Trump’s USD1 stablecoin is off to a rocky start, data shows

Trump’s USD1 stablecoin is off to a rocky start, data shows


WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES – MAY 30: United States President Donald Trump departs at the White House to U.S. Steel’s Irvin Works in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania in Washington D.C May 30, 2025.

Celal Gunes | Anadolu | Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s new dollar-pegged stablecoin is off to a sluggish start, with muted inflows and little organic demand, new data shows.

The USD1 token — launched by Trump’s decentralized finance firm, World Liberty Financial — has so far failed to break out of a narrow speculative niche, according to Kaiko analyst Adam Morgan McCarthy.

“Trump is trying to launch this stablecoin in a massive, growing market that’s a quarter of a billion dollars in size already, and his token’s only really been successful so far on a niche market of a niche market,” McCarthy said. “It hasn’t managed to make the leap from decentralized staging platforms like PancakeSwap into centralized venues that serve the mass market.”

The U.S. dollar-backed USD1 saw a burst of activity on PancakeSwap, a decentralized exchange built on Binance’s smart chain, with average daily on-chain volumes topping $14 million following its listing on Binance May 22, according to new research from Kaiko. Volume on Binance itself has lagged at $8 million.

The coin’s limited reach is compounded by a lack of real users.

Kaiko’s data confirms that more than half of USD1’s liquidity on PancakeSwap comes from just three wallets — a level of concentration that raises questions about where actual demand is coming from.

“These were the market making wallets, so they’re probably tied to USD1 and the World Liberty Financial team, so not actually an organic volume,” added McCarthy.

Donald Trump Jr. told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Tuesday that USD1 is a strategic asset, not just for the family, but for U.S. monetary policy.

“I think the stablecoins are actually going to be the savior of dollar hegemony in the world, not a detractor from it,” he said, pointing to companies like Tether, which rank among the world’s largest holders of U.S. Treasurys.

Watch CNBC's full interview with 1789 Capital President Omeed Malik and Partner Donald Trump Jr.

But unlike stablecoin giants like Tether and Circle, USD1 has yet to demonstrate broad-based adoption. Ripple’s new RLUSD token, for example, has averaged around $50 million in daily centralized exchange volume — far outpacing USD1, which remains thinly traded.

According to Kaiko analysts, one major reason that USD1 lags rivals is the absence of institutional partners or promotional incentives that typically generate early traction in the stablecoin market.

Beyond its stablecoin, World Liberty separately launched its own native token called WLFI, which also had a tepid debut but ultimately raised at least $550 million through token sales. World Liberty funnels 75% of profits to family-related entities.

The $TRUMP coin’s failure to generate meaningful traction on Binance is particularly notable, given the family’s ties to the Abu Dhabi–based MGX fund, which used USD1 for a $2 billion investment in March.

Kaiko’s McCarthy told CNBC that this kind of deal would typically boost visibility and volume — especially if paired with incentives like trading fee discounts or promotional listings.

“But with USD1, nothing’s happened with that,” McCarthy said. “It hasn’t caused any sort of velocity of the asset on-chain.”

The Trump family’s crypto ventures continue to draw scrutiny, with the $TRUMP meme token recently holding a contest for top holders to get a “special VIP tour” and have dinner with the president.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., described the winner’s dinner as “an orgy of corruption” and accused the president of using the presidency “to make himself richer through crypto.”

More than $5.2 billion in realized gains in the $TRUMP coin flowed to the top wallets, according to Inca Digital, while over 590,000 collectively lost $3.9 billion.

The gap between winners and losers has raised concerns about wealth concentration and retail trader exploitation — dynamics that critics say mirror the very financial system that crypto is trying to disrupt.

WATCH: Trump Media’s bitcoin bet expands family’s growing crypto empire

Trump Media’s bitcoin bet expands family’s growing crypto empire



Source

Nintendo Switch 2 hype leads to shortages, special store opening hours
Technology

Nintendo Switch 2 hype leads to shortages, special store opening hours

People wait outside the Nintendo Store for the release of the Nintendo Switch 2 in New York City, U.S., June 4, 2025. Kylie Cooper | Reuters Nintendo‘s flagship Switch 2, the successor to one of its most popular consoles, went on sale on Thursday with excitement and hype from fans leading to special store opening […]

Read More
Involution or evolution? China wants to stop the EV price war, but analysts are doubtful
Technology

Involution or evolution? China wants to stop the EV price war, but analysts are doubtful

A worker checks a finished vehicle on the production line for electric vehicle maker Zeekr at its factory on May 29, 2025 in Ningbo, China. Kevin Frayer | Getty Images News | Getty Images BEIJING — As China’s electric vehicle price war intensifies, its top leaders have sounded the alarm with high-profile calls to halt […]

Read More
British fintech Wise to move primary listing to the U.S. in blow to London stock exchange
Technology

British fintech Wise to move primary listing to the U.S. in blow to London stock exchange

The Wise logo displayed on a smartphone screen. Pavlo Gonchar | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty Images LONDON — British money transfer firm Wise on Thursday said that it plans to move its primary listing location to the U.S., dealing a fresh blow to the London stock exchange. Wise said in its full-year earnings […]

Read More