Trump’s Meme Coin Causes Billions in Losses for Investors While Trump Profits Hundreds of Millions
The meme cryptocurrency named after former U.S. President Donald Trump, launched in January 2025, initially surged from under one dollar to nearly 75 dollars within two days, becoming a global phenomenon. However, new data from blockchain analytics firm Nansen, reported by The New York Times, reveals that nearly one million wallets holding the TRUMP token have collectively lost about 3.81 billion dollars by the end of June 2026. Out of approximately 1.48 million wallets that purchased the coin since its launch, around 988,905 are currently at a loss, meaning about two-thirds of investors lost money on the token.
The TRUMP token’s price plummeted from its peak to around 1.73 dollars, a 97% drop, shrinking its market capitalization from nearly 15 billion dollars to about 411 million dollars. Despite the widespread losses, nearly 492,000 wallets made a combined profit of approximately 4.04 billion dollars, mostly those who bought early before the price spike. Overall, the net profit for all investors combined stands at about 236 million dollars, far less than the earnings reported by Trump himself.
According to a recently disclosed 927-page annual income report submitted to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Donald Trump earned roughly 636 million dollars from the meme coin, mainly through royalties and licensing agreements via CIC Digital. This amount is nearly three times the net profit of all token holders combined, highlighting the disproportionate financial benefit Trump gained from the coin’s activity.
Nansen also analyzed WLFI, the governance token of World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance project linked to the Trump family. Of the 26,663 wallets tracked on secondary markets, about 85% are at a loss, with cumulative losses of 83 million dollars compared to 23 million dollars in gains. WLFI’s price dropped over 80% since its secondary market debut in September 2025. However, these figures exclude over 241,000 wallets that bought WLFI in initial token sales and do not capture all activity on major exchanges.
These revelations come amid ongoing U.S. Congressional debates over the CLARITY Act, which aims to regulate the cryptocurrency market and clarify regulatory authority. Democratic lawmakers are also pushing for ethics provisions to restrict elected officials and their families from issuing, promoting, or profiting from digital currencies.
