Reuters: Trump Family Profited $2.3 Billion From Crypto Ventures

A Reuters investigation published Wednesday alleged that the Trump family generated $2.3 billion from four crypto ventures while investors in those projects suffered combined losses of nearly the same amount. The losses, which include unrealized paper declines, totaled roughly $2.3 billion by the end of April, Reuters said.

The family's gains came through a mix of upfront token allocations, trading fees, and royalties from secondary-market NFT sales. The investigation did not name the four ventures but described them as a DeFi lending platform, a meme token, and two NFT collections, all launched between late 2022 and early 2025. Reuters traced the transactions using public blockchain data and corporate filings.

The report describes a pattern familiar to crypto traders: projects that reward insiders first and leave late buyers underwater. The crypto market analysis shows how many celebrity-backed tokens follow a similar arc – a price spike driven by social media hype, then a slow decline as early holders sell.

None of the Trump ventures has faced a formal SEC enforcement action. The investigation could prompt regulatory scrutiny, lawyers said. The SEC has brought cases against similar projects that allocated large insider shares before public trading.

The report stops short of accusing the family of fraud. It describes a system where the family profited from the same hype that drew in retail buyers, without alleging illegal conduct. For investors who lost money, the distinction may offer little comfort.