President-elect Donald Trump released a cryptocurrency meme coin commemorating his response to the July 2024 assassination attempt just days before his second inauguration.
Trump’s Truth Social social media platform and X, the social network that was once known as Twitter, posted content on Friday night to introduce the new $TRUMP meme coin, a form of cryptocurrency. There are already 200 million $TRUMP coins available, with hopes to have one billion over the next three years, according to the coin’s website, gettrumpmemes.com.
According to the website, Trump is “the crypto president,” and the coin has the president-elect raising “his fist in the air and the iconic battle cry FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT,” which Trump uttered following the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
What is a meme coin?
A sort of cryptocurrency known as “meme coins” is typically based on online memes, which are frequently images or trends from popular culture. In the early 2010s, a well-known meme featuring the Japanese dog Kabosu gained popularity on the internet.
Then, in 2013, Kabosu was chosen to represent Dogecoin, which sprang to prominence as one of the most well-liked “meme stocks” during the COVID-19 retail trading boom. In April 2023, Elon Musk famously replaced the Twitter logo with the Dogecoin logo.
Musk has been appointed by Trump to co-lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) alongside businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.
What is the new Trump meme coin worth?
The Trump coin was trading at roughly $31 on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, according to cryptocurrency exchange GeckoTerminal. The website stated that the coin was worth 18 cents when trade began.
The market capitalization of Trump Coin was over $6.27 billion at midday on Saturday, with a fully diluted valuation of over $31.37 billion.
“Trump Coin has swept the cryptocurrency scene, possibly setting itself up to challenge Dogecoin’s dominance in the meme coin ecosystem,” writes Boaz Sobrado, a fintech analyst based in London, on Forbes.com.
“Axios’ reporters Ben Berkowitz and Brady Dale wrote that the stunning launch of $TRUMP caught the entire industry off-guard and speaks to both (Trump’s) personal influence and the ascendancy of cryptocurrency in his administration.”
They said that Trump’s entry into crypto quickly seemed to generate over $25 billion in revenue for him and his businesses.
The coin’s website states that 80% of the coins are jointly owned by CIC Digital LLC, a subsidiary of The Trump Organization, and Fight Fight Fight LLC, a co-owner of CIC Digital. According to Axios, those assets cannot be disposed of all at once because the coins are subject to a 3-year unlocking period.
There were “serious questions about the legitimacy” of the cryptocurrency when the Trump coin announcement went viral on social media. However, the website stated that the new endeavor is probably the result of the efforts of people who contributed to Trump’s “America First Collection” of digital trading cards.
Cryptocurrencies can be volatile, so investors should keep that in mind. The new coin’s terms and conditions require buyers to promise not to file any more class action lawsuits, which is an attempt to lower the company’s and issuers’ financial risk, according to Newsweek.
Trump merchandise includes NFTs, sneakers, Bibles, and now meme coins
This is only the most recent piece of merchandise that Trump has offered, along with Bibles, watches (including one that costs $100,000), victory cologne, and Trump sneakers.
The Moonshot app facilitates the purchase of Trump coin. During Trump’s presidency, additional cryptocurrency deals might be forthcoming. Paul Atkins, his choice to lead the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, is seen as more pro-crypto than departing Democratic SEC chief Gary Gensler.
Additionally, Trump is thinking of setting up a strategic reserve of bitcoin, the first successful digital currency.
According to Forbes’ Sobrado, Trump’s cryptocurrency transactions are a logical extension of his brand-building, which has included Trump casinos and hotels.
He noted that while the rise of a presidential meme coin may appear unusual, it fits a well-known pattern in the context of Trump’s history of brand-leveraging. The president’s capacity to make money off of his personal brand has been continuously proven. This time, it is the medium—and, strangely, the regulatory context that enabled it—rather than the approach that is new.