Trump memecoins raked in $100M in fees while small traders took the hit

The $Trump memecoin, launched by Donald Trump just a few days before stepping into the White House, raked in nearly $100 million in trading fees in under two weeks. Since then, tens of thousands of small traders have suffered losses. Trump’s CIC Digital, is expected to receive shares from the trading revenue, but the exact cut still remains unclear.

The $Trump memecoin peaked at a $14.5 billion market cap before plunging by two-thirds of its value. While 50 top investors netted $10 million each, about 200,000 wallets, which are mostly linked to small-time investors reportedly lost money.

Ethics analysts have warned that Trump’s regulatory power over crypto could pose conflicts of interest. But Eric Trump says: “We are just getting started.”

Trump’s crypto empire generates millions in fees

According to a Reuters report, the $Trump memecoin has generated up to $100 million in trading fees in just two weeks. But while insiders profit, many small traders are in the red. Launched on January 17, $Trump surged as high as $75 per token before crashing back to the $17.

Blockchain firms Merkle Science and Chainalysis estimated that the coin has generated between $86 million and $100 million in trading fees as of January 30. A key entity behind $Trump, CIC Digital will earn a share of the revenue from trading activity. It’s still unclear how much of the fees will go directly to Trump.

The report mentioned that the fees are collected through Meteora, the growing crypto exchange, where $Trump was first sold. The coin’s creators get a cut. It added that Eric Trump had defended the project by calling it the “hottest digital meme on earth.”

Trump memecoin meltdown

Donald Trump vowed to be the crypto president, but his involvement in the industry raises ethical concerns. Observers have questioned whether he can regulate his own crypto ventures while in office. The report highlighted that the White House has dodged questions by responding with a two-page fact sheet about Trump’s digital finance executive order instead.

Trump’s crypto empire doesn’t stop with just a launch of the $Trump memecoin. He’s also involved in DeFi projects and NFT collections. But details on how much he’s personally making remain unclear.

Memecoins launched by the Trump family remain under scrutiny as $Trump price dropped by 35% in the last 7 days. It is trading at an average price of $17.81 as of press time. The other token, the Official Melania Meme (MELANIA) price has dropped by over 80% since its launch. $MELANIA is trading at an average price of $1.44 as of press time.

The meme crypto market saw a spike when Trump was in the process of taking over the White House. However, the recent decline has left the market bleeding. The cumulative crypto market cap dropped by 14% on Monday to stand at $70.55 billion. The biggest meme tokens like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) recorded a drop of around 13% in the last 24 hours.