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The total value of the circulating memecoin supported by Donald Trump has hit more than 13bn billion, setting off accusations that the incoming president is exploiting his followers in the interest of making money.
Since its launch on Friday evening, the cryptocurrency of $TRUMP – in which the Trump family business holds a direct stake – has risen from about $6 to $67, making the value of the currency in circulation worth about $13.2bn, according to data from Coinbase on Sunday. .
The rapid increase in the value of the token has already made it one of the biggest “memecoins” of the crypto market, or tokens that represent the viral era of the internet. Originally developed as an inside business joke, memecoins have no business model or cash flow.
The number of new memecoins and their value has skyrocketed since Trump's election victory in November. Business executives and traders are betting that the new administration will adopt a friendly approach to cryptoassets.
Trump's coin was introduced on Friday evening on his Social Reality website shortly after a gala in Washington for crypto executives and politicians to celebrate his inauguration, which took place on Monday. The accompanying website features an image of Trump with his fist up and describes the coin as “the most official Trump meme”.
About 80 percent of the signs will be held by CIC Digital, which is related to the Trump Organization, and CIC co-owned a business called Fight Fight Fight LLC, according to the website of the sign – a reference to the last attempt to kill Trump. summer.
The insider-owned tokens will begin to open for sale in the next three to 12 months and are available for sale during Trump's four-year term.
“Trump having 80 percent and the time (time) of the launch of the hours before the inauguration is a victim and many will be hurt,” said Nick Tomaino, a venture capitalist, in X.
The launch took many in the crypto market by surprise but Binance, Coinbase and Kraken, three of the biggest cryptocurrency exchange, all from announcing plans to trade Trump's coin in their markets.
The Trump family has taken a growing interest in cryptocurrency. The US president-elect and his three sons they encouraged World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture founded by his long-term partners and others, while Trump's social media company did not succeed. tried to buy Bakkt, a cryptocurrency trading site.
On Saturday, Eric Trump described the Trump coin as “the hottest digital meme in the world” and said that World Liberty is “just getting started”.
Anthony Scaramucci, Trump's former communications director turned critic, was also hit by the launch. “Trump's memecoin stuff is not good for the (crypto) business. Don't fool yourself,” he wrote to X.
A spokesman for Trump's transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Jonathan Bixby, a crypto entrepreneur, said that Trump's memecoin could be the “opening gun to the so-called 'banana spot'”, a term used to sell cryptos where prices can rise rapidly.
“It gives legitimacy to these assets and invites every celebrity to come back in and start selling. The next few months will be dangerous. “
The price of Solana, the blockchain used by the Trump coin and many other memecoins, hit a record up $295 on Sunday. US regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission must decide in the coming months whether to allow US stock market funds to invest directly in Solana.
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