Do you remember Trump's T1 phone? It took in 60 million dollars in deposits, but delivery is still nowhere in sight.

Donald Trump’s brand project is in trouble. T1 Mobile collected $60 million but failed to deliver, and the Trump Coin crashed by more than 90%, causing retail investors to lose $2 billion—reflecting a market crisis after political hype.

As political fervor cools, two major brand projects face severe challenges

Two Donald Trump (Donald Trump) brand projects launched for retail investors both ran into difficulties a few months after their initial debut. The two projects are a physical phone and a meme coin, and in the early days they both leveraged the market’s political frenzy around Donald Trump to attract large amounts of capital and attention. As time went on, the projects ran into a predicament: they were unable to convert the initial market momentum into actual product delivery or sustained investor demand.

$60 million in deposits sinks without a trace, T1 phone delivery drifts further off

Since its launch, the gold-colored Trump Mobile T1 phone has collected a $100 deposit from about 600,000 buyers, totaling as much as $60 million. More than 16 months after the project was introduced, as of May 2026, the company has still not delivered any confirmed devices to any buyer. These deposits were paid to the registered company T1 Mobile LLC, which manages Donald Trump-related intellectual property and trademarks through a limited liability agreement with DTTM Operations, LLC.

• Related news: Trump phone T1 debuts! Foreign media sharply criticize: image P’d, massive copying—basically a Chinese knockoff phone

The promised delivery date has been repeatedly delayed—pushed from late summer 2025 to November and December, then to the first quarter of 2026, and finally removed entirely from the official website. International Financial Times reported that the company amended its terms of service in April, redefining the deposits as a “conditional opportunity” to purchase the phone. It explicitly states that the company has no contractual obligation to deliver devices, does not guarantee that devices will be provided in the future, and provides no refund mechanism.

The Trump Coin myth collapses, retail frenzy evaporates with losses of more than $2 billion

Operating independently of the phone project, the meme coin Trump Coin ($TRUMP) also suffered a brutal crash and market shakeout. The token was issued in January 2025 at a price of $1.21. As retail speculators poured in during the presidential inauguration, the price surged to $73 within just 48 hours, before entering a long slide over the next 16 months. According to CoinGecko data, the trading price of Trump Coin has fallen to only $2.45, down about 91.7% from its historical high, with an annual decline of 82%.

Image source: CoinGecko—Trump Coin’s trading price is only $2.45, down about 91.7% from its historical high

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis estimates that retail investors have collectively lost roughly $2 billion on Trump Coin since its issuance. The token’s daily trading volume on DEX plunged from nearly $7 billion and a peak of about 400,000 traders on January 20, 2025 to just $16 million and 4,200 traders, with both daily trading volume and the number of unique participants down 99%. The average trade size shrank from about $2,700 to $260, and the share of wallets holding more than $1,000 worth of the token fell from 19% in the early issuance period to about 2%.

Heavy internal unlock pressure, VIP events can’t salvage market confidence

At present, the Trump Coin market is made up largely of retail investors holding small positions, with no major investors driving price action. At issuance, up to 80% of the supply was held by Donald Trump-related entities CIC Digital and Fight Fight Fight, and these tokens were expected to continue unlocking at roughly $500,000 per day through mid-2028.

At current price levels, the remaining internally unlocked tokens represent potential supply pressure of more than $2.5 billion. The unlock schedule has been clearly disclosed in the issuance terms, creating ongoing sell pressure during periods when buyer interest declines.

The team previously held multiple promotional events, such as a golf club dinner in May 2025 for the first 220 token holders, and a $100 million purchase plan promised by Tron founder Justin Sun, but any rebound rallies faded within weeks.

A crypto and business conference held at Mar-a-Lago on April 25, 2026 sparked political controversy. Senators including Elizabeth Warren sent letters demanding documents related to the role the president played in promoting the event. On-chain data shows that absorbing such a massive amount of potential supply would require a significant demand event.