The incoming US first lady, Melania Trump, has followed her husband’s lead by launching a multibillion-dollar cryptocurrency meme coin, amid a rally in digital currencies as he prepares to return to the White House.
The price of the incoming president’s token, $Trump, had tripled to more than $70 (€67), giving it a total value of over $14 billion shortly after its launch on Friday. However, the launch of his wife’s coin, $Melania, pared back those gains as investors piled into her rival coin.
Cryptocurrencies have made significant gains since Donald Trump’s election victory in November as he has signalled plans to deregulate the sector.
On Monday, bitcoin – the world’s best known digital currency – reached a fresh record high of $109,241, up by more than 5 per cent. Dogecoin – which has been touted by Trump-supporting billionaire Elon Musk as the “people’s crypto” – gained nearly 5 per cent, while Ethereum climbed 3.5 per cent to $3,384.
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Trump, who will be inaugurated on Monday, posted on social media as his token launched: “It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump Community. GET YOUR $TRUMP NOW.”. According to the meme coin’s website, a Trump-owned company, CIC Digital LLC, will own 80 per cent of the token’s supply.
The token quickly broke into the top 20 of all cryptocurrencies. Such was the extent of the digital stampede, blockchain analysts said, it sucked liquidity from the rest of the market, causing other coins to fall in value, as traders sold their existing holdings to buy into Trump’s.
Melania Trump’s launch appeared to have a similarly unintended effect on the market, as some traders sold his meme coin for a new target. “The Official Melania Meme is live! You can buy $MELANIA now,” she posted on X, which was reposted by her husband.
Shortly after the launch of $Melania, the price of $Trump fell by more than 50%, from $75 to $30, before recovering steadily in subsequent hours to about $64. The market capitalisation of $Melania reached as high as $13 billion.
“This is beyond insane,” analysts at The Kobeissi Letter posted on X. “Less than 48 hours ago, Donald Trump launched $trump which just erased $7.5 billion in market cap in 10 minutes. In the minutes around the launch of Melania Trump’s token, we saw massive sell orders in $trump.”
A meme coin is a type of cryptocurrency inspired by trends such as internet memes with no inherent utility, and are often susceptible to price swings and crashes.
Meme coins have been described by traders as a “pure form of gambling” and akin to “buying a lottery ticket”.
While the notional value of the Trump-affiliated meme coins rose into the billions of dollars, in practice it would be difficult to realise that amount of money by selling the tokens without dramatically affecting the price. However, they could still allow Trump-controlled companies to make significant amounts of money as lock-up periods end over the next three to 12 months, while he is US president.
The $Melania meme coin is marketed by MKT World LLC, a Florida-registered company owned by Melania Trump, whose previous surname name was Knauss. The owners will be able to sell the meme coin themselves after 30 days.
Some crypto enthusiasts hailed the Trump meme coin’s release, saying it was symbolic of the incoming president’s support for an industry that felt unfairly targeted by the Biden administration. Trump has promised to usher in crypto-friendly regulations and picked its supporters for key government positions.
But it has also stoked concerns of conflicts of interest and criticisms over an attempt to personally profit from political office.
Trump released batches of crypto trading cards during his presidential campaign, generating more than $4 million for each release. Trump’s sons Eric and Donald Jr also launched a cryptocurrency venture, World Liberty Financial, in 2024, inciting concerns of an overt conflict of interest.
Donald Trump meme coin’s website included a disclaimer stating: “Trump memes are intended to function as an expression of support for, and engagement with, the ideals and beliefs embodied by the symbol ‘$Trump’ and the associated artwork, and are not intended to be, or to be the subject of, an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type.
“GetTrumpMemes.com is not political and has nothing to do with any political campaign or any political office or governmental agency.” Melania Trump’s meme coin website has a similar disclaimer. --Guardian
