding it surprisingly easy to pay for a feed using crypto.
Despite the seemingly conflicting policy, the Vietnamese population is one of the most crypto-savvy in the world. According to 2023 data, Vietnam adoption rates are over 21%, meaning every 1 out of 5 residents owned some sort of crypto. For context, this was nearly 6% higher than the reported adoption rate in the United States, one of the largest markets for digital assets.
So, achieving regulatory transparency in Vietnam is clearly significant. The Government is hopeful the move will unlock the full economic and innovative potential of its highly engaged crypto population.
XRP developers ripple Down Under with million-dollar grant
Ripple Labs, the tech company behind the XRP Ledger, is looking to level up blockchain talent in the APAC region through a series of academic fundings.
Part of the team’s University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI), Ripple Labs has committed over $5 million USD to tertiary educators in South Korea, Singapore, Japan and, of course, Australia.
This follows a $25 million USD investment into the United States, targeting non-profit orgs working in the tech or blockchain sphere.
The two Aussie institutions that stand to benefit are the Australian National University (ANU) and Victoria University, receiving $1.3million USD split across programs.
The goal is to foster Web3 innovation Down Under, bringing a greater incentive to pursue blockchain technology as a career path for talented Australians. Additionally, some of the funding will be used for research projects by both faculty and students.
The press release from Ripple Labs expanded on the initiative’s specifics further:
‘At ANU, the renewed funding will support advanced legal coursework on blockchain, cryptocurrency, and digital payments, as well as faculty research centered around Evernode, a proposed Layer 2 smart contract platform for the XRPL. ANU will also continue operating its XRPL validator and publishing student research through the ANU Journal of Law and Technology.’
Though economic and political turbulence in the United States has largely captured and influenced the crypto market in the first half of 2025, the rest of the world is demonstrating an appetite for adoption. In particular, the APAC region is starting to flex its muscles as a major player in the future of blockchain technology.
Ben Knight
