Researchers reviewed hundreds of paperwork and dozens of interviews to hint token gross sales and transfers. Their findings reveal sudden payouts and severe investor losses.
Through the years, Donald J. Trump adopted a easy plan for enrichment: he branded a product or firm by giving it a reputation, invested minimal private funds, actively promoted the undertaking, and waited for the cash to return in. Since mid-2024, when he launched a marketing campaign for a second time period, Trump and his family utilized the identical strategy to the dynamic world of cryptocurrency – and achieved spectacular outcomes.
As a part of the investigation, it was decided how a lot cash the Trump family earned from 4 main crypto initiatives, what share of their very own funds they contributed, and the way investors on the opposite facet of the market had been disillusioned.
Conclusion and figures: the Trump family earned round $2.3 billion in crypto initiatives, while investors lost roughly the identical by the top of April – that’s, the online hole between “their” earnings and borrowed losses is mirrored within the figures.
To achieve these conclusions, researchers relied on prior materials, reviewed hundreds of pages of company paperwork, and performed interviews with greater than 27 investors and crypto-industry specialists.
Trump’s crypto portfolio: minimal danger
Preliminary outlays for the family’s most formidable crypto subproject – World Liberty Monetary – and for the $TRUMP token undertaking, in accordance with estimates by three finance professors and one regulation professor with 4 {industry} consultants, may have been lower than a million {dollars}, and even zero, if builders and advisors had been paid in tokens slightly than money.
Two Nasdaq-listed firms – ALT5 Sigma (now AI Monetary Corp.) and American Bitcoin – introduced the Trumps tens of millions. In response to data, stakes in these firms had been acquired with out money investments, i.e., no direct family funding was recorded. The evaluation was performed by accounting and monetary reporting specialists and analysts.
ALT5 Sigma and American Bitcoin didn’t reply to requests for info about the Trump family’s investments, and Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Eric Trump didn’t present feedback.
Rise of greater than $2 billion
The Trumps’ earnings from crypto initiatives had been largely pushed by token gross sales.
World Liberty Monetary reported elevating $1.4 billion by way of the sale of 30 billion governance tokens, a share of which went to the Trumps – about $987 million after accounting for his or her 75% cut up and bills. Additionally $538 million associated to an settlement whereby World Liberty offered tokens publicly by way of a companion amongst publicly traded firms.
Nonetheless, specialists imagine the quantities earned by the Trumps from promoting World Liberty tokens might be considerably greater. In an October World Liberty report, it acknowledged having 3 billion fewer tokens than beforehand claimed to satisfy demand, however didn’t disclose particular person gross sales of those tokens.
In response to two teachers and two crypto consultants, these 3 billion tokens had been most probably offered. On the common value of tokens from that interval, these gross sales may have yielded a minimum of $460 million.
Token gross sales are vital. It appears insiders are unloading their positions.
– Campbell Harvey
After reviewing impartial value determinations and calculation strategies, the whole revenue from World Liberty token gross sales for the Trumps exceeded $1.4 billion – that is the primary portion of the general crypto revenue of $2.3 billion.
A World Liberty Monetary spokesperson acknowledged that WLFI doesn’t affirm the usage of third-party methodologies to worth the tokens or the investors’ total positions.
The $TRUMP token undertaking didn’t disclose official revenues; for evaluation, blockchain knowledge and value examples on exchanges had been used. If token actions to exchanges corresponded to gross sales, they may have introduced over $880 million. Along with different channels, complete earnings was about $1.2 billion.
In response to specialists, the Trumps obtained about half of the revenue from the $TRUMP undertaking – about $616 million. Different specialists famous that the quantities may have been greater given the undertaking’s reliance on promotion by the Trumps themselves and the World Liberty deal, which supplies them 75% of the token sale proceeds.
The $TRUMP token undertaking didn’t present feedback on its funds; family members additionally didn’t reply to requests.
ALT5 Sigma and American Bitcoin printed knowledge on the variety of shares offered and funds raised as of the top of March 2026. Since August 11, 2025, ALT5’s value has fallen from over $9 to $0.75 by the top of April – investors sustained losses of about $675 million. Since September, American Bitcoin fell from $11 to $1.15 by the top of April – investors sustained losses of greater than $200 million.
Backside line: the evaluation factors to a big hole between market-expected returns and precise outcomes for investors, and exhibits how the Trump family’s high-profile crypto partnerships mix with greater dangers for exterior investors.
