Trump launches meme coin, makes more than $25b overnight
United States President-elect, Donald Trump launched his own cryptocurrency overnight and immediately appeared to make more than $25 billion on paper for himself and his companies.
Controversial Mr. Trump announced the launch of $Trump, a Solano-based meme coin, on Friday through a social media post.
“My new official Trump Meme is Here! It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: Winning! Join my very special Trump community. Get your $Trump now. Go to gettrumpmemes.com,” Trump posted, alongside an iconic image of him charging supporters to “fight” after surviving an assassination attempt during his Pennsylvania campaign in Butler.
Moreover, since the announcement, $Trump has surged in popularity, reaching an $8 billion market cap in under three hours.
On its official website, a brief description of $Trump states, “On July 13, 2024, President Trump faced death and came up fighting! With his fist in the air and the iconic battle cry FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT, President Trump showed the world what a LEADER is made of.
“Now, you can get your piece of history. This Trump Meme celebrates a leader who doesn’t back down, no matter the odds. Join the Trump Community – we’re all about fighting for what matters.”
Recall that during his presidential campaign, Trump had pledged to position America as a global leader in cryptocurrency.
Why it matters:
The stunning launch of $TRUMP caught the entire industry off-guard, and speaks to both his personal influence and the ascendancy of cryptocurrency in his administration.
It also speaks to the nature of the crypto industry that someone could have $25 billion worth of something that literally did not exist 24 hours previously.
Catch up quick:
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Friday night, while Trump was reportedly hosting a “Crypto Ball” for the industry in Washington, the president-elect launched his own meme-linked cryptocurrency.
Though, while a number of Trump-branded meme coins popped up in recent months, none had his official endorsement until now.
By the numbers:
According to CoinGecko price data, $TRUMP rose more than 600% overnight and was trading just over $32 as of 11am ET Saturday.
That gives the coin a fully diluted market capitalization just north of $32 billion.
The meme website says 80% of the supply is held by Trump Organization affiliate CIC Digital, and a CIC co-owned entity called Fight Fight Fight LLC.
They are subject to a three-year unlocking schedule, which means they cannot dump all of their holdings at once.
The intrigue:
Trump has warmly embraced cryptocurrency as a concept and an industry, to the point that he is reportedly considering designating it a “national priority” as soon as this week, per Bloomberg.
