Inside Trump’s Illiquid Crypto Empire

Inside Trump’s Illiquid Crypto Empire

by Adam Morgan McCarthy AND thOMAS PROBST

Coverage of U.S. President Donald Trump and his family’s crypto ventures often highlights large profits for affiliated companies. In today’s research, we examine these projects’ volumes and liquidity and find more evidence of losses and illiquidity than of unprecedented success.

The USD trading volume of the Trump Token surged on the day of President Trump’s second inauguration. However, the spike was short-lived: volumes have since fallen from over $15 billion at their peak during the inauguration to less than $1 billion now, underscoring the highly speculative, event-driven nature of the asset.

At the inauguration day, the token’s price jumped from about $1.64 to a peak near $72 within a few days, an increase of roughly +4,300%. After this spike, the curve from early February to October shows a normalization with a downward drift followed by a plateau mostly between $7-$12.

By contrast, larger memecoins like Dogecoin have sustained steadier volumes over time, with hype tied to broader crypto cycles rather than a single political flashpoint. Notably, Dogecoin also surfaced in the 2024–25 political zeitgeist, including playful nods to “DOGE” in government efficiency messaging, but its market traction was not confined to that moment.