Peter Schiff argued Tuesday that the Donald Trump family’s billions in crypto gains came directly at the expense of retail investors, not from any actual value created by the ventures themselves.
Schiff Says Most Buyers Were Unsophisticated Loyalists Who Expected To Profit
Schiff laid out three categories of buyers in a post on X. Some purchased Trump-related crypto knowing they would lose money, treating the purchase as a political donation in disguise.
Others bought small amounts purely to show support with no expectation of profit.
The majority, Schiff argued, were ordinary Trump supporters who genuinely believed they were making legitimate investments and expected to make money.
“Their gains did not result from actual value creation, but from the losses suffered by investors who bought the overpriced crypto and shares they sold,” Schiff wrote.
He added that the Trump Organization faces an wave of lawsuits from investors seeking to recover losses, and that Democrats will exploit the most extreme cases in political advertising Republicans will struggle to defend.
The Numbers Behind Schiff’s Argument
A Reuters investigation estimated the Trump family generated roughly $2.3 billion from four crypto ventures, including World Liberty Financial (CRYPTO: WLFI), the TRUMP (CRYPTO: TRUMP) meme coin, American Bitcoin (NASDAQ:ABTC), and AI Financial.
Outside investors meanwhile suffered approximately $2.3 billion in realized and paper losses through the end of April.
Trump’s 2025 government financial disclosure showed more than $1.4 billion in crypto-related income, including nearly $800 million from World Liberty Financial and $635 million from Trump-branded meme coins.
A separate Forbes calculation estimated Trump gained about $3 billion from media and crypto ventures while investors collectively lost roughly $7 billion across Trump Media, World Liberty tokens, the TRUMP and MELANIA (CRYPTO: MELANIA) meme coins, and American Bitcoin.
Schiff Also Took Aim At The Trump Accounts Bitcoin Comments
Earlier this week, Trump told reporters at the White House that “something could happen” around including Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) in Trump Accounts after being asked by a reporter spotting Anthony Pompliano in the Oval Office.
Trump said he became a crypto supporter because if the US doesn’t have it, China will.
Schiff responded directly, alleging Trump’s crypto donors likely called in a favor to get him to float the idea.
“Trump’s already made a killing off crypto, but hopefully he won’t rip off Trump accounts too,” Schiff said.
A separate Nansen investigation found that nearly one million investors who bought the TRUMP meme coin collectively lost $3.81 billion, even as Trump earned more than $635 million from the same token in royalties alone.
Image: Shutterstock
Recent Comments