Schiff says Trump meme coin enabled access-buying as buyers took heavy losses
Nansen data showed roughly two-thirds of TRUMP buyers and 85% of tracked WLFI secondary-market wallets were underwater, while Trump’s 2025 disclosure reported major crypto income including a $636 million TRUMP payout.
Economist Peter Schiff said President Donald Trump’s meme coin functioned as a way to buy access to the president rather than a conventional investment, as Nansen data showed 988,905 TRUMP-buying wallets were underwater for a combined $3.81 billion through the end of June after the token fell about 97% from its peak. The analysis showed about 1.48 million wallets bought TRUMP, with just under 500,000 early and sophisticated traders capturing roughly $4 billion in profits. Trump’s 2025 financial disclosure reported a $636 million payout from the Official Trump memecoin and broader crypto-related income that other reporting put at at least $1.4 billion, intensifying ethics scrutiny. Losses extended to World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token, where Nansen said 85% of tracked secondary-market wallets were underwater.
- meme coin: A token driven largely by branding, online attention, and speculation rather than conventional business fundamentals.
- secondary markets: Platforms where investors trade assets after an initial issuance rather than buying directly from the issuer.
- paper losses: Declines in value that exist on holdings that have not yet been sold.