"Can't defy gravity forever": Assets linked to Trump suffer amid Wall Street's downturn
The decreases highlight the transformation that has shaken the U.S. financial markets in recent weeks.
TroibNews 
Wall Street is experiencing a significant decline that is affecting all risky assets, including those associated with President Donald Trump.
Investments linked to the Trump empire, such as the president's majority stake in Trump Media & Technology Group and the memecoins associated with him and First Lady Melania Trump, have seen their values drop since Inauguration Day, reflecting a broader trend of selloffs in speculative market segments.
Shares of Trump Media, the parent company of Truth Social, have decreased by 36 percent. The $TRUMP memecoin, launched by the president and his team shortly before his inauguration, has plummeted by 64 percent, while the $MELANIA memecoin has fallen steeply from a peak of over $13 to below $1.
“Trump was an amazing catalyst for all of the Trump names,” Tuttle Capital Management CEO Matthew Tuttle noted. “But what happens is all this stuff becomes a bubble looking for a pin, and eventually, the bubble always finds the pin. These things can’t defy gravity forever.”
These declines highlight the recent upheaval in the U.S. financial markets, which has disrupted the record highs Trump often celebrates.
For much of the past two years, investors were willing to take substantial risks on various assets, including technology stocks, cryptocurrencies, and memestocks, which are shares of companies like Trump Media and GameStop that often rise and fall based on trader sentiment. However, in the current uncertain economic and policy climate, investors have begun to shed assets indiscriminately.
The Magnificent Seven, a group of major technology stocks that helped elevate the S&P 500 to record levels over the last two years, has seen a 6 percent decrease this year, entering correction territory, defined as a decline of 10 percent or more. Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, is down 23 percent from its all-time high of over $109,000 reached on Inauguration Day. Some Wall Street veterans are warning that this selloff may just be the beginning.
“We’re past due” for a market-clearing event, stated Julian Klymochko, who heads the Calgary-based investment firm Accelerate Financial Technologies and has followed Trump Media’s stock closely. “There’s a significant amount of excess froth that needs to be worked through.”
The Trump Media and Trump Organization did not provide comments on the current situation. On Tuesday, Eric Trump, the president’s son, tweeted, “Buy the dips!!!”
Nevertheless, the market challenges may represent a necessary recalibration that could stabilize soon. Despite concerns over potential inflation impacts from Trump’s economic plans, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measurement met expectations when released on Friday, alleviating some investor anxiety and leading to a stock market rally.
“The stock market’s recent declines are simply garden variety volatility,” explained Robert Ruggirello, founder of Brave Eagle Wealth Management.
Ruggirello pointed out that February tends to be a volatile month for stocks, highlighting the gains made in January. “We do not believe that the recent market declines are a sign of some sort of deeper bear market on the horizon.”
Trump's estimated net worth stands at $5.1 billion, according to Forbes, which attributes the majority of his wealth to real estate and his significant stake in Trump Media. Transparency about his business dealings is limited since the Trump Organization is privately held. However, Trump’s stake in Trump Media has dropped from $4.6 billion at the time of his inauguration to $2.8 billion currently, largely due to declining share prices.
Since its debut last year, Trump Media, which Trump majority-owns, has seen its shares experience significant fluctuations. The stock has struggled to regain stability after peaking at $79.38 last March.
The volatility associated with memecoins, acknowledged by regulators, has also led to significant declines in $TRUMP and $MELANIA, causing distress among some traders.
Data from crypto analytics firm Chainalysis showed that over 885,000 crypto wallets incurred losses trading $TRUMP, while 301,000 wallets suffered losses on $MELANIA. Although it’s unclear how many traders have exited the market, the total recorded losses exceed $2.5 billion across these wallets.
Conversely, 1.2 million wallets reported profits from trading these tokens, with their collective earnings exceeding $8 billion.
Additionally, the Trump family and its partners have generated nearly $350 million in crypto through fees from memecoin trading and transactions involving $TRUMP tokens, according to Chainalysis.
For Tuttle, whose firm is looking to launch a fund promising double returns on Trump Media shares, the current selloff epitomizes a new investing landscape. Individual investors, who previously played a minor role, have emerged as a formidable presence since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, often returning to high-risk investments even after experiencing substantial losses.
