The report also found that 85% of secondary-market buyers of World Liberty Financial's token remain underwater. Meanwhile, Trump's latest financial disclosure shows he earned approximately $635 million in royalties from his crypto ventures last year.
Trump Made Millions While Crypto Investors Lost…
Veteran investor Ross Gerber has criticized President Donald Trump's crypto ventures after new data suggested that more than one million investors are currently sitting on losses from Trump-linked digital assets. This while Trump himself generated hundreds of millions of dollars from the projects.
Gerber mentioned findings from a Wall Street Journal report showing that around two-thirds of wallets that purchased the Official Trump (TRUMP) meme coin are holding unrealized losses. According to the report, this amounts to approximately 1.48 million cryptocurrency wallets. The report also found that roughly 85% of secondary-market buyers of the World Liberty Financial (WLFI) token are underwater.
Gerber stated that more than one million people lost money on what he described as the "Trump crypto rug pull." However, it is important to remember that cryptocurrency wallet data does not directly correspond to the number of individual investors. A single person can control multiple wallets, while some wallets may represent assets belonging to several users.
The Official Trump meme coin experienced one of the most dramatic boom-and-bust cycles in the crypto market. After its launch in January of 2025, the token's market cap surged to nearly $15 billion as retail investors rushed to buy into the project. Since then, the token lost approximately 97% of its value, which reduced its market cap to around $404 million.
TRUMP’s all-time price action (Source: CoinCodex)
Despite the token's steep decline, Trump's latest annual financial disclosure revealed that he earned approximately $635 million in royalty income from the crypto project during the previous year. The disclosure only added to the criticism from opponents who argue that Trump's financial success has come while many retail investors suffered massive paper losses.
Gerber previously described Trump's crypto ventures as a "grift," and argued that they damaged confidence in the crypto market, including Bitcoin. He believes the projects contributed to negative sentiment across the industry by reinforcing concerns that politically connected token launches primarily benefit insiders while leaving many retail investors exposed to heavy losses.
Senator Elizabeth Warren is also pushing for stricter crypto regulations to prevent elected officials and their families from personally profiting from digital asset ventures while holding public office. She has argued that stronger safeguards are needed to address potential conflicts of interest involving politicians involved in cryptocurrency projects.
