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President-elect Trump On Friday night, it surprised the $3.5 trillion cryptocurrency industry by announcing the launch of its own crypto token, Trump Coin.
The launch is on its way to becoming one of the most successful in history. In less than 24 hours, the Trump dollar coin rose from just a few cents to about $30, a staggering 12,000 percent increase.
Now its market value is close to 6 billion dollars and it has had billions of dollars in trading volume. It is also now in the top 30 The biggest cryptocurrencies in the world based on market value
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The announcement came just days before Trump's inauguration on Monday. Trump personally announced the unveiling of the coin Social truth and X at 9:45pm ET on Friday, as industry bigwigs celebrated his return to the office at the inaugural Crypto Ball. Washington DC
Trump has promised to be a cryptocurrency lover and has promised to change that Biden administration So-called regulations with executive suppression of key industry players.
Attendees at the ball included CEOs of various crypto platforms, politicians, a handful of members of Trump's new cabinet, and his son, Donald Trump Jr.
President-elect Trump rings the opening bell on December 12, 2024 at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images/Getty Images)
When this news was released, some of those present were skeptical with the speculation that the president-elect's user accounts had been hacked. Donald Trump Jr., who likely knew about the announcement, was sequestered in an exclusive VIP section. It is unclear if he spoke to anyone there about the Trump coin.
“My new official Trump meme is here! It's time to celebrate everything we stand for: winning! Join the very special Trump community.” The post said Adding a link to a website where visitors can purchase a token using a debit or credit card.
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Trump has not commented on the coin since the initial announcement. Her son, Eric Trump, shared the post At X Saturday afternoon This coin is the “Hottest Digital Meme on Earth”. The president-elect's X account retweeted his son's comments.
Two spokespeople for Trump's transition team did not respond to requests for comment.
The TRUMP-branded coin is known as a “memecoin,” a highly speculative cryptocurrency that has no intrinsic utility and is often modeled after a joke or parody, such as PEPE. A cartoon frog whose market value is more than 7 billion dollars.
Skilled investors are often wary of memecoins, not just because of their extreme price volatility, but also because of their tendency to be associated with scammers looking to make a quick buck off eager investors. Last month, social media influencer Holly Welch, known as “Toa's Falcon Girl,” was sued by investors after the price of her meme coin, HawkCoin, crashed hours after its introduction, costing her millions in losses.
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According to the coin's website, Trump Organization affiliates CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight Fight LLC together own 80% of the coins in circulation, meaning owners will see significant profits as the token's price rises. The website does not mention who receives the profits.
However, the fact that Trump is making money from retail investors could raise red flags for regulators and senators like Elizabeth Warren, a staunch critic of the crypto industry.
Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville on July 27, 2024. (Brett Carlsen/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Last summer, another coin called DJT, rumored to be associated with the president-elect, was introduced on Solana's 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 been met with different reviews so far. Some of his loyal fans in the crypto community are praising the move, saying it promotes Solana's blockchain and will likely bring new users into the crypto space who want a piece of the first crypto president's token.
Others have publicly criticized it, with some even calling it a cash grab by Trump, who already received millions from the crypto industry on the campaign trail after he promised deregulation to It was interested.
But major exchanges like Kraken have already made this token available for trading on their platform. It is unclear whether Coinbase, the country's largest cryptocurrency exchange, will follow suit.
Meanwhile, Trump coin investors have already reaped huge returns from the rapid rise in price. According to financial newsletter The Kobeissi Letter, one trader made $1.1 million from an initial investment of $150,000, and another turned $800 into $310,000.
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“Whether you agree with the move or not, the fact is that the leader of the free world basically put his stamp of approval on Solana and meme culture,” says Frank Chaparro, director of special projects at Crypto Magazine. blocking
Perhaps coincidentally, Trump chose to introduce the coin meme on SEC Chairman Gary Gensler's last day on the job.
Gensler, who cracked down on digital assets, will be replaced by attorney Paul Atkins, Trump's cryptocurrency-friendly pick.