"‘Crypto disaster’ caused ‘heavy losses’ for the Trump family, second son calls it ‘a perfect buying opportunity’"

The large-scale sell-off in the cryptocurrency market is eroding the Trump family's wealth. Since early September, the First Family's wealth has shrunk from $7.7 billion to about $6.7 billion, with the decline mainly linked to their ever-expanding cryptocurrency investment portfolio.

According to media reports on Monday, the Trump family's crypto assets have suffered a comprehensive blow. Trump-branded meme coins have dropped by about a quarter since August, Eric Trump’s shares in a Bitcoin mining company have halved from their peak value, and Trump’s social media company’s stock hovers near historic lows. This round of selling is part of a broader collapse in the digital asset market, which has seen over $1 trillion evaporate.

Faced with the market plunge, Eric Trump remains steadfast. In a statement to the media, he said:

This is a perfect buying opportunity. Those who buy during the drop and embrace volatility will be the ultimate winners. I’ve never been more optimistic about the future of cryptocurrency and the modernization of the financial system.

Although the tokens and crypto-related company shares held by the Trump family are plunging, they have set up buffer mechanisms in these projects. For example, in their co-founded crypto platform World Liberty Financial, regardless of token price changes, they still have rights to a portion of token sales revenue.

Trump Media: $800 Million Loss

Trump Media & Technology Group Corp.—parent company of the Truth Social platform—saw its stock hit an all-time low on Wednesday. The president’s holdings in the company have dropped by about $800 million since September. He is the company’s largest shareholder, with shares held in a trust overseen by his eldest son Donald Trump Jr.

This loss-making company made a big bet on cryptocurrency this year. According to a July statement, Trump Media invested around $2 billion in Bitcoin and related securities (including options). The company bought about 11,500 Bitcoins at approximately $115,000 each; this position has suffered about a 25% cumulative loss.

The company also stockpiled a niche token called CRO, issued by the Singapore crypto exchange Crypto.com. Trump Media’s CRO tokens were worth about $147 million in late September; since then, CRO’s value has shrunk by about half.

World Liberty Financial: Nearly $3 Billion in Paper Losses

The Trump family’s flagship crypto project, World Liberty Financial, has issued its own branded token, WLFI. The token price has plummeted from 26 cents in early September to about 15 cents now.

WLFI tokens held by the Trump family were worth nearly $6 billion at their peak, now worth only about $3.15 billion. However, these tokens are currently locked and cannot be traded, so they are not included in Bloomberg Billionaires Index calculations of the family’s valuation.

In August this year, the company timely sold part of its tokens to a small listed company named Alt5 Sigma Corp., receiving $750 million in cash and equity. According to media calculations, the Trump family received about 75% of the proceeds from token sales, with the Alt5 deal alone bringing them about $500 million, and totaling about $900 million from previous token sales.

But Alt5’s investors weren’t so lucky. Since the deal was announced, Alt5’s stock price has plummeted by about 75%. The value of Alt5 shares held by the Trump family through World Liberty has dropped by about $220 million.

World Liberty Financial’s spokesperson said in a statement: “Cryptocurrency will be around for the long term. World Liberty Financial has long-term confidence in the rapidly maturing technology backing digital assets, and we believe it will fundamentally improve financial services.”

American Bitcoin: At Least $330 Million in Losses

About two months after Trump took office, his family ventured into another new crypto project. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. cooperated with crypto company Hut 8 Corp. in a series of complex transactions, with Hut 8 providing its own Bitcoin mining equipment in exchange for a majority stake in the new company, American Bitcoin Corp.

Eric Trump owns about 7.5% of American Bitcoin, now listed on Nasdaq under the ticker ABTC. Donald Trump Jr. owns a smaller, undisclosed stake.

ABTC shares peaked at $9.31 in early September, making Eric Trump’s holdings worth about $630 million. Since then, the price has more than halved, evaporating over $300 million of the family’s wealth. Investors who bought ABTC when the stock began trading will face losses of 45%.

Trump Meme Coins: Nearly $120 Million Lost, $220 Million in Tokens Unlocked

Since the president’s inauguration weekend announcement, Trump meme coins have plunged sharply; their value has evaporated by about 25% since late August.

The family’s holdings in the coin aren’t transparent. Risk modeling firm Gauntlet found that wallets associated with the meme coin’s creation held nearly 17 million tokens a few months after launch, with another 17 million moved by these wallets to crypto exchanges. Another 90 million tokens were unlocked in July. Bloomberg Billionaires Index attributes 40% of the total to the Trump family based on their World Liberty Financial holdings.

At current prices, these tokens are worth about $310 million, down about $117 million since late August.

But according to the Index calculations, the Trump family’s token holdings have risen sharply. Some tokens held by insiders and creators are “locked” and cannot be traded, but are scheduled to unlock over three years.

According to crypto research firm Messari, since the July unlock event, insiders have unlocked nearly 90 million more Trump tokens, with Bloomberg’s Wealth Index attributing about 40% to the Trump family. These additional tokens are worth about $220 million, meaning the family’s total holdings in fact increased. It remains unclear whether the Trump family has sold any tokens since July.

Jim Angel, finance professor at Georgetown University, said: “Retail investors can only speculate. But the Trump family can not only speculate, they can create tokens, sell them, and make money from these transactions.”

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