Just days before Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office, the incoming U.S. president made a bold move into the world of cryptocurrency. In a late Friday post on Truth Social, Trump announced the launch of his very own memecoin—TRUMP. Described as a joke cryptocurrency with no intrinsic value beyond speculation, memecoins like TRUMP often see wild price fluctuations driven by public sentiment.
The announcement instantly triggered a price surge, with the value of the newly released coins—20% of the total supply—skyrocketing to $14 billion. The following Sunday, Melania Trump joined in with her own memecoin, MELANIA, valued at nearly $1 billion at the time. This crypto venture, which involves Trump-affiliated entities controlling most of the TRUMP coin supply, connects the incoming president to a coin with a theoretical value of over $50 billion. Axios even calculated that TRUMP memecoin accounts for almost 90% of Trump’s net worth.
While some crypto enthusiasts have praised the Trump family’s foray into memecoins as a savvy way to convert fame into wealth, others have raised ethical concerns. For the TRUMP coin’s value to rise, others must lose money in the speculative game. Azeem Khan, cofounder of the Morph blockchain, described it as a “PvP game,” where someone’s gain comes at another’s expense.
Critics like Christopher Bendiksen from CoinShares argue that the memecoin venture is ethically problematic, especially as Trump’s supporters might bear the brunt of financial losses while the Trumps themselves profit. The Trump campaign’s press office did not respond to requests for comment.
The remaining 80% of TRUMP coins are controlled by two Trump-affiliated entities: CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight Fight LLC. These organizations stand to profit by gradually releasing the coins over the next three years, relying on “trading activities”—essentially selling off the coins. This strategy, while potentially lucrative for Trump’s organizations, risks driving down the value of the memecoin, affecting investors, including possibly many Trump supporters, who may see the value of their holdings diminish as supply increases without corresponding demand.
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