Veteran investor Ross Gerber isn't mincing words about President Donald Trump's cryptocurrency ventures. On Thursday, Gerber highlighted a Wall Street Journal report showing that more than one million people lost money on Trump-linked crypto projects, while Trump himself made a fortune.
Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, posted on X: "Over 1 million people lost money on the trump crypto rug pull." He was referring to data from the Journal, which found that approximately two-thirds of wallets that purchased the Official Trump (CRYPTO: TRUMP) meme coin—around 1.48 million—are currently holding unrealized losses. The report also noted that 85% of secondary-market buyers of World Liberty Financial’s token remain underwater.
To be clear, there's no direct one-to-one match between cryptocurrency wallets and actual holders. A single person can create dozens or even hundreds of wallets, and one wallet can represent multiple holders. But the scale of the losses is still striking.
The TRUMP memecoin launched in January 2025 with a market capitalization of nearly $15 billion. It has since collapsed by 97% to about $408 million at the time of writing. Meanwhile, Trump collected $635 million in royalties from the same cryptocurrency last year, according to his latest financial disclosure. That asymmetry is what's got people riled up.
Gerber has previously called Trump's earnings from his crypto projects a "grift," arguing that it has undermined confidence in Bitcoin (BTC) and contributed to negative sentiment in the crypto market. The revelation has sparked backlash from both political opponents and some of Trump's own supporters who backed his pro-cryptocurrency stance.
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has pushed for stronger cryptocurrency legislation to prevent Trump and his family from profiting off digital assets. Skybridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci warned that the crypto windfall in a bear market could be cited as the main reason if the Clarity Act fails to pass the Senate.
Trump has defended his billion-dollar crypto windfall, asserting there was nothing "illegal" or "wrong" about it. He emphasized that cryptocurrency is a "big deal" and that the U.S. must lead in the space or risk ceding dominance to China.
Price Action: At the time of writing, TRUMP was trading at $1.71, up 1.97% in the last 24 hours, according to market data.
