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How Trump's crypto ventures made billions, while retail investors suffered losses

Reported by Invezz
Jul 13, 2026· 3 min read
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Key Takeaways
  • • President Trump's cryptocurrency ventures generated more than $1.4 billion in 2025, with World Liberty Financial and the Trump meme coin serving as primary revenue sources, according to financial disclosures filed with the US Office of Government Ethics.
  • • Trump's traditional asset holdings (stocks and bonds) increased at least fourfold over the same period, rising from a range of $225–$608 million to $703–$2.6 billion, suggesting substantial redeployment of crypto proceeds into conventional investments.
  • • Nearly one million retail investors lost approximately $3.8 billion collectively on Trump-linked cryptocurrency projects, while the Trump family captured the gains—a structural divergence that underscores asymmetric risk distribution in these ventures.
  • • Trump's crypto portfolio includes 15.75 billion World Liberty governance tokens valued at over $50 million, plus at least $160 million in bitcoin and ether held by entities managing Trump family interests.
  • • The Trump meme coin experienced a 97% decline in value, while the broader Trump memecoin project collapsed from a $15 billion market capitalization to approximately $400 million, demonstrating the magnitude of retail investor losses.
Summary
President Donald Trump generated $1.4 billion in cryptocurrency-related proceeds during 2025, marking what Reuters characterizes as his most profitable business year on record. The primary revenue streams flowed from family-backed digital asset ventures, particularly World Liberty Financial and the Trump meme coin. According to Trump's financial disclosures submitted to the US Office of Government Ethics, these cryptocurrency proceeds coincided with a dramatic expansion of his traditional investment portfolio. Holdings of stocks and bonds increased at least fourfold, rising from a reported range of $225–$608 million to $703–$2.6 billion within a single year—though the precise allocation of crypto gains into conventional assets remains unclear due to the range-based disclosure format.

While the Trump family captured substantial profits, retail investors experienced severe losses across Trump-branded crypto projects. Nearly one million retail investors lost a combined $3.8 billion, according to reports citing cryptocurrency analytics data. The Trump meme coin specifically declined 97% from its peak valuation. The broader Trump memecoin project illustrates this wealth destruction: the asset reached a $15 billion market capitalization at launch before collapsing to approximately $400 million—a 97% decline that exemplifies the losses incurred by small investors.

Trump's ongoing digital asset exposure remains substantial. Financial filings reveal ownership of 15.75 billion World Liberty governance tokens, valued at over $50 million. Entities managing Trump family interests in World Liberty Financial and related ventures held at least $160 million in bitcoin and ether, plus up to $6 million in additional digital tokens. World Liberty Financial has funneled more than $1.6 billion to the Trump family since inception, with governance token sales alone accounting for over $1.4 billion of this figure, alongside approximately $500 million from sales of other cryptocurrency products.

The 2025 performance starkly illustrates the structural asymmetry in Trump-family-backed cryptocurrency ventures: while the Trump family controlled distribution mechanisms, token allocation, and timing of liquidations—enabling them to realize billions in proceeds—retail participants bore concentrated downside risk. This dynamic raises questions for institutional investors regarding the sustainability and regulatory resilience of family-controlled cryptocurrency ecosystems where information asymmetries and control structures may disadvantage external participants.

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Sources

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AlphaMaven summarised this story from the reporting below. Each link opens the original article.

Invezz How Trump's crypto ventures made billions, while retail investors suffered losses