On August 21, 2025, President Donald Trump’s much-publicized foray into the world of cryptocurrency took a dramatic turn, as his meme coin, $TRUMP, suffered a staggering collapse. The token, which had once been a symbol of the president’s embrace of digital finance, plummeted by $8.39 by the close of U.S. stock markets, capping off a week marked by persistent declines. The coin’s journey, from its meteoric rise at launch to its current struggles, offers a revealing look at the volatility and unpredictability of the crypto world—and the risks faced by even its most high-profile champions.
According to The Daily Beast, $TRUMP had fallen in value from nearly $75 per token in January 2025 to barely $8 by the afternoon of August 21. That represents an 88 percent drop in just over seven months—a breathtaking collapse by any standard. CoinMarketCap data showed the token down 5.83% over the previous 24 hours, and off 6.35% for the week. Briefly buoyed by Canary Capital’s ETF filing on August 13, which nudged the price from $9.40 to $9.60, the coin quickly lost steam, retreating to $8.39 by market close. As CoinMarketCap noted, while a memecoin ETF could, in theory, boost liquidity, the road to SEC approval is long and fraught with skepticism, especially for tokens with such an unpredictable trajectory.
First Lady Melania Trump’s own cryptocurrency, $MELANIA, fared even worse. Having lost more than 98% of its value since its mid-January peak, the coin was trading at about 20 cents per token by late August. The precipitous drop in both coins has not gone unnoticed by the media or the public, with many observers pointing to the risks inherent in meme-driven digital assets.
Yet, as Reuters reported in February, the collapse in value has not prevented the Trumps and their associates from profiting handsomely. In the initial frenzy following $TRUMP’s launch, the creators of the coin—among them CIC Digital, a company owned by Trump—earned nearly $100 million in trading fees. By February 2025, CIC Digital controlled approximately 800 million coins, giving the Trump family considerable leverage over the token’s fate. And by May, a blockchain intelligence firm cited by the Associated Press estimated that the Trump Organization had pocketed $320 million in trading fees from the coin. These figures underscore the enormous sums that can be generated in the early days of a hyped cryptocurrency, regardless of what happens to its price later on.
The story of $TRUMP is, in many ways, emblematic of the meme coin phenomenon—a sector of the crypto market driven less by technical fundamentals and more by online buzz, celebrity endorsement, and, at times, sheer speculation. Trump’s decision to launch his own token days before his inauguration was seen by many as a bold move, and he quickly proclaimed himself the nation’s first “crypto president.” The coin’s branding, inspired by his “Fight! Fight! Fight!” chant after his assassination attempt, seemed tailor-made for viral success. And, at first, the strategy worked: the token surged in value immediately after its debut, only to tumble to $40 per token on the day Trump was sworn in for his second term, and then continue its downward spiral.
Melania Trump’s entry into the crypto world mirrored her husband’s, but with even less favorable results. Her $MELANIA coin, launched in the same speculative climate as $TRUMP, saw its value evaporate almost entirely within months. As of August 21, 2025, it had lost more than 98% of its value, leaving early backers with little to show for their investment.
But while the Trumps and a handful of early movers made fortunes, many ordinary investors were left holding the bag. According to The Daily Beast, at least 50 large crypto wallets profited handsomely from $TRUMP’s initial surge, each making more than $10 million. In stark contrast, some 200,000 wallets with smaller holdings suffered losses—a familiar tale in the world of speculative finance. The disparity between winners and losers was highlighted at a May 2025 dinner hosted by Trump at his National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia. The exclusive event, limited to the top 220 holders of $TRUMP, saw the president make a brief 23-minute appearance before departing by helicopter. “The food sucked,” one attendee told CNBC, encapsulating the disappointment felt by many who had hoped for more from their investment—and their host.
Despite the turmoil in the Trump coin ecosystem, the broader crypto market has not stood still. Since Trump entered office for his second term, Bitcoin—the world’s most popular cryptocurrency—has gained nearly 10% in value. The White House, meanwhile, has moved to ease regulations on digital finance, issuing an executive order to usher in what it called “the Golden Age of Crypto.” This regulatory shift has been welcomed by many in the industry, who see it as a long-overdue recognition of crypto’s potential. However, it has also drawn scrutiny from lawmakers concerned about conflicts of interest at the highest levels of government.
Senate Democrats have formally requested that the Office of Government Ethics investigate Trump’s investments in digital assets, citing potential violations of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution. The concern is that the president’s personal and family stakes in digital assets could influence public policy—or at least create the appearance of impropriety. The Trump Organization, for its part, has not responded to requests for comment on the matter.
The story of $TRUMP and $MELANIA is a cautionary tale for would-be crypto investors, blending elements of celebrity, politics, and high-stakes speculation. The rapid rise and fall of these tokens illustrate both the opportunities and dangers of the digital asset boom—and the ways in which hype can sometimes outstrip reality. As regulatory scrutiny intensifies and the market continues to evolve, the fate of the Trumps’ crypto ambitions remains uncertain. For now, the only certainty is that, in the world of meme coins, fortunes can turn on a dime—and not always in the way their creators intend.