“They get juiced about stuff and they run things up and then they get their butt kicked — and then they do it again,” Tuttle remarked. “So the Trump names and all of the retail favorites just ran up massively after the election. All of this stuff just got too ahead of itself.”
Emily Johnson for TROIB News
Investments linked to the Trump empire, such as the president's majority stake in Trump Media & Technology Group and the memecoins associated with him and First Lady Melania Trump, have seen their values drop since Inauguration Day, reflecting a broader trend of selloffs in speculative market segments.
Shares of Trump Media, the parent company of Truth Social, have decreased by 36 percent. The $TRUMP memecoin, launched by the president and his team shortly before his inauguration, has plummeted by 64 percent, while the $MELANIA memecoin has fallen steeply from a peak of over $13 to below $1.
“Trump was an amazing catalyst for all of the Trump names,” Tuttle Capital Management CEO Matthew Tuttle noted. “But what happens is all this stuff becomes a bubble looking for a pin, and eventually, the bubble always finds the pin. These things can’t defy gravity forever.”
These declines highlight the recent upheaval in the U.S. financial markets, which has disrupted the record highs Trump often celebrates.
For much of the past two years, investors were willing to take substantial risks on various assets, including technology stocks, cryptocurrencies, and memestocks, which are shares of companies like Trump Media and GameStop that often rise and fall based on trader sentiment. However, in the current uncertain economic and policy climate, investors have begun to shed assets indiscriminately.
The Magnificent Seven, a group of major technology stocks that helped elevate the S&P 500 to record levels over the last two years, has seen a 6 percent decrease this year, entering correction territory, defined as a decline of 10 percent or more. Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, is down 23 percent from its all-time high of over $109,000 reached on Inauguration Day. Some Wall Street veterans are warning that this selloff may just be the beginning.
“We’re past due” for a market-clearing event, stated Julian Klymochko, who heads the Calgary-based investment firm Accelerate Financial Technologies and has followed Trump Media’s stock closely. “There’s a significant amount of excess froth that needs to be worked through.”
The Trump Media and Trump Organization did not provide comments on the current situation. On Tuesday, Eric Trump, the president’s son, tweeted, “Buy the dips!!!”
Nevertheless, the market challenges may represent a necessary recalibration that could stabilize soon. Despite concerns over potential inflation impacts from Trump’s economic plans, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measurement met expectations when released on Friday, alleviating some investor anxiety and leading to a stock market rally.
“The stock market’s recent declines are simply garden variety volatility,” explained Robert Ruggirello, founder of Brave Eagle Wealth Management.
Ruggirello pointed out that February tends to be a volatile month for stocks, highlighting the gains made in January. “We do not believe that the recent market declines are a sign of some sort of deeper bear market on the horizon.”
Trump's estimated net worth stands at $5.1 billion, according to Forbes, which attributes the majority of his wealth to real estate and his significant stake in Trump Media. Transparency about his business dealings is limited since the Trump Organization is privately held. However, Trump’s stake in Trump Media has dropped from $4.6 billion at the time of his inauguration to $2.8 billion currently, largely due to declining share prices.
Since its debut last year, Trump Media, which Trump majority-owns, has seen its shares experience significant fluctuations. The stock has struggled to regain stability after peaking at $79.38 last March.
The volatility associated with memecoins, acknowledged by regulators, has also led to significant declines in $TRUMP and $MELANIA, causing distress among some traders.
Data from crypto analytics firm Chainalysis showed that over 885,000 crypto wallets incurred losses trading $TRUMP, while 301,000 wallets suffered losses on $MELANIA. Although it’s unclear how many traders have exited the market, the total recorded losses exceed $2.5 billion across these wallets.
Conversely, 1.2 million wallets reported profits from trading these tokens, with their collective earnings exceeding $8 billion.
Additionally, the Trump family and its partners have generated nearly $350 million in crypto through fees from memecoin trading and transactions involving $TRUMP tokens, according to Chainalysis.
For Tuttle, whose firm is looking to launch a fund promising double returns on Trump Media shares, the current selloff epitomizes a new investing landscape. Individual investors, who previously played a minor role, have emerged as a formidable presence since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, often returning to high-risk investments even after experiencing substantial losses.
“They get juiced about stuff and they run things up and then they get their butt kicked — and then they do it again,” Tuttle remarked. “So the Trump names and all of the retail favorites just ran up massively after the election. All of this stuff just got too ahead of itself.”
Emily Johnson for TROIB News
