The early rise in value of Donald Trump’s memecoin, $TRUMP, helped some investors to earn significant profit while its crash caused more than 810,000 crypto wallets to lose $2 billion combined, according to an analysis reviewed by The New York Times. Meanwhile, Trump and his family have brought in approximately $100 million in trading fees alone.
Fast-moving professional crypto traders, some the paper said were based in China, bought $TRUMP at its opening sale price of 18 cents and sold quickly as its value rose to rake in significant profits.
New York regulators earlier in January issued a warning about “pump-and-dump schemes” where “creators or their associates artificially inflate the price of the coins and then sell their own coins rapidly at an inflated price, reaping substantial profits while causing the price to crash.”
Forensic firms Nansen and Chainalysis alongside independent crypto researcher Molly White, who has criticized the industry, analyzed $TRUMP crypto transaction records and then shared data with the Times.
One account that has raised eyebrows purchased $1,096,109 million in $TRUMP three hours before Trump launched the coin. The account then quickly sold the coins for a $50 million profit, said Aurelie Barthere of Nansen, who analyzed the transaction. Later sales increased their profits to $109 million, White found. Another wallet started purchasing the coin two minutes post-launch then turned around and sold within a half hour, netting $2.7 million, according to blockchain data.
The Trump family and their partners have yielded almost $100 million just in trading fees from $TRUMP, most of which have not been cashed out, according to Chainalysis. CIC Digital LLC, an affiliate of The Trump Organization, and Fight Fight Fight LLC own 80 percent of the meme coins, per the coin’s website. The paper pointed out: “No evidence has emerged that Mr. Trump or his associates artificially inflated the coin’s price or engaged in insider trading.” Editor’s picks The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time The 250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time
Shortly after the coin launched, Trump claimed he knew very little about it. “I don’t know much about it other than I launched it,” he told reporters when asked if he would continue to sell products for personal gain as president. “I heard it was very successful. I haven’t checked it. Where is it today?”
While early buyers have cashed out $6.6 billion in profits, per Chainalysis, other traders have collectively lost $2 billion in actual or paper losses on the coin. In the first 19 days the coin was available to trade, 813,294 wallets had lost money, either by selling at a lower value than they bought the coin or by keeping coins worth less than their purchase price.
One Trump supporter who purchased the coin put a rocket ship emoji in a post on X (formerly Twitter) where he tagged $Trump on the day of the president’s inauguration. Eleven days later, he posted, “Done with this $Trump crap. Sold it all, what a joke!” before adding that he “left a little in there to see what happens.” On that date, the coin was worth between $24-$27. As of publication, it was worth was hovering around $16.55, according to crypto.com.
Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy organization, has asked the Department of Justice and Office of Government Ethics to investigate whether Trump violated the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, the anti-bribery statute, and other federal regulations by promoting the coin and encouraging his followers to buy it.
Pointing out that people who purchase the Trump meme are “not purchasing a tangible product” but instead only receive a “digital receipt (in a blockchain),” Public Citizen concluded: “In short, it appears Trump is not soliciting money in exchange for an investment or tangible product (such as a Bible, sports shoes, or a guitar), but soliciting money in exchange for nothing — that is, asking for a gift that will benefit him personally.” Related Content YNW Melly’s Trials Highlight Florida’s Unconstitutional Death Penalty Law FAA Officials Ordered Staff to Find Funding for Elon Musk’s Starlink 'SNL' Weekend Update Tackles Trump-Zelensky Meeting, Musk's Demands of Federal Workers 'SNL' Cold Open: Mike Myers' Elon Musk Clumsily Waves Chainsaw Around Trump's Head
“Federal law strictly regulates payments to government officials, including gifts,” the organization said.
As Mark Hays pointed out in Rolling Stone last month, the $TRUMP coin could also provide a way for foreign governments to get on Trump’s good side while skirting Constitutional prohibitions on gift giving. Hays is the associate director of cryptocurrency and financial technology at Demand Progress Education Fund and Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund.
“Purchases of $TRUMP coin arguably give foreign governments and private interests a virtual, quasi-anonymous way to curry favor with the president, anytime, anywhere,” Hays wrote. “Every investor helps to buoy the price of $TRUMP and thus enriches the president. The Constitution prohibits foreign leaders from giving such gifts without congressional consent, but it would be nearly impossible for the public to discover whether Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, or any other leader bought $TRUMP.”
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