Investors lost billions on Trump’s memecoin. Another gala won’t fix that.

If Dems take Congress, Trump may face reckoning for “pay-to-play” memecoin galas. The next Donald Trump memecoin event could very well be the last. If Democrats retake control of Congress this fall, they may succeed in quickly passing legislation banning the president and his family from profiting from the shady token that has deeply disturbed government ethicists. Trump launched his official memecoin before his inauguration in January 2025, becoming the first president to release his own cryptocurrency. Since then, Trump’s family has reportedly made more than $280 million, while the memecoin’s value has tanked. Insiders explicitly linked to Trump affiliates who hold most of the tokens haven’t been harmed; they have cashed out at key moments, collected fees on every retail trade, and earned profits exceeding $600 million. But retail investors buying into the politicized token have lost more than $4.3 billion, CryptoRank reported in a widely shared analysis. Initially priced at $28.73, the tokens are worth substantially less today, losing about 93 percent of their value from their peak. The Melania Trump memecoin, launched at the same time, is the bigger failure, with a 99 percent l