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Retail investors lost at least $4.7 billion across cryptocurrency projects tied to President Donald Trump, while Trump personally booked at least $1.4 billion in crypto-related income in 2025, according to a report from advocacy group Public Citizen. The TRUMP memecoin accounted for roughly $3.2 billion of that loss, with about 1 million of the 1.6 million retail wallets that bought the token on decentralized exchanges sitting underwater. Only $400 million of those TRUMP losses had been realized through actual sales, Public Citizen said.
Why it matters
The asymmetry sits at the heart of the report. Trump's TRUMP tokens were allocated to his company rather than purchased on the open market, and his other memecoin income arrived through licensing fees. None of that required any capital investment from him, meaning nearly all of his proceeds are profit. By contrast, the memecoin's retail buyers entered via decentralized exchanges at prices that proved to be near the top. The token reached an all-time high of $73.43 in January 2025, three days before Trump's inauguration, before falling to roughly $2.73 by Friday. Wallets that bought during the token's first two days captured nearly 90% of gains among retail buyers.
Market impact
World Liberty Financial added at least another $1 billion in losses to the total. The bulk of that sits at Nasdaq-listed AI Financial Corp, which acquired 7.28 billion WLFI tokens for about $1.46 billion in August 2025 and is now sitting on roughly $1.04 billion in paper losses as its shares fell 91%, from $7.04 to $0.642. Trump Media's bitcoin treasury accounts for another $450 million in paper losses, with 9,477 BTC purchased for about $1.006 billion now worth roughly $557 million. Trump Digital Trading Card collections added at least $9.3 million more in losses. The one holding that escaped the bleed was USD1, the dollar-pegged stablecoin, which Public Citizen excluded from the loss tally entirely.
Frequently asked questions
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How did Trump earn $1.4B from crypto while retail lost $4.7B?
Trump's TRUMP tokens were allocated to his company rather than purchased on the open market, and his other memecoin income came via licensing fees. None of that required any capital investment from him, so nearly all of his proceeds are profit, while retail buyers purchased on decentralized exchanges near the top.
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How many TRUMP memecoin wallets are underwater?
Public Citizen estimates that about 1 million of roughly 1.6 million retail wallets that bought TRUMP on decentralized exchanges sit underwater by a combined $3.2 billion. Only about $400 million of those losses had been realized through actual sales.
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Why did the TRUMP memecoin collapse so sharply?
TRUMP reached an all-time high of $73.43 in January 2025, three days before Trump's inauguration, before falling to roughly $2.73 by Friday. Wallets that bought during the token's first two days captured nearly 90% of gains among retail buyers.
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How much did World Liberty Financial and Trump Media add to the losses?
World Liberty Financial accounts for at least $1 billion, including a roughly $1.04 billion paper loss at Nasdaq-listed AI Financial Corp, whose shares fell 91% after acquiring 7.28 billion WLFI tokens for about $1.46 billion. Trump Media's bitcoin treasury added another $450 million in paper losses.
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Did USD1 holders lose money in this report?
No. Public Citizen assigned USD1 holders no investor losses because the dollar-pegged stablecoin maintained its peg. USD1 was excluded from the loss tally entirely.
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