▲ Donald Trump speaking at a cryptocurrency event.
Nearly 1 million people who purchased the meme coin ($TRUMP) associated with U.S. President Donald Trump have suffered losses, with their combined total reaching $3.81 billion (5.83 trillion won), according to a recent report.
The New York Times (NYT) reported this on July 4 (local time), citing a report from cryptocurrency analytics firm Nansen.
According to the report, as of the end of June this year, 988,905 buyers of the Trump meme coin—approximately two-thirds of all purchasers—had incurred losses.
This figure is based on the number of cryptocurrency wallets and includes unrealized losses, meaning the value recorded on paper for coins that have not yet been sold.
The number of investors who made a profit from the Trump meme coin was slightly under 500,000, with their combined gains totaling around $4 billion (6.1 trillion won).
As of July 3, the coin was trading at $1.76, a 97% decline from its peak of $75.35.
The Nansen report explained that the Trump meme coin reflects a dynamic where "a small number of early buyers reaped massive profits, while a vast majority of retail investors bore the losses."
The figures in the Nansen report were calculated following the release of President Trump's annual financial disclosure through the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) on June 30.
According to the financial report, President Trump earned $636 million (972.4 billion won) from his bets on the Trump meme coin last year.
The $TRUMP token, marketed on its website as the "only official Trump meme coin," was launched on January 17, 2025, three days before President Trump's second inauguration. Trump, who was the president-elect at the time, announced the coin via X and Truth Social.
The NYT pointed out, "President Trump profited regardless of whether the price of his meme coin rose or fell. He used his Truth Social account to promote the coin, repeatedly encouraging his followers to trade it, and he collected revenue every time someone traded the tokens."
Trump, his family, and his associates have also profited from other cryptocurrency ventures beyond the Trump meme coin.
Although President Trump was previously skeptical of cryptocurrency, he changed his stance while running for the 2024 presidential election.
He and his sons, along with other partners, founded a cryptocurrency startup called World Liberty Financial (WLFI) in 2024 and began selling a coin called $WLFI, which also saw its price plummet later.
According to Trump's financial report, his total profit from World Liberty Financial last year reached $799 million (1.22 trillion won).
This includes hundreds of millions of dollars in funds from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which secretly moved to purchase nearly half of the company's equity in early 2025.
In the case of the $WLFI coin, one of Trump's business entities is set to receive 75% of sales revenue after deducting certain costs.
In other words, there was a mechanism in place to ensure Trump profited even if the coin's price eventually crashed.
Currently, the $WLFI coin is trading at $0.057, down 82% since last September.
Combining the $636 million (972 billion won) from the Trump meme coin business and $799 million (1.22 trillion won) from the WLFI business, the Trump family earned a total of $1.435 billion (2.19 trillion won) from cryptocurrency-related ventures in 2025.
Including these, the total amount President Trump earned from his businesses last year reached $2.2 billion (3.36 trillion won).
In a statement sent to the NYT after the release of the financial report on June 30, White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said, "President Trump has proudly made America the crypto capital of the world," adding, "Every action taken by President Trump and his administration is in the best interest of the American people."
A representative for the Trump meme coin business did not respond to a request for comment.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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