The Trump meme coin website stated that the tokens are intended to function ‘as an expression of support’ and not an investment opportunity.
President-elect Donald Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, launched their respective cryptocurrency meme coins just days ahead of Trump’s inauguration for a second presidential term.
“It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump Community,” the president-elect stated on Truth Social on Friday while unveiling his $TRUMP meme coin.
The Trump meme coin on Jan. 19 rose to an all-time high of $76.13 before dropping to a low of $38.39 and finishing at around $60.
The token’s website stated that “Trump Memes are intended to function as an expression of support” and not as an investment opportunity, nor are they politically affiliated.
There were 200 million Trump coins available at launch, and that number is expected to increase to one billion over the next three years, according to the meme coin’s website.
The website stated that CIC Digital LLC, an affiliate of The Trump Organization, and Fight Fight Fight LLC own 80 percent of the Trump meme coins, which are subject to a three-year unlocking schedule.
Melania Trump followed suit, releasing her own meme coin, named $MELANIA, a day before Jan. 20. Her release was what saw the Trump meme coins drop almost 50 percent and reached a high of $17.72 on Jan. 19. Both of their meme coins were launched on the Solana blockchain.
Like Trump’s coins, the first-lady-in-waiting’s tokens are not intended as financial instruments or investments. The website selling the $MELANIA meme coins described them as “fungible crypto assets,” which are being sold “for collecting and entertainment purposes only.”
The Melania meme coins allocate 35 percent to team vesting, 20 percent each to the token treasury and community initiatives, 10 percent to liquidity, and 15 percent to public distribution, according to the website.
The coin launches come amid expectations that the incoming Trump administration will usher in a favorable regulatory environment for the cryptocurrency industry. Crypto is a term used to refer to decentralized digital currencies that operate without centralized control by a government or central bank.
Trump has filled his administration with crypto supporters, including hedge fund manager Scott Bessent as treasury secretary and billionaire Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary. On the campaign trail, Trump said he would block the federal reserve from creating its own digital currency or Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
Last month, the president-elect nominated cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Atkins served as SEC commissioner during former President George W. Bush’s administration in 2002.
In a 2023 podcast interview, Atkins touted the benefits of cryptocurrency and its underlying technology and why it is crucial for the sector to thrive in the U.S. economy.
During a bitcoin conference last year, Trump vowed to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet.” He promised to start a national bitcoin reserve, establish a presidential crypto advisory council, and facilitate a climate of ensuring all remaining bitcoins are mined in the United States.
Melanie Sun and Andrew Moran contributed to this report.