President Donald Trump sent crypto markets buzzing after he posted about his meme coin, $TRUMP, on Truth Social, calling it “the greatest cryptocurrency.” In an all-caps post on Sunday, Trump wrote, “I LOVE $TRUMP — SO COOL!!! The Greatest of them all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
A Quick Price Jump and Plenty of Backlash
The message immediately caused a spike in the coin’s price, which jumped from $10.99 to $12.24. But the excitement didn’t last long. Critics on social media quickly slammed the move, accusing Trump of using his presidential position to boost a coin he stands to profit from.
“If you buy a shit coin based on this you deserved to get rugged,” posted one user on X. Another wrote, “Micro pump and dump. $1.1B in gain generated and redeemed.”
Millions Made Behind the Scenes
The coin, which launched Jan. 17, surged to a peak market value of over $14.5 billion just two days later, ahead of Trump’s inauguration. Since then, it’s dropped by about two-thirds. But that hasn’t stopped the teams behind it from making huge profits. Reuters reported that three blockchain analysis firms estimate that entities connected to $TRUMP raked in between $86 million and $100 million in trading fees in under two weeks.
Much of that money came from a crypto exchange called Meteora, where traders pay fees to the coin’s creators in exchange for liquidity—essentially, the ability to buy and sell without delays. Those fees can spike when trading demand surges, as it did after Trump’s post.
Who’s Behind $TRUMP?
Reuters also uncovered that at the center of the operation is CIC Digital, a company owned by Trump, which according to the coin’s official website receives revenue from trading activity. Another company involved, Fight Fight Fight, owns the official $TRUMP website. William Zanker, a longtime Trump associate, is listed as the primary contact. Celebration Cards, a third entity involved, also gets a slice of the profits.
The coin’s website says up to 1 billion $TRUMP tokens will be released over the next 36 months. At the beginning of February, 200 million have been distributed, with the remaining 800 million held by CIC Digital and Fight Fight Fight. At the current price of about $20, those holdings are worth around $16 billion.
A Coin for the People—Or Just the Few?
While some big investors have done extremely well—at least 50 wallets made over $10 million each, according to Chainalysis—most others haven’t. An estimated 200,000 wallets, mostly held by small traders, have lost money on $TRUMP so far.
Trump has pledged to put his assets in a trust managed by his children now that he’s back in the White House. Eric Trump, speaking on behalf of the Trump Organization, told Reuters, “We continue to accomplish in crypto. $TRUMP is currently the hottest digital meme on earth. We are just getting started.”
Ethics Concerns Emerge
Critics say the situation raises serious ethical red flags. Richard Briffault, a law professor at Columbia University, said, “There’s an ethical concern that in effect he has the power to regulate his own business.”
Others on X were more blunt. “Trump’s blatant self-promotion of $TRUMP is a clear conflict of interest,” one user wrote. “It’s unethical and reeks of corruption.” Another added, “Would have locked Barack Obama under a jail.”
Despite the criticism, Trump appears committed to expanding his crypto empire. He has previously promised to make America the “crypto capital of the planet” and become the first true “crypto president.”
IMAGE CREDIT: “President Donald J. Trump delivers remarks on the Administration’s tariff plans” by Abe McNatt, The White House. Licensed under U.S. Government Work. Image adjusted for layout.