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A digital token debuted by US president-elect Donald Trump has rattled the cryptocurrency market, attracting billions of dollars of trading volume while stoking concerns about conflicts of interest.
Trading under the “Trump” ticker on the Solana blockchain, the token’s market value surged to US$15 billion over the weekend, data from CoinMarketCap showed, after the Republican touted it on his social media accounts on Friday.
The digital asset’s market capitalisation then slid below US$10 billion on Sunday in New York after Trump’s wife Melania also unveiled a coin, drawing traders who seek to capitalise on rapidly shifting speculative demand for memes.
Meanwhile, the wider crypto market struggled over the weekend, including a dip in the largest token, bitcoin, and a shaper retreat for second-ranked ether. SOL, the crypto asset associated with the Solana digital ledger hosting the Trump meme coins, bucked the trend and posted a rally.
The “size of the capital flowing” to the Trump token left most other coins trading “poorly” except for SOL and some related assets, said Sydney-based Richard Galvin, co-founder of hedge fund DACM.
My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE! It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump Community. GET YOUR $TRUMP NOW. Go to — Have Fun! /flIKYyfBrC
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2025
The website for the president-elect’s token described it as the “the only official Trump meme”. The project’s art features an illustration of the incoming US president with his fist in the air – a reference to his response in the aftermath of an attempt on his life during a campaign rally last year.
The small print on the website stated the president-elect’s token was not intended to be an “investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type”. Still, crypto-minded Trump fans immediately started buying. Major exchanges like Coinbase Global and Binance Holdings said during the weekend they intended to list the token on their platforms.
The website for Melania’s project also said that the token is not supposed to be an investment opportunity or security, adding that “Melania memes are digital collectibles intended to function as an expression of support for and engagement with the values embodied by the symbol MELANIA”.
Trump made explicit overtures to the crypto industry in the months before and after his election. Bloomberg News has previously reported that he is considering an executive order designating the asset class a “national priority”.
The president-elect’s previous forays into crypto include profitable collections of non-fungible tokens, digital collectibles that show him in a variety of poses and costumes, including as a superhero. Along with his sons, he has also endorsed World Liberty Financial, a project that has been much-hyped but for which details remain scarce.
Representatives for Trump did not return requests for comment.
Meme coins are tokens with questionable inherent value that sometimes briefly surge if they catch a social media tailwind before sliding as attention turns elsewhere.
The Trump token traded at about US$39 as of 7.30am on Monday in Singapore, down from an earlier peak of US$75.35. Bitcoin slid to US$100,000, ether changed hands at US$3,161 and a cooling SOL rally left the digital asset at roughly US$240.
