Investors in Trump-linked crypto ventures are at least $4.7 billion underwater, according to a report by U.S. nonprofit watchdog Public Citizen. The same report says Donald Trump took in more than $1.4 billion from those crypto businesses in 2025.
Public Citizen said most of the $4.7 billion consists of unrealized losses, meaning paper losses tied to sharp declines in asset values. The figure also includes realized losses identified through on-chain trading data.
$TRUMP recorded the steepest investor losses
The report identified the $TRUMP meme coin as the worst-performing project for investors among Trump-related crypto ventures. The token was launched three days before Trump’s inauguration in January 2025.
According to Public Citizen, about 1.6 million retail wallets bought $TRUMP on decentralized exchanges. Of those, roughly 1 million were left holding losses, with unrealized losses approaching $3.2 billion. Realized losses from token sales were put at about $400 million.
CoinGecko data cited in the report shows that $TRUMP reached an all-time high of $73.43 in January 2025. At the time of writing, it had fallen to $2.41, a decline of 96.7%.
Public Citizen said gains from the token were concentrated among the earliest participants. Wallets that bought in during the two days before trading opened captured nearly 90% of total retail profits.
The report said: "Trump’s tokens were allocated directly to his companies rather than purchased with his own money, and he can continue collecting royalties through brand licensing. These projects required no personal capital from Trump, meaning nearly all of the income he booked was pure profit."
WLFI and bitcoin treasury holdings were also hit
Beyond the meme coin, Public Citizen said the Trump family-backed DeFi project World Liberty Financial, or $WLFI, led to at least $1 billion in investor losses.
The report highlighted Nasdaq-listed AI Financial Corp., which spent $1.46 billion in August 2025 to buy 7.28 billion $WLFI tokens. Its paper loss now stands at about $1.04 billion. Since partnering with World Liberty Financial, the company’s stock has dropped from $7.04 to $0.642, a fall of 91%.
Trump Media’s bitcoin treasury was also named in the report. As of June 30, the company held 9,477 BTC bought at a cost of about $1.006 billion. That position is now worth about $557 million, leaving an unrealized loss of roughly $450 million.
NFT buyers also lost money, while USD1 held its peg
Public Citizen added that buyers of Trump’s three earlier Digital Trading Card collections, sold as NFT collectibles, have suffered at least $93 million in losses.
USD1 was the exception. The report said the stablecoin remained pegged to $1 and did not cause losses for holders.
Trump disclosed at least $1.4 billion in 2025 crypto income
Despite the scale of investor losses, the report said Trump’s latest personal financial disclosure showed that he earned at least $1.4 billion in cash and royalty income from various crypto ventures in 2025.