Data Analysis Reveals Critical Profit Imbalance Between Creators and Ordinary Holders
The team behind the TRUMP meme coin has transferred tokens worth over $52 million to centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, sparking debate about the project’s motives and transparency. Developers claim these transactions are part of planned “liquidity operations,” but an investigation by CNBC and data from analytics platform Chainalysis paint a different picture. According to reports, project insiders have earned over $320 million in trading fees, while out of more than 2 million wallets holding the token, approximately 760,000 are at a loss. The token, created in honor of current US President Donald Trump, after soaring to $77 on its first trading day, has fallen by 86% and is now trading around $14.
Massive Transfers and Project Team Statements
On May 10, analytics platform Lookonchain discovered that the TRUMP team deposited 3.5 million tokens, valued at more than $52 million, across three major exchanges—Binance, OKX, and Bybit.
According to Lookonchain, Binance received the largest share at 1.5 million tokens, estimated at $22 million. OKX followed with 1 million tokens worth $15 million, while Bybit received just over 500,000 tokens valued at $7.5 million.
The TRUMP team claims the transfer aimed to strengthen liquidity and maintain stable market access. They explained that the tokens came from a pre-designated liquidity wallet created during the project’s launch. The team also assured users that all recently unlocked tokens had been relocked and would remain so for 90 days.
“Demand for $TRUMP has been tremendous. On May 10, 2025 at approximately 1:30 am UTC, 3.5 million $TRUMP will be moved onto exchanges to further support liquidity operations to help ensure continued availability of $TRUMP for both buyers and sellers. All of this liquidity is being provided from a liquidity wallet from the initial launch,” the team stated.
“Claims about ‘maintaining liquidity’ are often used by crypto project creators to justify large token sales,” notes Alex Petrov, cryptocurrency market analyst and founder of research platform TokenMetrics. “However, in the case of TRUMP, the scale of transfers and their timing raise questions, especially given the significant drop in token value since launch.”
Profit Distribution: Critical Imbalance
While the team maintains that the token transfers are part of routine liquidity management, recent findings suggest a different story.
A CNBC report, citing Chainalysis, revealed that the team behind TRUMP has earned over $320 million in trading fees. Moreover, investment outcomes vary substantially among token holders:
- Of more than 2 million wallets holding TRUMP, roughly 760,000 are currently at a loss.
- In sharp contrast, only 58 wallets have each made over $10 million, together netting about $1.1 billion in profits.
“We’re observing a classic distribution pattern in meme tokens: highly asymmetric profit distribution,” comments Maria Sokolova, finance professor and cryptocurrency market expert. “Such a significant imbalance, where less than 0.003% of wallets receive billions in profits while more than a third of holders suffer losses, points to possible structural problems in the token’s economy.”
This stark imbalance suggests that a small group of insiders may have captured most of the value generated by the token.
Price Dynamics and Long-term Prospects
According to BeInCrypto data, the TRUMP token surged to $77 on its first trading day. However, it has since plummeted by 86%, trading near $14 at the time of writing.
“Such price dynamics are typical for many meme coins, especially those associated with celebrities or trending topics,” explains Dmitry Volkov, head of research at cryptocurrency exchange CryptoExchange. “The initial surge is driven by hype and FOMO (fear of missing out), but long-term sustainability requires fundamental value or an active community, which is difficult to provide for purely speculative assets.”
The project’s close association with Trump, combined with uneven returns and insider profits, continues to cast doubt on its fairness and long-term viability.
“Projects based solely on the popularity of political figures or media personalities rarely demonstrate sustainability in the long term,” warns Sokolova. “Without real utility, technological innovations, or a strong community, such tokens typically experience a short-term hype cycle followed by a prolonged decline.”
Impact on Meme Coin Reputation and Lessons for Investors
The TRUMP case illustrates a broader problem in the meme coin market: lack of transparency, token concentration among insiders, and potential risks for retail investors.
“The TRUMP situation demonstrates classic information asymmetry in the cryptocurrency market,” says Alexander Mikhailov, expert in legal regulation of digital assets. “Retail investors often enter at the peak of hype without access to internal information about token distribution, team plans for unlocking and selling. This creates perfect conditions for potential pump-and-dump schemes.”
Experts recommend investors exercise particular caution when considering investments in meme coins, especially those related to political figures or current events:
- Carefully study token distribution – significant concentration among founders and early investors can be a warning sign.
- Analyze the lockup schedule – frequent unlocks of large token volumes can create constant selling pressure.
- Evaluate team transparency – public founders with verified reputations reduce fraud risks.
- Be skeptical of marketing claims – promises of “the next 1000x” or celebrity associations rarely correlate with long-term value.
“Ultimately, the TRUMP story reminds us that in unregulated markets, information advantage and insider access often lead to disproportionate profit distribution,” concludes Petrov. “For most retail investors, playing with meme coins resembles a lottery more than investing, where the odds are significantly skewed in favor of insiders.”
At the time of writing, the TRUMP team has not responded to requests for comments regarding the discovered imbalance in profit distribution and future plans for token liquidity management.