In crypto, you can often just look at publicly available records and count the number of winners and losers. One such study from a blockchain analytics firm called Nansen, as reported on by the New York Times, tells a sad story—the story of people who bought Trump memecoins.
As you’re probably aware, a recent financial disclosure says the president himself is a big crypto winner. That disclosure notes that Trump made about $635 million off this particular memecoin, just a small part of his already infamous crypto haul.
But almost 1 million $Trump buyers are losers, having been hosed for about $3.81 billion in total up to the end of last month. Back-of-the-envelope math (that is: dividing 3.81 billion by 1 million) will tell you the average loss was $3,810.
My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE! It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump Community. GET YOUR $TRUMP NOW. Go to https://t.co/GX3ZxT5xyq — Have Fun! pic.twitter.com/flIKYyfBrC
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2025
The number of winners from the $Trump story is about half—roughly 5,000, according to Nansen. They made just about the same amount, $4 billion, “capturing enormous gains while the broad retail majority absorbed the losses,” the report says.
Memecoins have been criticized as essentially slush funds—ways for the personality around which a memecoin is built to absorb the wealth of supporters and fans. One study has claimed that memecoin investment is rife with market manipulation, saying “82.8% show evidence of artificial growth strategies designed to create a misleading appearance of market interest.” Probably don’t buy memecoins if you want my thoughts on the matter.
