President-elect Trump launches own cryptocurrency meme coin ahead of inauguration
President-elect Trump took the $3.5 trillion cryptocurrency industry by surprise Friday night, announcing the launch of his own crypto token called $TRUMP coin.
The launch is on its way to becoming one of the most successful in history.
In less than 24 hours, $TRUMP's value rose from just a few cents to $33.87, representing a staggering price gain of over 18,000%. The token price has since come down to around $26 with a market cap of over $5 billion, putting it in the top 30 biggest cryptocurrencies in the world.
BILLIONAIRE BILL GATES DETAILS DINNER THAT LEFT HIM 'IMPRESSED' BY PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP
The announcement comes just days before Trump’s inauguration on Monday. Trump personally announced the unveiling of the coin via his Truth Social and X accounts at 9:45 p.m. ET Friday, while industry bigwigs were celebrating his return to office at the inaugural Crypto Ball in Washington, D.C.
Trump is promising to be the most crypto-friendly president in history and has vowed to reverse the Biden administration's regulatory crackdown on the sector, which has resulted in many U.S. companies moving operations offshore.
Ball attendees included CEOs of various crypto platforms, politicians, a handful of Trump’s new Cabinet members and his son, Donald Trump Jr.
When the news broke, many attendees were skeptical, speculating that the president-elect’s accounts had been hacked. Donald Trump, Jr., who presumably knew about the announcement, was cordoned off in an exclusive VIP section. It’s unclear whether he spoke to anyone there about the token launch.
"My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE! It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump Community," the post said, adding a link to a website where visitors can buy the token using a debit card or with crypto.
YOU CAN BE A NEIGHBOR TO DONALD TRUMP IN PALM BEACH FOR $15 MILLION
Trump has not commented on the coin since the original announcement. His son, Eric Trump, posted on X Saturday afternoon that the coin is the "hottest digital meme on earth." The president-elect’s X account reposted his son’s comments.
Two spokespeople for the Trump transition team did not respond to requests for comment.
The coin, which goes by the trading ticker TRUMP, is known as a "meme coin," a highly speculative kind of cryptocurrency that has no inherent utility and is often created based on a joke or parody, like $PEPE, a meme of a picture of a cartoon frog that has a market cap of over $7 billion.
Sophisticated investors are often wary of meme coins, not just because of their wild price swings, but their propensity for being associated with scammers looking to make a quick buck off exuberant investors. Last month, social media influencer Haliey Welch, better known as the "Hawk Tuah Girl," was sued by investors when the price of her meme coin, $HAWK, crashed within hours of its introduction, prompting heavy investor losses.
TRUMP INAUGURAL: THESE COMPANIES ARE AT THE TOP WITH DONATIONS
According to the coin’s website, affiliates of the Trump Organization, CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight Fight LLC, collectively own 80% of the coins in circulation, meaning as the price of the token rises, the owners will see significant gains. The website does not mention who specifically will be on the receiving end of the profits.
However, the fact that Trump is making money off retail investors could raise red flags for regulators and senators like Elizabeth Warren, a fierce critic of the crypto industry, and of Trump himself.
Last summer, another meme coin, $DJT, rumored to be associated with the President-elect, was introduced on the Solana blockchain. The coin was created by convicted fraudster "Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli and not Trump or his son, Barron, as Shkreli had claimed.
Trump’s announcement has received mixed reviews so far. Some of his loyal fans in the crypto community are praising the move, saying it promotes the Solana blockchain and will likely bring new users into the crypto space who want to own a piece of the first crypto-friendly president’s token.
Others are publicly criticizing it, some even calling it a gratuitous cash grab by Trump, who has already received millions from the crypto industry in exchange for promises of deregulation, and making America the ‘crypto capital of the planet.’
But major exchanges, such as Kraken, are already making the token available to trade on their platforms. It’s unclear whether Coinbase, the nation's largest cryptocurrency exchange, will follow suit.
Meanwhile, investors in Trump's token have already made massive returns from the rapid price increase. One trader made $1.1 million from an initial investment of $150,000, and another turned $800 into $310,000, according to the financial newsletter The Kobeissi Letter.
"Whether you agree with the move or not, the fact of the matter is that the leader of the free world just essentially put his stamp of approval on Solana and on meme culture," said Frank Chaparro, director of special projects at crypto publication The Block.
Perhaps coincidentally, Trump chose to introduce the meme coin on SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s final day in office.
Gensler, who cracked down on digital assets, will be replaced by Trump’s more crypto-friendly pick, lawyer Paul Atkins.