Reuters Investigation: Trump Family’s Crypto Empire Cashes Out $2.3 Billion, Investors Lose Nearly Equivalent Amount

Author: Claude, TechFlow

TechFlow Introduction: A Reuters investigation reveals that between November 2024 and April 2026, the Trump family generated approximately $2.3 billion in pre-tax revenue from four cryptocurrency projects—World Liberty Financial, the TRUMP meme coin, ALT5 Sigma, and American Bitcoin—surpassing Coinbase’s $2.1 billion in profits during the same period. Over one million retail and secondary-market investors incurred roughly $2.25 billion in equivalent losses.

A deep investigative report released by Reuters on June 9 places the Trump family’s cryptocurrency business empire under precise financial scrutiny.

Based on cross-analysis of on-chain data, corporate filings, public disclosures, and investor interviews, Reuters found that four cryptocurrency projects linked to the U.S. president collectively generated approximately $2.3 billion in pre-tax revenue between November 2024—immediately following the U.S. presidential election—and April 2026.

This figure exceeds Coinbase’s $2.1 billion in profits over the same period and dwarfs industry peers including BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF business ($109 million) and IREN—the largest publicly traded Bitcoin mining company ($127 million).

The data also reveals an almost zero-sum capital structure: the Trump family’s $2.3 billion in gains nearly mirrors the ~$2.25 billion in net losses borne by retail and public-market investors.

Asymmetric Risk Structure: Minimal Family Capital Investment

The core finding of the Reuters investigation lies in the underlying business model itself. Unlike Coinbase or BlackRock—which compete on trading infrastructure, liquidity depth, and asset management scale—the Trump family’s crypto ventures employ a highly asymmetric risk structure: minimal family capital investment, yet outsized upside through token sales revenue sharing, founder token allocations, and equity arrangements.

Among the four projects, World Liberty Financial contributed the largest share. The project began selling governance tokens in October 2024, with Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump—two of the former president’s sons—serving as key promoters in roadshows. The project entered into a revenue-sharing agreement with DT Marks DEFI LLC, a Trump-family-affiliated entity, entitling the latter to 75% of token sales revenue after expenses. Reuters estimates this arrangement alone generated approximately $987 million for the family.

The TRUMP meme coin was the second-largest revenue source. Launched on the Solana blockchain just before Trump’s second inauguration, on-chain analysis shows total revenues exceeding $1.2 billion, of which roughly $616 million accrued to the Trump family.

Investors Absorbed Equivalent Losses at the Mirror Position

The flip side of the family’s gains is systemic investor losses.

Buyers of World Liberty Financial tokens had collectively lost approximately $674 million by end-April. A large portion of early holdings remains locked; their book value approaches zero ahead of unlocking. TRUMP meme coin investors fared even worse. The token peaked at around $74.27 in January 2025 and stood at only ~$1.65 as of June 9—a decline of roughly 98%. Reuters estimates holders’ losses exceed $700 million. A California-based investor told Reuters she invested $2,000 after seeing Trump’s promotion; by late May, her position was worth less than $120.

Investors via public listings suffered severe losses as well. ALT5 Sigma (later renamed AI Financial Corp.) raised $750 million through a stock offering, of which $717 million was used to purchase World Liberty tokens—over $500 million of which flowed to the Trump family via revenue sharing. The company’s stock price collapsed from above $9 in August 2025 to ~$0.75 by end-April 2026, inflicting ~$675 million in investor losses. American Bitcoin’s share price fell from $11 at its September 2025 IPO to ~$1.15 by end-April, resulting in over $200 million in investor losses. Both Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. received equity stakes without any capital contribution; Eric Trump’s holdings remained valued at over $70 million as of end-April.

Trump Crypto Revenue Exceeds Coinbase, Outpaces Major Industry Players

Reuters’ comparative data makes the scale starkly clear. During the identical window—from November 2024 to April 2026:

Coinbase reported ~$2.1 billion in revenue; IREN (the largest publicly traded Bitcoin miner by market cap) reported ~$127 million; BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) generated ~$109 million; Circle (issuer of USDC) posted a $14 million loss; Galaxy Digital reported a $430 million loss.

The Trump family’s $2.3 billion exceeded all of them. These firms built their commercial moats over years through technological development, regulatory compliance, and market infrastructure—whereas the Trump projects’ core leverage rests on brand licensing and political influence.