Trump Defends $1.4B Crypto Income as Memecoin Investors Lose $3.8B

Trump insisted there is nothing wrong or illegal about the $1.4 billion he and his family earned from crypto ventures in 2025, defending the windfall in a CNBC interview at the White House on Thursday. The financial disclosure, released by the Office of Government Ethics last week, showed $636 million in royalties tied to Trump’s eponymous memecoin, roughly $594 million from World Liberty Financial, and nearly $197 million from a stablecoin venture linked to Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Asked whether he was aware of the crypto dealings, Trump told CNBC’s Joe Kernen, “I could know about it. I didn’t. I mean, there’s nothing illegal, there’s nothing wrong with it.” Trump handed day-to-day control of his companies to his sons rather than divesting, and his administration has pursued a permissive approach toward crypto regulation. Critics argue the arrangement lets the Trump family profit from policies it directly shapes. According to Trump, however, his administration’s cryptocurrency efforts are geared toward achieving dominance over China.

Blockchain analytics firm Nansen found that of the 1.48 million wallets that have bought the TRUMP memecoin since its January 2025 launch, 988,905, roughly two-thirds, are underwater, with combined losses of $3.81 billion, the New York Times reported last week. Only 492,285 wallets are in profit, concentrated among traders who bought in the token’s earliest hours, before it rose to a $75 peak. The coin was most recently trading at $1.66, down 98% from its price record. On World Liberty Financial’s token, about 85% of secondary-market wallets are underwater too.

Trump’s crypto earnings have drawn recurring scrutiny since his return to office. Senator Elizabeth Warren has pushed to bar Trump and his family from profiting from the sector through the pending Clarity Act. Meanwhile, five Democratic senators, including Warren, have separately demanded hearings into a reported $500 million stake a UAE royal adviser took in World Liberty Financial.

For traders, the Nansen data offers a stark look at the distribution of losses in a politically branded token. The 98% drawdown from the $75 peak mirrors the typical memecoin lifecycle: early insiders capture the spike, latecomers absorb the collapse. The regulatory overhang adds another layer. If the Clarity Act or similar legislation gains traction, it could restrict how public figures launch and profit from tokens, potentially reshaping the memecoin market structure. The next concrete date to watch is the Senate Banking Committee’s markup of the Clarity Act, expected later this quarter.