Donald Trump's official memecoin jumped 12%

Donald Trump’s official memecoin jumped 12% on Monday after the U.S. President posted on Truth Social, calling the TRUMP token “the greatest of them all”

Donald Trump’s namesake memecoin experienced an 11% surge on Monday after the U.S. President posted on Truth Social, calling the TRUMP token “the greatest of them all” and “cool.” The endorsement quickly sent the Solana-based cryptocurrency from around $10.93 to approximately $12.25.

This price increase occurred within minutes following Trump’s post, which read: “I LOVE $TRUMP—SO COOL!!! The Greatest of them all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

The token has since retreated slightly. It’s currently trading at around $11.85, still indicating a 9% rise over the past 24 hours. This makes it the best performing cryptocurrency during Asian trading hours, according to CoinGecko data.

The surge in the TRUMP token’s price was accompanied by a spike in trading volume. Daily trading reached over $1 billion, which is double the average volume of previous days.

Despite the recent boost, the token remains far below its peak value. TRUMP is still down approximately 85% from its all-time high of $77, which was reached shortly after its January launch.

The Solana-based memecoin was created on January 17, 2025. It quickly captured the crypto community’s attention in its early days.

The token reached a peak market capitalization of about $15 billion just two days after its launch. This swift rise occurred right before President Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

The initial token distribution included 200 million TRUMP tokens. The project plans to expand the supply to 1 billion tokens over three years.

Token Distribution and Upcoming Challenges

A Chainalysis report revealed some facts about token ownership. Around 94% of TRUMP and MELANIA tokens (the latter being a separate token associated with the First Lady) are held by just 40 wallets.

This concentration raises concerns about centralization within the token’s ecosystem. A small number of “whale” holders could have major influence over the token’s price.

The memecoin faces additional challenges in the coming weeks. Starting April 18, 40 million TRUMP tokens will be unlocked and enter circulation.

This unlock represents about 4% of the total supply and is valued at over $472 million. After this initial unlock, at least half a million TRUMP tokens will enter circulation daily until the end of 2027.

Some investors worry that this unlocking schedule could increase selling pressure. “Trump is shilling TRUMP coin on Truth Social… Seems like they are grabbing some exit liquidity before the unlock,” commented one investor identified as HENRI.SOL.

The token has also drawn political attention. House Democrats, led by Rep. Sam Liccardo, have introduced the MEME Act, which aims to prohibit federal officials and their families from profiting off meme coins.

In a blog post, Rep. Liccardo specifically mentioned the TRUMP token. He accused the First Family of “exploiting the public through meme coins” and warned about potential insider trading and foreign influence.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stated that memecoins like the TRUMP token are not securities. This means they are not subject to SEC oversight under current regulations.

Earlier this year in January, President Trump commented on his limited knowledge about the token. “I don’t know much about it other than I launched it,” Trump told reporters at the time. “I heard it was very successful. I haven’t checked.”

The President’s recent direct promotion marks a shift from his earlier stance of limited involvement. This change has raised questions among legal experts about the precedent it sets.

Andrew Rossow, a digital media attorney and CEO of AR Media, told Decrypt that these posts “unfortunately set a dangerous precedent for leveraging public office for personal financial gain.”