Share this article
TRUMP, MELANIA Memecoins Made Millions for Some, Less Than $100 for Many
An analysis of wallets showed 77% of TRUMP holders earned less than $100, with over 80% of TRUMP or MELANIA holders likely to be investors who held less than $1,000 worth of Solana-based assets.
Jan 24, 2025, 8:58 a.m.
What to know:
- Donald Trump's official memecoin was highly profitable for early investors, especially 60 whales who made over $10 million each.
- The memecoin attracted new investors to the Solana blockchain, with about 50% of token holders being first-time buyers for Solana-based tokens.
- However, the concentration of wealth is significant, with 40 whales holding 94% of TRUMP and/or MELANIA
Donald Trump’s official memecoin has been extremely profitable for early buyers and likely unprofitable for many, a Chainalysis finding shows.
An estimated 60 whales — a colloquial term for influential token holders — have realized profits exceeding $10 million each. However, a majority of retail investors were at break-even as of Thursday.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
“After 1B $TRUMP tokens were minted, 4 wallets received most of the funds to hold or provide liquidity to exchanges,” Chainalysis said. “Most wallets that hold $TRUMP and/or $MELANIA hold less than $100 worth, suggesting retail buying activity.”
An analysis of wallets showed 77% of TRUMP holders earned less than $100, with over 80% of TRUMP or MELANIA holders likely to be investors who held less than $1,000 worth of assets on the Solana blockchain.
Some 50% of those token holders were likely first-time Solana-based token buyers — meaning TRUMP helped attract newcomers to the overall market. On the other hand, around forty whales holding over $10 million of both tokens accounted for an estimated 94% of overall token possession.
Loading...
TRUMP prices are down 7% in the past 24 hours, while MELANIA tokens are down 10% as initial hype around the two official memecoins appears to be dying out.
Trump issued his official memecoin before his Monday swearing-in ceremony, where prices rocketed from a few cents to $14 in less than six hours. The token attracted $3 billion in volumes hours after going live and netted early buyers over $70 million in paper gains, as CoinDesk noted.
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
Asia Morning Briefing: Data shows legacy media took a more balanced view of bitcoin in 2025
Media attention shifted from bitcoin’s environmental footprint to crime and kidnapping in 2025, while overall sentiment remained broadly neutral, according to crypto intelligence platform Perception.
What to know:
- In 2025, mainstream media coverage of Bitcoin became more balanced, with neutral reporting surpassing negative stories.
- The shift in narrative was driven by the exhaustion of earlier critiques rather than increased enthusiasm for Bitcoin.
- AI emerged as the dominant topic in media, overshadowing Bitcoin and driving more significant sentiment swings.
Top Stories
