Written by: Tom Maloney, Annie Massa
Translated by: Luffy, Foresight News
During President Donald Trump's second term, crypto assets have changed the wealth landscape of his family. Today, the Trump family and its followers are experiencing the inherent volatility of cryptocurrencies firsthand.
Since August, the memecoin named after Trump, TRUMP, has dropped in value by about a quarter; Eric Trump (the president's second son) has seen his stake in a Bitcoin mining company shrink by nearly half from its peak; and the Trump Media Technology Group, which began accumulating Bitcoin this year, has seen its stock price fall to historic lows.
On September 16, Eric Trump spoke at the Nasdaq bell-ringing ceremony for an American Bitcoin company.
The recent sell-off is part of a broader crash in the cryptocurrency market, with over $1 trillion in total crypto asset market value evaporating. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the Trump family's wealth has shrunk from $7.7 billion in early September to about $6.7 billion, with the decline primarily linked to the family's expanding portfolio of cryptocurrency-related investments.
These investments involve complex transactions, far beyond direct bets on cryptocurrencies. Ordinary investors now have more channels to participate in Trump-related crypto projects, potentially facing greater losses. For instance, any speculator who bought TRUMP at its peak after its launch announcement during Trump's inauguration weekend would have nearly lost their entire investment by this month.
Eric Trump stated that he remains confident. He has repeatedly urged investors to double down, maintaining this view even during the downturn in the cryptocurrency market.
"This is a great buying opportunity," he said in a statement to Bloomberg News, "Those who buy the dip and embrace volatility will ultimately be the winners. I have never been more optimistic about the future of Bitcoin and the modernization of the financial system."
Indeed, since its inception in 2009, Bitcoin has experienced several significant crashes but has ultimately rebounded over time. However, the Trump family's crypto asset holdings have a buffer mechanism. Although the tokens and stocks of crypto-related companies they hold have plummeted, they can still profit through other avenues in the cryptocurrency industry.
Take their co-founded crypto project World Liberty Financial as an example: although the book value of the associated tokens held by the Trump family has shrunk, they still have the right to a proportional share of the proceeds from token sales, regardless of price fluctuations.
"Retail investors can only speculate," said Jim Angel, a finance professor at Georgetown University, "while the Trump family can not only speculate but also issue tokens, sell tokens, and profit from these transactions."
Here is an overview of the performance of the Trump family's crypto-related assets during this downturn.
Trump Media Technology Group: $800 Million Loss
The stock price of Trump Media Technology Group, the parent company of the Truth Social platform, hit an all-time low on Wednesday. Part of the decline may be attributed to poor timing in its cryptocurrency investments.
Since September, Trump's stake in the company has lost about $800 million in value. He is the largest shareholder, with his shares held through a trust fund managed by his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.
Trump Media Technology Group's stock price has plummeted 66% over the past year.
The unprofitable Trump Media Technology Group has been attempting several new ventures, including in the cryptocurrency space. According to a statement from July, the company has spent about $2 billion on Bitcoin and options. Its holdings of approximately 11,500 Bitcoins were purchased at about $115,000 each, and this position has now accumulated a loss of about 25%.
Additionally, the company has begun accumulating a niche token, CRO, issued by the Singapore cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com. As of the end of September, the CRO tokens held by Trump Media were valued at about $147 million, but that token has since lost nearly half its value.
Trump Media has also partnered with Crypto.com to launch other ventures, with plans to introduce a prediction market platform called Truth Predict, allowing users to bet on sports events and political occurrences.
World Liberty Financial: Book Loss of Nearly $3 Billion
The Trump family's core crypto project, World Liberty Financial, has issued its own token, WLFI. The token's price has dropped from 26 cents in early September to about 15 cents.
The WLFI tokens held by the Trump family had a book value close to $6 billion at their peak, but have now shrunk to about $3.15 billion. (These tokens are not included in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index's family wealth valuation, as they are currently locked and cannot be traded.)
World Liberty Financial official website
In August, the company sold some tokens to the small public company Alt5 Sigma Corp. The timing of this sale was fortuitous: World Liberty Financial gained $750 million in cash and some equity through the transaction.
However, Alt5's investors may not be as fortunate. Since the announcement of the transaction, Alt5's stock price has dropped by about 75%.
The value of the Trump family's equity in Alt5, held through World Liberty Financial, has shrunk by about $220 million, but they still profited from this transaction. According to Bloomberg's calculations, the Trump family received about 75% of the proceeds from the sale of World Liberty Financial tokens, netting $500 million from the Alt5 transaction alone, and approximately $400 million from the WLFI token sales.
"Cryptocurrency will exist for the long term," a spokesperson for World Liberty Financial stated, "We have long-term confidence in the rapidly maturing technology that underpins crypto assets, believing that these technologies will fundamentally transform the financial services sector."
American Bitcoin: At Least $330 Million Loss
About two months after Trump's inauguration, his family ventured into another new crypto project. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. engaged in a series of complex transactions with the crypto company Hut 8 Corp.: Hut 8 exchanged its own Bitcoin mining machines for a majority stake in the newly formed American Bitcoin Corp.
Eric Trump holds about 7.5% of American Bitcoin, which is now publicly traded on Nasdaq (stock code ABTC), while Donald Trump Jr. holds a small undisclosed stake.
ABTC's stock price peaked at $9.31 in early September, when Eric's stake was valued at about $630 million. Since then, the stock price has dropped by more than half, resulting in a loss of over $300 million in family wealth. However, this transaction remains one of the clearest examples of the Trump family generating hundreds of millions in new wealth through recent crypto-related ventures.
If investors bought shares at the time of ABTC's listing, they are currently down 45%. ABTC's spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.
Trump Memecoin: Nearly $120 Million Loss, $220 Million Tokens Unlocked
This memecoin has been in freefall since its launch announcement during the presidential inauguration weekend, further shrinking by about 25% since the end of August.
The scale of the Trump family's holdings in this token is not transparent. Risk modeling firm Gauntlet found that months after the token's launch, crypto wallets associated with the issuance held nearly 17 million tokens, with another 17 million transferred to crypto exchanges. In July, an additional 90 million tokens were unlocked for circulation. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index attributes about 40% of the total amount of this memecoin to the Trump family's wealth based on their stake in World Liberty Financial.
At current prices, these tokens are valued at about $310 million, down about $117 million since the end of August.
However, according to the index, the Trump family's token holdings have significantly increased. Some tokens previously held by insiders and issuers were locked and will gradually unlock over three years.
Data from crypto research firm Messari shows that after the unlocking event in July, insiders added nearly 90 million Trump memecoins, of which Bloomberg's wealth index attributes about 40% to the Trump family.
These newly unlocked tokens are valued at about $220 million, indicating an increase in the total value of the family's holdings. It remains unclear whether the Trump family has sold any of this token since July.
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