Trump Memecoins: Insiders Pocket $600 Million While Retail Investors Lose Billions

The memecoins named after the US President are becoming a prime example of the risks associated with speculative tokens. The OFFICIAL TRUMP token is now trading approximately 95 percent below its peak, while the Melania token has dropped 99 percent from its high.

An analysis by the platform CryptoRank reveals the extent of the wealth transfer: insiders allegedly collected more than $600 million USD through fees and token sales. This is offset by losses exceeding $4.3 billion USD, distributed across nearly two million wallets in the red. This represents a ratio of 20 to 1 against retail investors. Additionally, 45 large wallets collectively extracted $1.2 billion USD ^[1].

The pattern is typical for memecoins: early actors benefit from structural advantages in liquidity and fee models, while late buyers bear the full risk of losses. For the Bitcoin market, the crash could indirectly have positive effects, as such incidents strengthen the narrative of Bitcoin as a more serious alternative in the crypto segment and can draw liquidity away from risky altcoins.