Schiff Calls Trump Memecoins a Legal Form of Bribery
Schiff points to the steep drop in TRUMP and MELANIA and says the tokens offer a backdoor to Trump. The criticism is growing as the SEC, Congress, and White House ethics questions draw more attention.
Key Takeaways
- Peter Schiff says the Trump memecoins TRUMP and MELANIA create a legal path for bribery by giving buyers access to President Donald Trump.
- TRUMP and MELANIA are trading near their all-time lows, and many holders are underwater, according to Nansen data.
- The tokens are facing growing political and legal scrutiny amid strong crypto revenue, SEC guidance, and the proposed MEME Act.
Economist Peter Schiff has called the Trump memecoins TRUMP and MELANIA a legal form of bribery. In his view, people are not buying them as real investments, but as a way to gain access to President Donald Trump, even as both tokens trade close to their all-time lows.
Schiff Takes Aim at TRUMP
On the latest episode of The Peter Schiff Show, Schiff focused on how far both tokens have fallen. TRUMP was trading near $1.71 (€1.50) today, which is almost 98% below its January 2025 peak of $73.43 (€64). MELANIA was changing hands around $0.078 (€0.068), more than 99% below its $13.05 (€11) high. For many buyers, that leaves them with heavy paper losses, especially since both memecoins are now only slightly above their June record lows.
Schiff argued that some large buyers did not treat TRUMP as an investment at all. Instead, he said, they were using it as a way to get closer to the president. He also pointed to White House events for the token's biggest holders. “You don't have to give him money directly, just buy his token,” he said on the show.
Losses for Many Holders
The backlash is coming at a time when losses are clearly mounting for investors. According to Nansen data, cited by The Wall Street Journal, roughly two-thirds of holders of Trump's meme coin are currently in the red. For WLFI, a token tied to World Liberty Financial, about 85% of secondary-market buyers are also sitting on unrealized losses.
The timing is especially sensitive. A federal disclosure released this week showed that Trump brought in more than $1 billion (€0.9 billion) in crypto revenue in 2025. It also said CIC Digital collected about $636 million (€558 million) in meme coin royalties, while World Liberty Financial raised about $515 million (€452 million) through token sales. That has intensified criticism that the Trump family is making enormous sums from crypto while many retail buyers are left with losses.
Political and Legal Pressure Is Building
The Trump token structure has been under scrutiny for some time. In February 2025, the SEC issued a staff statement saying the regulator did not view most memecoins, including $TRUMP, as securities under federal law, but more like collectibles. That may narrow the securities-law debate, but it does not make the political concerns go away.
Around the same period, Representative Sam Liccardo introduced the MEME Act, a proposal that would bar presidents and other top officials from issuing or promoting cryptocurrencies. The main concerns were transparency and the risk of foreign influence. For European crypto readers, the bigger takeaway is how quickly memecoins can move from internet novelty to a serious political and legal flashpoint.
