Trump meme tokens plunge over 90% as retail traders lose $4.3B while insiders and whales gain more than $1.8B.

The official $TRUMP and $MELANIA tokens have seen deep declines, and many retail traders now report large losses.

The two tokens have dropped more than 90 percent from their peaks, and wallets holding them show heavy unrealized losses across the market.

Sharp Declines in Token Prices

$TRUMP has dropped about 92% from its highest level, and $MELANIA has fallen about 99%. These sharp drops have left nearly two million wallets in loss positions.

Market data shows that the fall continued for several weeks, and selling pressure stayed steady during each move down.

Trump Memecoins: How Insiders Pocketed Millions While Retail Investors Lost Billions

The official $TRUMP and $MELANIA tokens have collapsed 92% and 99% from their all-time highs, respectively, and the damage to retail investors has been staggering. While insiders cashed out over… pic.twitter.com/qyWswzRgFv

— CryptoRank.io (@CryptoRank_io) February 20, 2026

Trading volumes also fell as prices dropped, and many retail holders stayed locked in losing positions.

Several analysts state that early buyers faced the hardest losses because many bought near the top.

These losses spread across a wide retail base, and many wallets now hold tokens worth only a small part of their entry cost.

Market trackers report more than $4.3 billion in retail losses across both tokens. The losses rose as the tokens moved away from peak prices.

One research group said the market had “the largest retail loss event for a political memecoin sector so far.”

Large Insider Gains and Concentrated Profits

Data firms report that insiders earned more than $600 million from fees and token sales.

These gains came during periods of strong demand, and insiders exited early positions while prices were elevated. For each dollar insiders made, retail traders lost about twenty dollars.

Reports also show that 45 whale wallets together extracted $1.2 billion.

These wallets moved large amounts of tokens during major market swings, and their exits often came before large drops.

Trading analysts state that these wallets had enough size to move markets during thin liquidity periods.

The spread between whale gains and retail losses widened as the market weakened. The pattern raised questions among observers about the structure of the token launches.

However, project teams did not comment on the trading behavior tied to these wallets.

Related Reading: Trump-Linked Crypto Activity Complicates CLARITY Act Push, Says Caitlin Long

Locked Tokens and Future Market Pressure

Research groups note that insiders still hold $2.7 billion in locked tokens until 2028.

These tokens may enter the market when the lock period ends, and traders are watching the unlock schedule closely.

The locked supply remains a key part of future trading expectations.

Analysts say that any release of these tokens could create new waves of selling. Many retail traders fear that new supply could weaken prices further.

Because of this, some holders are cautious about long-term recovery timelines.

The token teams have not provided updated plans for the locked holdings. Traders continue to monitor on-chain activity, and they wait for new disclosures.

For now, the market remains uncertain as the tokens continue to trade near their lows.

The post Trump Meme Tokens Crash: Retail Investors Lose $4.3B, Insiders Profit appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

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Filed under: Bitcoin - @ February 20, 2026 9:22 pm