The entities behind President Trump's crypto meme coin have made about 100 million dollars in trading fees in less than two weeks.
This is according to a Reuters report quoting estimates from three blockchain research businesses. This is a huge windfall for them. However, thousands of small traders have lost money.
The meme coin saw a rapid spike in value, reaching almost 14.5 billion dollars in just two days. However, it has fallen by two-thirds since then. By the end of January, the trading costs for the $Trump token had reached between 86 million and 100 million dollars.
This is according to an analysis of the blockchain - a decentralised database that records all transactions about Trump's meme coin. A Trump-owned firm, CIC Digital, is one of the companies behind the meme coin.
According to the official website, CIC Digital would "receive trading revenue derived from trading activities" of the meme coin.
However, the Reuters report showed it was unable to verify whether Trump has made any money personally. According to chain analysis, at least fifty of the wealthiest investors in the trump meme coin have made returns of over 10 million dollars each.
Small traders lose money on Trump memecoin
On the other hand, about 200,000 cryptocurrency wallets, predominantly with little assets, incurred losses on $Trump.
Being the first "Crypto President" and transforming the United States into the "Crypto capital of the world" are two of Trump's stated goals in his campaign promises to promote digital asset ownership and reforms.
Several influential people in his inner circle, cabinet, and administration are crypto holders or have connections to the crypto business. However, ethics experts and democratic party opponents have criticised the mix of huge sums of money and the opaqueness of his crypto projects.
Richard Briffault, a law professor at Columbia University, told Reuters, "There's an ethical concern that in effect he has the power to regulate his own business."
(With inputs from the agencies)