$Trump (stylized in all uppercase) is a meme coin associated with U.S. President Donald Trump, hosted on the Solana blockchain platform.[1] One billion coins were originally created; 800 million remain owned by two Trump-owned companies, after 200 million were publicly released in an initial coin offering (ICO) on January 17, 2025. Less than a day later, the aggregate market value of all coins was more than $27 billion, valuing Trump's holdings at more than $20 billion. There is wide condemnation from ethics experts and concerns over conflicts of interest.
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The Trump meme coin was launched on January 17, 2025, three days before Trump was inaugurated as president of the United States. The lack of a public announcement initially led to concerns that the cryptocurrency was a scam and might have no association to the president-elect.[3] Several hours later, Trump announced $TRUMP on his X and Truthsocial accounts.[4] The meme coin website described it as the "only official Trump meme".[5][6] Its logo is a cartoon image of Trump raising his fist after surviving the attempted assassination in July 2024.[7] A disclaimer said that the coin was "not intended to be, or the subject of" an investment opportunity or a security and was "not political and has nothing to do with" any political campaign, political office or government agency.[6] The terms of the offering prohibit coin buyers from joining any class-action lawsuits against the project and assert indemnity against any claims.[8] Trump promoted the coin on the night of its ICO while a "Crypto Ball" was underway.[9]
After its launch, its price soared by over 300% overnight.[10] Within two days, it became the 19th most valuable form of cryptocurrency in the world, with a total trading value of nearly $13 billion, and a total of $29 billion worth of trades based on a $64 value of each of the 200 million tokens issued by the afternoon of January 19th. The New York Times reported that Trump affiliates controlled an additional 800 million tokens that, hypothetically, could be worth over $56 billion, potentially making Trump one of the richest people in the world at an estimated net worth of $63.8 billion.[11] On January 19, 2025, Trump's wife Melania launched her own meme coin, $Melania.[12]
On January 21, 2025, Official Trump was down as much as 26%, and $Melania fell by about half, after Trump made no specific policy announcements about cryptocurrency during his inauguration.[13]
$TRUMP meme coin fell by about 50%[14] from January 19th to January 21st 2025:
There have been concerns of a pump and dump scheme[19][20] and analysts have viewed it as a "disaster."[21] A forensic analysis commissioned by the The New York Times concluded that 813,294 wallets lost $2 billion by trading the coin while the president's company and partners profited about $100 million from trading fees.[22][23] According to Fortune, "Less than three weeks after its release, President Donald Trump’s memecoin has produced more losers than winners. For every dollar in trading fees the Trump crypto creators raked in, investors lost $20."[22]
Token distribution
Ownership of the token is largely concentrated in two Trump owned entities: CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight Fight LLC, which together hold 80 percent of the coins remaining after the ICO.[24] These holdings are scheduled for gradual release over three years.[25]
Reception
Some crypto executives and investors said Trump had undermined the credibility of the industry they had worked hard to build by selling coins known for their speculative nature and extreme volatility. They also noted Trump's brazen conflict of interest by setting crypto market policies while directly benefiting from participating in the market. Some noted its similarity to a "rug pull," in which a coin is launched and quickly abandoned, leaving early investors with steep losses. The Wall Street Journal reported "Even the most ardent Trump supporters reached a breaking point when the $MELANIA token launched less than 48 hours after" $TRUMP, with one urging Trump to fire the advisor who recommended it. Erik Voorhees, a prominent Bitcoin investor, criticized the coin as "stupid and embarrassing."[8][26][27]
The crypto venture was criticized by ethics experts and government watchdogs.[12] The venture and the possibility of foreign governments buying the coin and enriching Trump was highlighted as possibly violating the Constitution's foreign emoluments clause.[28] Critics said it could allow special interests and foreign governments to seek to buy influence with the president.[29]
The release of $Trump was condemned by ethics lawyers, including Adav Noti, the director of the Campaign Legal Center,[30] and Jordan Libowitz, the vice president for communications at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.[31] Nick Tomaino, a former executive at Coinbase, described Trump's ownership and the timing of the cryptocurrency as "predatory".[30]Anthony Scaramucci, a former White House Communications Director during the first Trump administration and current crypto investor, described the coin as "Idi Amin level corruption" and said that the launch of the coin was bad for the cryptocurrency industry. He added, "Now anyone in world can essentially deposit money into bank account of President of USA with a couple clicks."[32][29] Brendan Fischer, the deputy executive director at Documented, an investigative news outlet, said, "The timing of this launch cannot be a coincidence. It comes just after Trump’s campaign ended, and just before he formally takes office and is fully subject to federal ethics rules."[33] With the coin having slumped in value as of the end of early February 2025, the circumstances around the coin have led to wide condemnation from ethics experts and concerns over conflicts of interest as well as allegations from members of Congress that have called for an investigation.[34][35][36]
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