Trump hosts cybercrime roundtable, says 2025 losses exceeded $20 billion

President Donald Trump hosted a White House roundtable on cybercrime on Wednesday. Trump said cybercrime cost "countless" Americans more than $20 billion in 2025. Trump identified impersonation fraud, ransomware, scam centers and other methods as sources of the losses. Trump said federal officials froze $1 billion in "cybercurrency tied to foreign scammers". Trump also said officials prevented $1.6 billion in losses to cybercriminals in 2025 following a March executive order.

Neither Trump nor Attorney General Todd Blanche explicitly mentioned cryptocurrency or digital assets while discussing scams affecting Americans. Reports ahead of the roundtable had indicated that the event would concentrate on action against foreign cryptocurrency scams. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin used only the expression "digital extortion". The term "cybercurrency" is an older name for cryptocurrency. The Federal Bureau of Investigation reported that scams involving digital assets, including crypto ATMs, cost Americans $11 billion in 2025. The White House did not immediately answer a request for comment about the roundtable.

Trump and members of the administration face scrutiny from lawmakers and voters over accusations of using public office to enrich themselves through digital assets. Trump and members of Trump's family have connections to several cryptocurrency ventures. Trump reported earning $1.4 billion from those ventures in 2025. Public Citizen reported that Trump's alleged "schemes" caused investors to lose about $4.7 billion. World Liberty Financial, the Trump family's cryptocurrency company, also faces scrutiny because the company's USD1 stablecoin settled a $2 billion investment in Binance. The investing entity has ties to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the United Arab Emirates.

Official Trump (TRUMP), Trump's memecoin project, is organizing another tokenholder dinner on November 22. Lawmakers and interest groups have accused Trump of selling presidential access through "pay-to-play" arrangements after similar events organized by the memecoin's team.

The roundtable came after reports that authorities in Italy arrested 30 people over cryptocurrency money laundering involving millions of dollars. The reported laundering involved a bank allegedly connected to the mafia. Bloomberg reported that Italy's police were investigating a criminal network that transferred proceeds from corporate fraud, cryptocurrency investment scams and drug trafficking into digital wallets.