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The entities behind President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency, known as $Trump, were estimated to have accumulated nearly $100 million in trading fees in less than two weeks, Reuters reported on Monday.
Three blockchain analysis firms, including Merkle Science and Chainalysis, have provided these figures. The meme coin, which was introduced on January 17, saw a rapid increase in value, reaching a peak market value of over $14.5 billion by January 19. However, its value has since dropped by two-thirds.
The blockchain, a public ledger of all transactions involving $Trump, was analyzed by the firms for Reuters. They estimated that the token generated between $86 million and $100 million in trading fees by January 30. These amounts significantly surpass previous reports.
CIC Digital, a company owned by Trump, is one of the entities behind the coin. Its official website states that CIC Digital will receive trading revenue from the meme coin’s activities. The exact portion of fees that may have gone to Trump personally, or the ownership details of the other entities involved, remain unclear.
The $Trump coin was initially sold on Meteora, a relatively unknown cryptocurrency exchange. The creators of the coin receive a share of the trading fees from transactions on this platform. According to Chainalysis, at least fifty major investors have made profits exceeding $10 million each from the $Trump coin. Conversely, approximately 200,000 crypto wallets, primarily holding small amounts, have lost money on the exchange.
Eric Trump, speaking for the Trump Organization, expressed pride in their accomplishments in the cryptocurrency sphere, stating that $Trump is the "hottest digital meme on earth" and that they are "just getting started." The White House provided a fact sheet on Trump’s executive order on digital financial technology in response to questions about the trading fees but did not address the fees directly.
Trump’s pledge to become the "crypto president" and make the United States the "crypto capital of the planet" has been accompanied by criticism due to the large amounts of money involved and the opaque nature of these ventures. Critics, including Columbia University law professor Richard Briffault, have raised ethical concerns about Trump’s ability to regulate his own business.
The ownership of Trump’s meme coins is obscured behind limited liability companies. Fight Fight Fight, registered in Delaware, owns the official website for the coin. William Zanker, a Trump business associate, is the primary contact for the company but did not respond to inquiries. Fight Fight Fight is owned by Trump’s CIC Digital and Celebration Cards, with the latter’s ownership remaining unidentified.
The official $Trump website indicates that up to 1 billion $Trump coins will be sold over the next 36 months. Initially, 200 million coins were released to the market, with the creators transferring them to three crypto wallets. The remaining 800 million coins, owned by Fight Fight Fight and CIC Digital, are valued at around $16 billion based on the current price of approximately $20 per coin.
Blockchain analysis firms track the movement of cryptocurrencies and connect digital wallets to known entities. These firms have determined that the three wallets associated with $Trump began trading the tokens on Meteora. The exchange allows creators to earn fees perpetually from minted meme coins.
Ben Chow, co-founder of Meteora, stated he had limited knowledge of the team behind the Trump token and that his co-founder, known as Meow, was contacted by the team. The fees earned on Meteora can vary, with "surge pricing" implemented during periods of high market volatility.
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