WSJ's Take On the Week The ‘Infinite Money Glitch’ Making the Trump Family Millions
Sep 18, 2025
James Mackintosh, a Senior markets columnist at The Wall Street Journal, and Spencer Jakab, an Investing columnist, dive into the Trump family's latest venture—a crypto treasury with the WLFI token. They discuss the 'infinite money glitch' and its potential risks for investors. The conversation explores how this strategy mirrors the success of other digital-asset models and compares it to the volatile behavior seen with meme stocks. The duo also debates the thin line between investing and mere speculation in today's market landscape.
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What A Crypto Treasury Really Is
- Digital-asset treasuries are essentially companies that issue equity to buy crypto, functioning like a fund inside a corporate shell.
- Michael Saylor's Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) popularized the model by issuing stock and using proceeds to accumulate Bitcoin.
The Premium-Share Glitch Explained
- The key mechanic is selling new shares at a premium to the underlying crypto to increase crypto-per-share for existing holders.
- That benefits early shareholders but can leave late buyers with diluted value if premiums vanish.
How The Trumps Got Paid In Tokens
- The Trump family became associated with World Liberty Financial and received a large allocation of WLFI governance tokens.
- Alt 5 Sigma raised money, bought WLFI tokens, and made the Trump family entitled to most token-sale revenue.