Trump’s Entourage Holds Billions in Memecoins, But Realizing Profits May Be Tough

On-chain data shows that wallets likely controlled by Donald Trump’s entourage hold an astonishing amount of paper wealth in memecoins, particularly the Official Trump (TRUMP) and Melania Meme (MELANIA) tokens. These two Solana-based tokens, launched within the past few days, have surged in value, potentially bringing tens of billions in profits to the Trump family—at least on paper.

TRUMP, now trading at $42, has seen its market capitalization soar to $8.8 billion, making it the 25th-largest cryptocurrency, just behind assets like Polkadot (DOT) and Litecoin (LTC). MELANIA has also experienced significant growth, reaching a market cap of $945 million, putting it at 121st in the rankings of all tokens.

Large Holdings and Distribution

According to on-chain data, the TRUMP treasury wallet holds $35.5 billion worth of TRUMP tokens, along with $17.5 billion in other memecoins named after Trump family members, including Eric Trump and Kai Trump. One of the wallets connected to the launch of TRUMP holds $622 million in TRUMP and nearly $162 billion in various other tokens, including a sizable portion of a memecoin named after Vice President J.D. Vance, who did not publicly announce the launch of his token.

The MELANIA token is distributed across four primary wallets. Around 77% of the token supply is controlled by three wallets marked as belonging to the Melania team on Solscan, while a fourth wallet holds 3.7% of the total supply. Together, these wallets likely hold $4.8 billion worth of MELANIA tokens.

VANCE Token’s Ties to the Holdings

Significantly, two of the MELANIA wallets, labeled Melania Treasury and Melania Liquidity, which together hold 33.7% of the MELANIA token supply, also hold $295 billion in VANCE tokens. This represents about 25% of the total VANCE token supply, which is largely controlled by these wallets and the TRUMP launch wallet.

If we include the holdings in TRUMP and MELANIA, the Trump entourage’s on-chain assets are estimated to be worth around $40.9 billion. However, considering the additional tokens like VANCE, their total holdings could easily surpass $810 billion.

The Reality of Paper Wealth and Liquidity Issues

Despite the massive on-chain value, much of the wealth held by Trump’s team remains theoretical. Since they control such a large portion of each token’s supply, trying to liquidate these holdings would likely create immense selling pressure, causing prices to plummet. For example, with TRUMP‘s market cap at just $8.8 billion, it’s unrealistic for the Trump team to expect to cash out $35.5 billion from this token alone. The same challenges apply to MELANIA and VANCE tokens.

Tokens on networks like Solana are easy to create and can generate huge market caps with minimal actual trading activity. For instance, creating 1 trillion tokens and selling a handful for $1 each can technically create a $1 trillion market cap, even without significant market activity. VANCE currently has less than $2,000 in liquidity across two Solana-based pools, making it hard to buy or sell large amounts without impacting the price.

Delayed Profitability Due to Vesting Schedules

Both TRUMP and MELANIA projects come with vesting schedules, meaning the Trump team won’t be able to sell their tokens right away. The TRUMP team will need to wait at least three months before they can begin selling, and even then, they will only be able to sell a small portion at a time. The MELANIA token will start unlocking in less than 30 days, but the release will be gradual as well.

While the Trump entourage’s holdings in these memecoins represent a massive on-chain value, the ability to cash out remains limited by the market’s liquidity and the tokens’ vesting restrictions. Therefore, despite their paper wealth, the actual realization of these holdings may be much more complicated and less lucrative.