Trump’s meme coin gamble under fire

A new controversy is brewing in the crypto world, and at its center is none other than U.S. President Donald Trump.

Donald Trump’s meme coin, Official Trump (TRUMP), has sparked controversy with a rapid rise and fall in value, attracting attention from Public Citizen.

The group has filed a formal complaint with the Department of Justice and the Office of Government Ethics, alleging that Trump may have violated federal laws by promoting his own meme coin.

Public Citizen argues that because the coin is marketed as a “meme” with no promised value or return, buyers are essentially just giving Trump money, and he is getting “rich.”

If that’s the case, this isn’t an investment—it’s a gift, and under the law, that’s a problem.

According to Public Citizen, on Jan. 20 and 21—after being sworn in as President—Trump took to social media, both X and Truth Social, to repost messages promoting his meme token.

The group highlights Trump’s official meme coin and its legal implications in a statement:

On Jan. 17, just days before his inauguration as the 47th President of the United States, Trump’s official meme coin, Official Trump (TRUMP), launched to the public.

Adding to the frenzy, his wife, Melania Trump, also introduced her own meme coin—Official Melania Meme (MELANIA) — which quickly attracted billions in liquidity.

Within 48 hours, the TRUMP token skyrocketed in value, reaching a staggering $15 billion market cap before crashing to around $3.7 billion as of Feb. 6, marking a significant decline.

On Feb. 5, Public Citizen filed a formal complaint with the Department of Justice and the Office of Government Ethics, alleging that by promoting his own meme coin, Trump may have violated federal laws.

The complaint stems from Trump’s actions on Jan. 20 and 21, when he reposted messages on social media promoting his meme token after being sworn in as President.

The Constitution’s Emoluments Clause prohibits U.S. presidents from accepting money or gifts from foreign governments. With crypto’s decentralized and often anonymous nature, there is no way to verify who is buying Trump’s token.

This, Public Citizen warns, creates a national security risk. If foreign entities are quietly funnelling money to Trump under the guise of meme coin purchases, there is no system in place to detect it — let alone stop it.

A billion-dollar token and a brewing political debacle

Records show that CIC Digital LLC, a company linked to The Trump Organization and controlled by a revocable trust, holds 80% of the total supply of 999.99 million TRUMP tokens.

Since Donald Trump is the sole beneficiary of this trust, any financial gains from the token — whether intentional or not—ultimately flow directly to him.

Crypto.news previously reported that on the day of Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, Forbes estimated his net worth at $6.7 billion.

On that same day, the total value of his stake in the TRUMP token — 800 million unlocked tokens — was estimated at $42.6 billion based on then-current prices. At its peak price of $75, the valuation of Trump’s stake soared past $62 billion, nearly ten times his declared net worth.

However, as of this writing, the price of the TRUMP token has declined, bringing the estimated value of his stake down to $15 billion.

While significantly lower than its peak, TRUMP token’s valuation remains more than double his net worth, making the financial entanglement between his political influence and personal assets an ongoing point of interest.

And that’s not the only red flag. Reports indicate that 94% of the TRUMP and MELANIA tokens are held by just 40 wallets — a level of concentration that could easily be exploited for insider trading or pump-and-dump schemes.

7/8 Whales dominate holdings – as of yesterday, around 40 whales holding $10M+ of $TRUMP/ $MELANIA tokens account for 94% of the holdings of $TRUMP or $MELANIA tokens. pic.twitter.com/1wKeEqBfMH

Meanwhile, market volatility has already hit the coin hard. TRUMP token’s value has dropped 32% in the past week, a decline tied to broader crypto turbulence and Trump’s economic policy decisions, including proposed tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico.

However, some of these tariffs have since been temporarily rolled back, leading to market recovery.

Legal grey areas and political pressure

Public Citizen’s filing follows growing scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers. On Jan. 22, Senator Elizabeth Warren called for an investigation into Trump’s expanding ties to meme coins.

Around the same time, Representative Gerald Connolly raised concerns over Trump’s financial dealings with World Liberty Financial (WLFI),