Trump-linked crypto ventures gained $2.3 billion as investors suffered losses

Cryptocurrency projects linked to US President Donald Trump and his family have generated roughly $2.3 billion in gains for the family since Trump’s return to the White House, while investors have collectively lost about the same amount, according to a Reuters investigation.

The review examined four major projects associated with Trump and his family: the TRUMP memecoin, World Liberty Financial, American Bitcoin and AI Financial Corp.

According to Reuters, the value of shares or assets tied to those projects has fallen by dozens of percentage points, despite the ventures following a similar operating model.

The investigation found that the Trump family provided branding, promotional support and political visibility to the projects.

Reuters reported that the family either contributed very limited capital to the ventures or, in some cases, made no investment at all.

Investors, meanwhile, committed substantial funds to the projects on the expectation that Trump’s political position and his support for the cryptocurrency industry would generate long-term returns, the report said.

However, Reuters found that while the value of the underlying assets declined sharply over time, the Trump family continued to generate income from capital supplied by investors.

Some individuals interviewed by Reuters argued that investors entered the projects voluntarily and should have been aware of the risks involved.

Wilbur Ross, who served as commerce secretary during Trump’s first administration, said: “If people are buying something speculative, they should understand the risk. If they decided to hold on in the hope of further gains, that was their choice.”

As an example of how the model operated, Reuters cited the experience of investor Fatima Elrgadawi.

Elrgadawi invested $2,000 in the TRUMP memecoin, saying she trusted the “Trump brand.” By the end of May, however, the value of her investment had fallen to just $120.

Reflecting on the experience, Elrgadawi said she believed investors had been exposed to what is commonly known as a “pump and dump” scheme, in which prices are artificially inflated before large-scale selling triggers a sharp decline.