Crypto crash eroding wealth for the Trumps and their followers

Family’s fortune cut by over $lb, with decline largely tied to crypto ventures

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US President Donald Trump depicted with cryptocurrency coins in an advertisement at a store in Hong Kong in January. The Trumps have a buffer built into their crypto holdings. While they own tokens and shares of crypto-linked companies that are tanking, they earn money in other ways from their involvement in the industry. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

(BLOOMBERG)

crypto assets transformed his family’s wealth. Now the Trumps — and their followers — are getting a crash course in the wild volatility ingrained in digital currencies.

The value of a Trump-branded memecoin has fallen by about a quarter since August. Mr Eric Trump’s stake in a Bitcoin mining venture has shed roughly half its value from its peak. And shares of Mr Trump’s social media company, which started hoarding Bitcoin in 2025, are hovering near an all-time low.

The selloff is part of a broader rout that has wiped out more than US$1 trillion (S$1.31 trillion) of value across the digital asset world. The Trump family’s fortune has fallen to about US$6.7 billion from US$7,7 billion in early September, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a decline largely tied to its growing portfolio of crypto ventures.

Those holdings involve intricate deals that go beyond straight bets on the value of digital currencies. Everyday investors, who have more ways than ever before to invest in Trump-linked projects, stand to feel greater pain. Any speculator who bought Mr Trump’s memecoin at its peak after it was announced on inauguration weekend, for instance, would have lost almost the entire value of their investment by November.

Mr Eric Trump, the President’s second-born son, said he remains undaunted. He has repeatedly urged investors to double down, even in crypto market downturns.