How $TRUMP Coin Added $7 Billion to Donald Trump’s Wealth Overnight

Apropos of nothing, President-elect of the United States Donald Trump‘s official social media accounts have released details of a new ‘official meme’ of the popular leader across all platforms. Accompanied by no immediate statement from Trump or his representatives, the messages were initially dismissed as hacking, but as hours passed and linked websites led back to companies known to Trump, the buzz grew. skyrocketed.

The media hype around $TRUMP coin has pushed its value to $36 per token, for a market capitalization of $7.18 billion, at the time of writing (January 19, 11:25 AM IST), according to data available on Coinmarketcap. According to a report from Fox Business, the virtual token has grown by over 1,000% since its launch.

Late on January 18, Eric Trump posted to X (formerly known as Twitter), officially confirming this development. He wrote: “I am extremely proud of what we continue to achieve in crypto. $Trump is currently the hottest digital meme in the world and I truly believe that World Liberty will revolutionize DeFi/Cefi and be the future of finance. We’re just getting started! (sic)

Trump and his sons Eric and Donald Junior launched World Liberty Financial, a digital asset platform aimed at the decentralized finance (DiFi) segment, in September 2024. DeFi is a mysterious sector of crypto where people trade, lend and borrow digital assets peer -to-peer using automated tools. software, according to a Bloomberg report.

A potential windfall of $24 billion for Donald Trump, his family and his businesses

So the gains for Trump-linked companies currently stand at about $7 billion and rising. Looking at current trends, an AFP report states that, taking into account coins that are not yet on the market, the value of the token would reach around $24 billion by 2028.

According to an AFP report, neither Asset nor the company managing the launch, Fight Fight Fight LLC, provided details on what it had earned from the initial batch of meme coins released. However, the coin’s official website reported that 200 million meme coins have been issued and an additional 800 million will be issued over the next three years.

Bloomberg noted that the website’s fine print denied that the tokens, available through the Solana blockchain network, were not intended to be an “investment opportunity”, investment contract or security of any type,” but crypto-minded Trump fans immediately started buying.

The AFP report highlights that meme coins have no economic or transactional value and are often considered a means of speculative trading. He added that most meme plays, such as $TRUMP, are designed to capitalize on the popularity of a certain personality, movement or viral Internet trend.

Is it the cleanest money? What has Trump invested in anticipation of his term in the White House?

Notably, the move, hailed by crypto industry supporters as “smart,” was criticized by watchdogs and officials who decried the second president’s assets as even more subject to scrutiny. conflict of interest debates.

For months, Trump has denounced officials’ demands that he and his cabinet choose to divest assets to reduce conflicts of interest while in office.

Consistent with the ethics pledge posted on the General Services Administration website, Trump did not promise that he would avoid conflicts of interest or hold only “conflict-free assets,” according to a Reuters report.

Trump owns a $3.76 billion stake in Trump Media & Technology Group, which runs Social truthas well as stakes in a cryptocurrency business, real estate properties and several foreign transactions. The family real estate company, now run largely by Trump’s son Eric, also has a portfolio of hotels, golf courses, resorts, New York offices, retail operations and of condominiums, adds the Reuters report.

As such, $TRUMP drew an immediate rebuke from government watchdogs, who called it the latest violation of ethical standards and a way to profit from its place on the world stage.

Danielle Brian, executive director of the nonpartisan Project on Government Oversight, told Bloomberg: “A memecoinwhich is generally unrelated to any underlying business and therefore highly speculative for investors and potentially extremely lucrative for founders, pushes the boundaries even further. Any effort by the Trump Organization to demonstrate that it was concerned about potential conflicts, particularly when it comes to foreign governments, appears to be completely undermined.”

Trump administration is full of crypto supporters

• Scott Bessent: The billionaire hedge fund manager is Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary. He has spoken favorably about crypto, according to a Reuters report, noting that, according to a financial disclosure filed last month, Bessent holds shares in a BlackRock Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) worth between $250,001 and $500,000.
• Bessent promised the U.S. Treasury in writing that he would divest his interests in the fund and his other investments within 90 days of his confirmation.
• Howard Lutnick: The CEO of New York brokerage firm Cantor Fitzgerald manages billions of dollars in Tether and is Trump’s choice for Commerce secretary. Lutnick is also a strong supporter of Bitcoin, the Reuters report adds.
• Elon Musk: Trump’s appointee to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is a well-known champion of Bitcoin and Dogecoin (also a coin). that of musk The Tesla company owns $1.5 billion in bitcoin, with unspecified digital assets totaling $184 million as of September 2024, Reuters reported, citing a company financial report.
• Vivek Ramaswamy: Musk’s co-head for DOGE is the founder of Strive Asset Management, which last month filed to launch an ETF that invests in corporate bonds for Bitcoin investments, notes the Reuters report. As of June 2023, Ramaswamy held between $100,001 and $250,000 worth of Bitcoin and between $15,001 and $50,000 worth of Ether.

• David Sacks: Trump’s pick for AI and White House crypto czar is tasked with developing the US legal framework for the crypto industry. He is the founder of Craft Ventures, which has invested in crypto companies like BitGo and Bitwise.
• Steve Witkoff: Real estate mogul and donor to Trump’s World Liberty Financial, Witkoff named special envoy to the Middle East.
• JD Vance: Trump’s vice-president held between $250,001 and $500,000 in bitcoin until August 2024, and his venture capital firm Narya invested in Ramaswamy’s Strive. Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the Trump-Vance transition, told Reuters that Trump would follow through on his promise to encourage U.S. leadership in crypto and other emerging technologies.
• Paul Atkins: Trump’s pick for US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is a lawyer Atkinswho advocated for the deregulation of cryptos. He should be softer on this asset than current President Gary Gensler. He did not respond to questions, the report added.

The Reuters report noted that Bessent, Lutnick, Musk, Ramaswamy, Sacks, Witkoff and Atkins did not respond to requests for comment.

(With contributions from agencies)