Nearly one million investors in President Donald Trump’s $TRUMP meme coin have collectively lost approximately $3.81 billion as of the end of June, according to data from cryptocurrency analytics firm Nansen. Despite the steep declines in the digital currency’s value, Trump reportedly earned $636 million from the venture in 2025, contributing to a broader total of at least $2.2 billion in profits from his various business activities during the year.
Trump first entered the cryptocurrency arena in 2024, founding a crypto startup called World Liberty Financial alongside his sons. The company issued a cryptocurrency called $WLFI, which has also experienced significant depreciation. Shortly before his inauguration, Trump launched the $TRUMP meme coin, a novelty digital currency promoted heavily through his social media accounts, including Truth Social. He encouraged his followers to purchase the coin as a show of support.
Nansen’s blockchain analysis found that nearly two-thirds of $TRUMP coin holders—988,905 wallets—have faced losses. The coin’s price fell from a high of $75.35 to $1.76 by early July, representing a decline of 97 percent from its peak. While some early adopters and sophisticated traders realized substantial gains—about $4 billion in profits were recorded across roughly 500,000 wallets—these gains came at the expense of the broader retail investor base. Nansen noted that the profits were concentrated among a small number of early buyers who sold before the market collapsed.
Nicholas Pinto, a frequent crypto trader and Trump supporter, said he invested around $500,000 in the $TRUMP coin and lost about half of his investment. Pinto criticized Trump for leveraging his political profile to promote the currency, calling the scheme “almost a legal scam.”
A White House spokesperson refuted claims that Trump’s financial gains came at the expense of his followers, emphasizing that the administration’s actions aimed to position the United States as a global hub for cryptocurrency innovation. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for World Liberty attributed the decline in $WLFI’s value to broader market trends affecting cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.
Trump’s financial disclosures reveal that his broader crypto business deals were lucrative. In addition to the $TRUMP coin, he earned $799 million from World Liberty in 2025, including hundreds of millions tied to a secret acquisition of nearly half the company by investors from the United Arab Emirates.
While initial sales of $WLFI tokens occurred at fixed prices, broader market trading on secondary exchanges since September 2025 has resulted in widespread losses. Analysis of publicly available data showed 85 percent of tracked wallets holding $WLFI recorded losses totaling around $83 million, though the total scale is likely larger due to limited visibility of trades on some exchanges.
Legal experts suggest that Trump and his associates could face future class-action lawsuits from investors who suffered losses, despite the Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision last year to reduce oversight of meme coins. The $TRUMP coin’s website included disclaimers stating the token was not intended as an investment vehicle but rather as a symbol of political support. However, critics argue this warning may not shield Trump from liability, pointing to his public encouragement for followers to buy the coin.
Stephen Gillers, a legal ethics professor at New York University, said the situation resembles past episodes in which Trump played to public enthusiasm for financial gain, even when outcomes proved detrimental to investors.