CNN
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The incoming first couple launched a pair of meme coins in the run-up to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, which are already worth billions of dollars on paper. But the timing of Trump’s cryptocurrency launch, just days before he took office and promised to be a cryptocurrency-friendly president, has alarmed ethics experts and even some in the security industry. cryptocurrency.
Melania Trump launched her cryptocurrency $MELANIA in a social media post On Sunday, the sending of her husband’s $TRUMP cryptocurrency, announced two days earlier, plummeted.
“The official Melania meme is live! You can buy $MELANIA now. https://melaniameme.com, » wrote the future first lady on Sunday
Meme coins are a type of highly volatile cryptocurrency inspired by popular internet or cultural trends. They have no intrinsic value, but their price can skyrocket or fall.
“My NEW official Trump meme is HERE!” ” Trump wrote on Friday X. “It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump community. GET YOUR $ASSET NOW. Go to http://gettrumpmemes.com – Have fun!”
Both coins trade on the Solana blockchain. Trump’s coin skyrocketed over the weekend and was trading above $70 as of Sunday afternoon, according to CoinGecko.
However, the president-elect’s coin dropped to $40 after Melania revealed her own coin. It has since recouped some of those losses and was trading around $60 early Monday. $MELANIA was trading at just over $12 early Monday, according to CoinGecko.
$TRUMP is the first cryptocurrency endorsed by the new president, who once called bitcoin “air-based.”
Trump received strong support from the crypto industry this election after he adopted crypto and promised America the “crypto capital of the planet”.
In July 2024, Trump addressed the largest crypto convention and has since named Howard Lutnick, who backs cryptocurrency company Tether, to head the U.S. Department of Commerce. Lutnick is among other crypto enthusiasts named in the upcoming Trump administration.
Now Trump will not only preside over how the federal government regulates crypto, he will personally profit from the outcome.
“I think it’s very dangerous that the people who are supposed to oversee the regulation of financial instruments are investing in them at the same time,” Richard Painter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, told CNN. “There is no precedent for a head of state to launch a personal cryptocurrency.”
Painter, the George W. Bush administration’s top ethics lawyer, said launching the coins just hours before the inauguration raised “serious ethical questions about conflicts of interest.”
“The coin’s value could be influenced by his actions or policies once in office, especially since Trump has said he would be more supportive of cryptocurrencies, which would likely inflate the coin’s value even further , at least temporarily,” Painter said.
While executive branch employees must comply with criminal conflict of interest laws that prevent them from participating in matters impacting their own financial interests, the law does not apply to the president or vice president .
The Trump coin was announced Friday, the last business day before the resignation of Gary Gensler, outgoing chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and enemy of the crypto industry. Trump had pledged to replace Gensler, who announcement in November, he would resign at noon on Inauguration Day.
Walter Shaub, the ethics watchdog who confronted Trump in his first term before stepping down, sounded the alarm about Trump’s second term.
“America voted for corruption, and this is what Trump is proposing,” Shaub told CNN in an email. “This time around, Trump’s corruption and outright profiteering are so obvious, extreme and pervasive that to comment on any aspect of it would be to lose the forest for the trees. The very idea of government ethics is now a smoking crater. »
California Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat, said in a post on that elected officials “must be prohibited by law from having coins,” describing them as “highly speculative and gambling-like.”
Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier this month, the Trump Organization announced that Trump would not be involved in the management of his real estate empire and brand during his first term and appointed an external ethics monitor to monitor the company’s actions. Previous presidents have taken greater steps to avoid conflicts of interest and any appearance of self-serving dealings, including placing their companies in blind trusts.
Anthony Scaramucci, a former Trump official turned critic, said in a job on
“Every favor – geopolitical, professional or personal – is now for sale, out in the open,” said crypto industry supporter Scaramucci.
Others in the crypto industry were surprised by the timing of Trump’s decision.
“Trump owning 80% and timing the launch hours before the inauguration is predatory and many will likely be hurt,” Nick Tomaino, a former Coinbase executive, said in a statement. job on X. “Trump should dump people rather than enrich himself or his team on this.”
Crypto investor Nic Carter, who has described himself as a Trump supporter, told Politico it is “absolutely absurd” that Trump would do this.
The market capitalization of the Trump coin, based on the 200 million coins in circulation, is capped at $13 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. The meme coin’s website says there will be 1 billion Trump coins over the next three years.
Both the $MELANIA and $TRUMP websites contain disclaimers stating that the pieces are “intended to function as support and engagement with” their respective brand values and “are not intended to be or be the subject of an investment opportunity. , investment contract or security of any type.
The website states that the meme piece is not politically affiliated. But 80% of the coin supply is held by CIC Digital and Fight Fight Fight LLC, affiliates of the Trump Organization, both of which are subject to a three-year unlock schedule – so they can’t sell all their holdings in same time.
The fully diluted value of the Trump coin (which reflects the eventual total supply of Trump coins) stood at approximately $54 billion as of Monday morning, according to CoinMarketCap. At that value, the 80% linked to Trump are worth a whopping $43 billion, at least on paper.
The $TRUMP coin website states that it is the “only official Trump meme.”
“Now you can reclaim your piece of history.” This Trump Meme celebrates a leader who does not back down, no matter the odds,” the website reads.