Donald Trump launched a meme coin before his second inauguration, seeing initial high value before dropping. His coin briefly surged after announcing an exclusive gala for top holders. Crypto success has reportedly made the Trumps hundreds of millions. The industry has thrived under Trump’s presidency, with regulatory scrutiny easing while donations flow in, including significant money from the crypto sector. Meanwhile, Trump’s family is expanding their influence in crypto.
On the eve of Donald Trump’s second inauguration, he ventured into uncharted territory for a U.S. president—launching a meme coin. The cryptocurrency, which largely thrives on speculation rather than practical use, spiked to an eye-watering $75.35 each but has since seen quite a drop. Interestingly, the day after Trump’s launch, Melania Trump introduced her own meme coin, starting at around $13 per token.
However, these tokens didn’t stay buoyant for long. Recently, Trump’s coin saw a brief rally, hitting $15.47. This spike followed the announcement that a select group of 220 meme coin holders would be gracing the president at a gala dinner in May—a formal affair, no less. While these coins lack tangible asset backing, they have turned out to be quite profitable for Trump and his family, with the Financial Times estimating they garnered over $350 million last month alone.
The ramifications of these meme coins, contrasting sharply with stablecoins linked to real-world values, reflect Trump’s transformation from a crypto skeptic to one of its staunchest supporters. He famously declared his ambition to make the U.S. the leading crypto capital during a major bitcoin conference in Nashville last July, a moment noted by The Intercept’s Matt Sledge. Subsequently, crypto firms began investing heavily in Trump, seeing him as an ally to their interests.
Under Trump’s presidency, the crypto sector appears to have flourished, despite broader economic issues. Many cryptocurrency companies have experienced a notable decrease in regulatory scrutiny, with the SEC seeming to ease off on various probes. Notably, Trump has proposed establishing a “bitcoin reserve” which has drawn a much friendlier attitude from lawmakers toward the crypto community.
In a recent FEC filing, it was disclosed that Trump raised a stunning $239 million for his inauguration, with around $18 million of that coming from the cryptocurrency sector alone. Meme coins are just a slice of the expanding crypto framework tied to Trump. His sons, Eric and Don Jr., recently acquired stakes in a bitcoin mining operation named American Bitcoin, and Trump Media is teaming up with Crypto.com to introduce a suite of financial products, including crypto for retail users.
Sledge highlights a striking turn of events: just weeks ago, the SEC ceased an investigation into Crypto.com, which now collaborates with Trump’s publicly traded media firm—an unprecedented shift in any president’s tenure. For a deeper understanding of how Trump is reshaping the cryptocurrency landscape and the implications for broader society, be sure to check out the latest episode of The Intercept Briefing on platforms like Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
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