US President Donald Trump's new cryptocurrency memecoin soared to a market value of more than $10 billion following his inauguration on Monday, but slid below $7 billion on Tuesday.
Launched on Friday night, the $TRUMP memecoin surged in value from less than $10 on Saturday morning to as high as $74.59 before giving up some of its gains on Monday. The token was last trading at $33.38, according to cryptocurrency price tracker CoinMarketCap.
First lady Melania Trump's crypto memecoin, $MELANIA, recorded a drop in market cap to $735 million from $2 billion and was trading at $3.91.
Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, hit a record of $109,071 on Mr Trump's inauguration day, but later pared those gains and was last trading at $101,847 at 9.30am UAE time on Tuesday.
The digital assets soared as the market was expecting an executive order supporting its growth, but Mr Trump instead focused on topics such as immigration, trade, energy and TikTok.
The website for the $MELANIA token, which was announced on Sunday, said it was not supposed to be an investment opportunity or security. “Melania memes are digital collectibles intended to function as an expression of support for and engagement with the values embodied by the symbol MELANIA,” it added.
“Melania Memes are intended for collecting and entertainment purposes only. They are not financial instruments or investments. Always do your own research and never invest more than you can afford to lose.”
“The official Melania meme is live!” Ms Trump said on X. “You can buy $MELANIA now.”
A memecoin is a cryptocurrency that is, by default, not intended to be taken seriously. Coinbase describes them as tokens inspired by internet memes or trends, “typically supported by enthusiastic online communities … generally intended to be light-hearted and fun”.
Memecoins are typically characterised by their volatile tendencies. But despite their inherent risk, memecoins have grabbed attention because of their potential for high returns and their “role in digital culture”, Coinbase added.
The most famous memecoin is Dogecoin, the token with a logo that resembles a Japanese shiba inu. It was made famous by Tesla chief executive and Trump ally Elon Musk.
There are more than 3,700 memecoins, CoinMarketCap said, some with amusing names. Among the top performing memecoins are HarryPotterObamaSonic10Inu, Catgirl, Jesus Coin, Pooh, Doge Eat Doge, Elon, Super Trump Coin and Maga, whose unit is “Trump”.
The website associated with $MELANIA shows 15 per cent of the tokens will be available for public distribution. Melania Memes are minted on the Solana blockchain network.
Users can buy Melania memes through the official website, using either a debit card or cryptocurrency. They can also find a reliable centralised exchange where the coin is listed, such Binance and CoinMarketCap. Or people can use a decentralised exchange that supports the blockchain to buy the Melania coin.
The launch of $MELANIA briefly tanked her husband’s meme coin, $TRUMP, by as much as 50 per cent before it regained some of its value. The coin launched by Mr Trump on his Truth Social platform attracted billions of dollars of trading volume.
Trading under the “Trump” ticker on the Solana blockchain, the token’s market value surged to $15 billion at the weekend, data from CoinMarketCap showed, after the Republican leader touted it on his social media accounts on Friday.
The website for the US President's token described it as the “only official Trump meme”. The project’s art features an illustration of Mr Trump with a fist in the air.
The small print on the website states that the token is not intended to be an “investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type”.
Major exchanges including Coinbase, Binance and Kraken said at the weekend that they intended to list the token on their platforms.
About 80 per cent of the tokens will be held by CIC Digital, which is affiliated with the Trump Organisation, and a CIC co-owned business called Fight Fight Fight, the token’s website said.
The tokens held by insiders will start to be unlocked for sale over the next three to 12 months and will available to be sold during Mr Trump’s four-year term in the White House.
Mr Trump was once a crypto sceptic. In his first term, he derided Bitcoin and its peers as “not money”, “based on thin air” and something that “can facilitate unlawful behaviour, including drug trade and other illegal activity”. He also described it a scam after he left office in 2021.
In the months before and after his election, he said he was considering an executive order designating cryptocurrencies as a “national priority”.
The number of new memecoins and their value have jumped since Mr Trump’s election victory in November. Industry executives are hoping the incoming administration will adopt a friendlier approach to crypto assets.
Along with his sons, Mr Trump has also endorsed World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture set up by his longtime business partners and others.
On Saturday, Mr Trump’s son Eric described the $TRUMP coin as “the hottest digital meme on Earth” and said World Liberty was “just getting started”. He said at the Bitcoin Mena conference in Abu Dhabi last month that Bitcoin would hit $1 million and the administration “will fight like hell” to keep the crypto momentum going.
