A majority of U.S. voters are dissatisfied with President Donald Trump’s control over regulation of the cryptocurrency industry, with 62% saying they don’t trust his administration on this point, according to a survey commissioned by CoinDesk.
Trump’s pledge to make the United States the “cryptocurrency capital of the world” has reignited hopes for the industry after the previous administration took tough measures against cryptocurrencies. The president has deployed the White House to pave the way for friendly cryptocurrency regulation. His administration appointed a high-profile cryptocurrency czar, issued executive orders that set the industry’s agenda, appointed regulators who vowed to support friendly new rules, and steered legislation to enact the first major U.S. cryptocurrency law.
However, polling trends appear to indicate that Trump’s broader political support outside of cryptocurrencies is steadily declining, and that his support among American voters is declining, with the latest poll showing his approval rating at 40%.
This article is part of CoinDesk’s series on voters’ views on the 2026 midterm elections.
Almost half of respondents (45%) are also aware that the president and his family have established profitable personal stakes in the crypto industry, including partial ownership and control of World Liberty Financial and other digital asset interests. The poll showed that 73% of the public opposed senior government officials engaging in personal business dealings in the industry, but did not single out any specific officials.
Even though Republicans are the most flexible on this point, a majority of 59% of Republican voters cannot tolerate this relationship.
However, most people are unaware of the extent of Trump’s economic involvement, with only 17% of respondents aware that he and his sons support the launch of the “Free the World” plan. While the Trump family has many diehards when it comes to cryptocurrencies, WLF has drawn particular attention due to some potential conflicts and controversies.
An online survey conducted last week was evenly split between voters who supported Trump and those who backed Democrat Kamala Harris in the last presidential election, so the overwhelming majority of respondents who doubted his administration’s crypto capabilities appeared to indicate a shift in sentiment among some Trump voters since 2024.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment, but a spokesperson for World Liberty responded to the polling data with a statement saying Trump “is committed to making the United States the cryptocurrency capital of the world, a vision that World Liberty fully supports.”
“The president continues to deliver on his commitments to ensure that one of the most important technological breakthroughs of this century develops and thrives in the United States,” a company spokesman said.
In addition to perceptions of Trump and government officials’ involvement in cryptocurrencies, a survey of 1,000 registered voters by research firm Public Opinion Strategies delved into voters’ views on cryptocurrencies and their intentions in this year’s election, showing that most people remain distrustful, or at best uncertain, about cryptocurrencies and their place in the economy and politics. The “credible interval” of the public opinion snapshot is about 3.5%, which represents the statistical uncertainty in the survey results.
The crypto industry has a delicate relationship with the president, delighting in his regulatory appointments and policy choices but having to quietly endure his own business involvement in the industry, which presents its own set of challenges for lobbying for crypto legislation. The crypto world’s biggest goal in Washington is a new law to formalize U.S. regulation of the industry, but Trump’s political opponents see this as serving his own interests. The current effort is called the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, and while Trump’s White House has been one of its key drivers, his own cryptocurrency ties could prove to be an obstacle.
The CLARITY Act has passed the U.S. House of Representatives and is still a few steps away from the Senate, but one of the final sticking points is Democrats’ demand that the bill include a ban on personal cryptocurrency relationships, which a CoinDesk poll shows a majority opposes. The provision that would prevent senior officials from engaging in cryptocurrency interests was apparently what Trump had in mind when lawmakers called for it, and bipartisan talks on its potential shape have been ongoing for months and included a back-and-forth of language ideas in recent days.
In previous attempts, White House officials have said they would not support bills targeting the president or his family. It’s unclear how the final version will avoid swaying Trump while living up to Democrats’ expectations of preventing conflicts of interest in the government.
If the bill is expected to ultimately win the 60 votes typically needed to approve legislation in the Senate, the bill will need support from a significant number of Democrats.
Over the weekend, President Trump spoke at an event for hundreds of top investors in his private-label meme coin, $TRUMP. There, he assured the crowd that the United States is the “leader in cryptocurrency.” He also told them the assets had “become mainstream.”
According to CoinDesk’s survey, the industry has only become a regular part of a small number of people’s lives and is not yet mainstream. Most have yet to accept Trump, the industry’s most important political booster, as an industry regulator they are willing to trust.
CoinDesk will release data from the survey on Tuesday at the Consensus conference in Miami.