US President Donald Trump hosted a White House roundtable on cybercrime on Wednesday, at a time when he and members of his administration are facing scrutiny from lawmakers and voters over accusations that they used their positions to enrich themselves through digital assets.
At the event, Trump said "countless" Americans had lost more than $20 billion to cybercrime in 2025 through impersonation schemes, ransomware attacks, scam centers and other methods. He also said federal officials had frozen $1 billion in "cybercurrency tied to foreign scammers" and had prevented $1.6 billion from going to cybercriminals in 2025 after a March executive order.
Images released by the White House showed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, President Trump and Attorney General Todd Blanche speaking at the event.
Even though reports before the roundtable said the event would focus on a crackdown on foreign crypto scams, neither Trump nor Blanche explicitly used the terms "cryptocurrency" or "digital assets" while discussing scams affecting Americans. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin similarly referred only to "digital extortion." The article notes that "cybercurrency," the word Trump used, is an older term for what is now commonly called cryptocurrency.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has reported that Americans lost $11 billion in 2025 to scams specifically tied to digital assets, including fraud carried out through crypto ATMs. Cointelegraph said it contacted the White House for comment on the roundtable but did not receive an immediate response.
Trump family crypto ties remain under scrutiny
The roundtable did not ease questions around Trump-linked crypto activity. The report said Trump and his family are tied to several crypto ventures. Trump reported that those businesses generated $1.4 billion in net income for him in 2025, while a Public Citizen report said his alleged "schemes" cost investors about $4.7 billion.
His family crypto company, World Liberty Financial, is also facing scrutiny because its USD1 stablecoin was used to settle a $2 billion investment in Binance by an entity tied to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the United Arab Emirates.
Trump's memecoin project, Official Trump (TRUMP), is set to host another dinner for tokenholders on Nov. 22. Similar events organized by the team behind the memecoin have already drawn accusations from lawmakers and interest groups that Trump was selling access to the presidency through "pay-to-play" arrangements.
Italian police arrest 30 in crypto laundering case
The White House roundtable came after reports that Italian authorities had arrested 30 people for allegedly using crypto to launder millions of dollars through a bank said to be tied to the mafia.
According to Bloomberg, Italian police are investigating a criminal network that moved money from corporate fraud, crypto investment scams and drug trafficking into digital wallets.