President Donald Trump launched his $TRUMP memecoin in the days leading up to his second inauguration, ushering in a pro-crypto administration – and a lucrative family business. The venture that netted Trump hundreds of millions of dollars last year, part of overall crypto gains that topped $1 billion.
Trump’s Crypto Venture
Most $TRUMP memecoin investors weren’t so lucky. $TRUMP was an instant success, catapulting to a $15 billion market valuation, according to CoinMarketCap. It’s now worth just $400 million – a 97% implosion.
But the memecoin’s price is meaningless to Trump. Even as his memecoin investors lost money, Trump reaped the rewards. Trump attributed his enormous 2025 wealth increase to the stock market.
Trump’s companies are the majority owners of the tokens, with Trump Organization affiliates CIC Digital and Fight Fight Fight LLC controlling 80% of the coin’s supply. Trump stands to gain from the coin’s market value. But irrespective of whether $TRUMP rose or fell, he earned transaction fees each time $TRUMP was bought or sold.
Transaction Fees
Between his memecoin and other cryptocurrency tokens tied to World Liberty Financial LLC — a firm managed in part by his sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr. – Trump netted more than $526 million from token sales.
Memecoins have a tendency to surge – then tumble – in price. That’s because memecoins, unlike typical cryptocurrencies, have no intrinsic value. They’re extraordinarily risky and speculative assets that trade on an exchange but lend themselves to scams called “rug-pulls.”
Investors in $TRUMP may have been attracted because they wanted to support the president. They may have done it for the novelty or because they believed it would be lucrative.
Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
