On January 20, 2017—infinite coincidence—this exuberant Donald Trump cartoon stole the show at one of Coinhero’s flagship stores in Hong Kong. The artwork depicted him surrounded by floating, colorful cryptocurrency tokens. This new visual illustrates the amazing but confusing crash course of the $TRUMP coin. Just a few months ago it was at an all-time high before crashing back down to earth.
As of Wednesday morning, the $TRUMP coin had appreciated by more than 50% since its launch. This surge came right after the news that the first 220 token holders would win a private dinner with then President Trump himself. This event created a huge amount of demand, pushing its market capitalization to almost $15 billion overnight. That was enough to send the $TRUMP coin shooting to the front of the cryptocurrency pack. It even passed some of the other popular tokens, such as Sui, which was only up 23%.
This spike was short-lived. Coincidence or not, the $TRUMP coin shot to a market cap of $2 billion. Then it plummeted, demonstrating the extremely speculative nature of meme-based cryptocurrencies. The $TRUMP token that’s all the rage today, and the associated “Trumpster” avatars came online just before President Trump’s inauguration in January. Insiders own the majority of it—with roughly 80% of it owned by the Trump Organization and its affiliated entities. Just 20% of the token’s total supply is currently tradable. The other 80% is held back for three years on a vesting schedule. Combined with the fact that the first tranche is scheduled to unlock soon, potentially releasing millions of dollars worth of tokens onto the open market.
The excitement around this new $TRUMP coin doesn’t come from the money-making potential alone. The project’s website promotes an enticing opportunity: “Have Dinner in Washington, D.C. With President Trump.” A black-tie optional dinner will follow on May 22nd, including a reception for the top 25 wallets. On top of that, there’s a “VIP White House Tour” scheduled for May 23rd, making the whole trip even more attractive to potential investors.
The coin’s surge was significantly bolstered by President Trump’s posts on Truth Social and X, where he celebrated the interests of his supporters.
“It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING!” – President Donald Trump
Recent guidance issued by the SEC has made clear that meme tokens like $TRUMP are not securities. This decision protects them from further regulatory oversight in the short term and likely fueled even more risky investments.
As with any initial coin offering, even one as successful as the $TRUMP coin, the future is not guaranteed. After its introduction, it would go on to face drastic changes in value, crashing and losing almost 100% of its value in a week. The potential adoption of cryptocurrency by the U.S. Will this volatility level off, or will it explode into further unrest?