Libby Cantrill, head of U.S. public policy at Pimco, shares what she expects from President-elect Trump on his first day back in office during the “Barron’s Roundtable.”
President-elect Trump took the $3.5 trillion cryptocurrency industry by surprise Friday night, announcing the launch of its own crypto token called $Trump coin.
This launch is poised to become one of the most successful in history. In less than 24 hours, $Trump coin went from just pennies to an all-time high of $33.87. The token price has since fallen to around $26 with a market capitalization of over $5 billion.
He is now ranked in the top 30 the largest cryptocurrencies in the world by market capitalization.
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The announcement comes just days before Trump’s inauguration on Monday. Trump personally announced the unveiling of the coin via his Social truth and Washington, D.C.
Trump promises to be the most pro-cryptocurrency president in history and has vowed to reverse the trend. The Biden administration the so-called regulation by repression against the main players in the industry.
Attendees at the ball included CEOs of various crypto platforms, politicians, a handful of Trump’s new cabinet members, and his son, Donald Trump Jr.
President-elect Trump rings the opening bell on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange on December 12, 2024, in New York. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images/Getty Images)
When the news broke, some attendees were skeptical, speculating that the president-elect’s accounts had been hacked. Donald Trump Jr., who presumably knew about the announcement, was cordoned off in an exclusive VIP section. It’s unclear if he told anyone about the Trump piece.
“My NEW official Trump Meme is HERE! It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump community.” the message said, add a link to a website where visitors can purchase the token using a debit card or with crypto.
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Trump has not commented on the piece since the initial announcement. His son, Eric Trump, posted X Saturday afternoon that the piece is “the world’s hottest digital meme.” The president-elect’s X account echoed his son’s comments.
Two spokespersons for Trump’s transition team did not respond to requests for comment.
The coin, which bears the trading symbol TRUMP, is known as a “meme coin,” a highly speculative type of cryptocurrency that has no inherent utility and is often created based on a joke or a parody, like PEPE, an image meme. of a cartoon frog that has a market capitalization of over $7 billion.
Sophisticated investors are often wary of meme coins, not only because of their wild price swings, but also their propensity to be associated with scammers looking to make a quick buck from exuberant investors. Last month, social media influencer Haliey Welch, better known as “Hawk Tuah Girl,” was sued by investors when the price of her meme coin, Hawk, collapsed hours after its introduction, resulting in millions of losses.
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According to the coin’s website, Trump Organization subsidiaries CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight LLC collectively own 80% of the coins in circulation, meaning that as the token’s price increases, owners will see significant gains. The website does not specify who will receive the profits.
However, the fact that Trump is making money from retail investors could raise red flags for regulators and senators like Elizabeth Warren, a fierce critic of the crypto industry.
Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville on July 27, 2024. (Brett Carlsen/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Last summer, another meme coin, DJT, said to be associated with the president-elect, was introduced on the Solana blockchain. The piece was created by convicted fraudster “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli and not by Trump or his son, Barron, as Shkreli had claimed.
Trump’s announcement has so far received mixed reviews. Some of his loyal fans in the crypto community are welcoming the move, saying it promotes the Solana blockchain and will likely attract new users to the crypto space who want to own a piece of the first crypto-friendly presidential token.
Others are publicly criticizing it, with some even calling it a free cash grab from Trump, who has already received millions from the crypto industry during his election campaign after wooing it with promises of deregulation.
But major exchanges such as Kraken already offer the token for trading on its platform. It’s unclear whether Coinbase, the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, will follow suit.
Meanwhile, investors in Trump coins have already made massive profits thanks to the rapid price rise. One trader made $1.1 million on an initial investment of $150,000, and another turned $800 into $310,000, according to financial newsletter The Kobeissi Letter.
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“Whether you agree with this decision or not, the fact is that the leader of the free world has simply put his stamp of approval on Solana and meme culture,” said Frank Chaparro, director of special projects at the crypto publication. Block.
Perhaps coincidentally, Trump chose to introduce the meme coin on SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s last day in office.
Gensler, who has cracked down on digital assets, will be replaced by Trump’s more crypto-friendly pick, attorney Paul Atkins.