Donald Trump’s memecoin dream threatens to turn into a nightmare for rookie traders. And some crypto bros are blaming the wife.
Just look at the chaos. After a meteoric debut, $TRUMP crashed from $73 to $40, wiping out $7 billion in hours, according to Coingecko, after Melania Trump dropped a memecoin of her own.
Her surprise launch of $MELANIA during Asia morning hours on 20 January had traders dumping $TRUMP to chase her token.
“Please fire whoever recommended going forward with the Melania [token] launch today,” said Ryan Selkis, founder of crypto intelligence Messari and a Trump supporter, accusing them of not considering 47’s interests.
$TRUMP has since clawed back to $53.5 at the time of publishing.
Read more: Trump and crypto: Will the rising tide lift all boats?
Boom to bust
$TRUMP was on fire after its 17 January debut at the crypto ball. It surged past memecoin heavyweights like Shiba Inu and Bonk, with some traders flipping millions in minutes.
Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain reported one account flipping $1 million into $70 million in under four hours, stroking major FOMO.
Crypto peeps were bopping but the latest move has also drawn sharp criticism, with concerns ranging from ethical issues to insider trading accusations.
None of those concerns have stopped major exchanges like Binance, Kraken, Robinhood and others from listing $TRUMP. But $MELANIA, with a $1.3 billion market cap compared to $TRUMP’s $10 billion, remains sidelined.
Look who’s richer
On paper, Trump has gotten richer from all this memecoin action. His reported pre-crypto wealth of $7 billion, has got a virtual boost, even if Trump is not claiming so yet. Several observers have already made that connection.
Two companies, CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight Fight LLC, linked to Trump, hold 80% of $TRUMP tokens — worth $40 billion at current prices. Three years ago, CIC Digital also launched the Trump NFT trading cards and was mentioned in Trump’s 2023 public tax filing.
MONIIFY emailed Trump’s team to check his connections to those companies but didn’t get an immediate response.
Gamble, don’t invest
Memecoins are often tied to get-rich-quick schemes, but within the crypto space, they are a growing movement focused on culture and community. It’s a subject we’ve touched on before.
Trump’s token launch marks a turning point for memecoins, Alvin Kan, COO at Bitget Wallet, tells MONIIFY. He expects it to spur other celebrity-backed projects.
Others are more cautious. Balaji Srinivasan, former a16z partner and ex-Coinbase CTO, sums it up: memecoins like $TRUMP are lotteries, not investments. The price spikes, crashes and leaves late buyers holding the bag.
Don’t invest what you can’t afford to lose, he warns.
Read more: AI tokens are coming for memecoins’ throne in 2025
Buy $TRUMP?
$TRUMP’s market cap is around $10 billion, but its fully diluted valuation sits at a massive $50 billion.
Some of the locked tokens will begin unlocking in as little as three months, with daily selling allowed over the next three years — a setup that raises concerns about future price crashes.
Critics, like venture capitalist Nick Tomaino, are blunt: “Trump owning 80% and timing [the] launch hours before the inauguration is predatory and many will likely get hurt by it.”
While some see memecoins as cultural movements, $TRUMP’s rise and fall highlight the brutal reality of this market: it’s a battlefield where only the savvy will survive.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Coinbase has not yet listed $Trump. (21 Jan, 10:05 GST)
Edited by Ankush Chibber. If you have any tips, ideas or feedback, please get in touch: talk-to-us@moniify.com
