Traders who bet on long term growth for US President Donald Trump’s newly launched cryptocurrency have cumulatively lost billions of dollars following a sustained crash in the meme coin’s value, the New York Times reported.
More than 800,000 people who bought the coin have suffered losses in total worth more than $2 billion, the NYT report said. It noted that the Trump family and its partners had, meanwhile, earned nearly $100 million in trading fees since the coin was launched three days before the presidential inauguration.
The meme coin — $Trump — was launched with an opening sale price of just 18 cents and went on to hit a peak of $75 per token within two days. It has since continued to lose value, however, and is currently trading at a value of about $16 per token.
The NYT report also noted that some early traders who bought and sold the coin quickly made big gains, including one unknown trader who minted $109 million in just two days. Some of those early traders appeared to be based in China, it added, citing a post from Chinese crypto platform Lianzhi.
Experts who spoke to NYT cited concerns about Trump publicising his own cryptocurrency while pushing to end regulatory scrutiny of the industry. “The president is participating in shady crypto schemes that harm investors while at the same time appointing financial regulators who will roll back protections for victims and who may insulate him and his family from enforcement,” one expert said.
Read the full report: The New York Times
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