Donald Trump's Official Memecoin Jumps SOL to New Highs, Raking in 3,000% Since December Lows

Multiple large-cap tokens based on Solana surged higher Saturday, and the blockchain's native SOL token set fresh highs above $275 as the incoming U.S. president backed a new Solana-based TRUMP token Friday night, calling it his "official" memecoin.

A new Solana-based memecoin backed by former U.S. President Donald Trump has sparked a wave of speculative activity in the Solana ecosystem, driving prices of several large-cap tokens sharply higher.

Following Trump's announcement of his "official" memecoin Friday night, the blockchain's native SOL token set fresh three-month highs above $275. Multiple large-cap Solana tokens also saw gains of over 20% in a matter of hours.

"My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE!" Trump tweeted late Friday. "It's a depiction of everything we stand for: WINNING!"

The choice of Solana for the issuance of Trump's memecoin appears to have spurred demand and optimism for SOL tokens, as CoinDesk reported earlier.

Multiple large-cap Solana tokens surged higher Saturday.SOL/USD 1-hour price chart. Source: TradingView

SOL trading volumes have rocketed from Thursday's $3 billion to over $26 billion in the past 24 hours, as the token's price set fresh highs above $275. Saturday's moves brought weekly gains for SOL to over 46%.

That marks a nearly 3,000% surge from three-year lows of $9 in December 2022, following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX and prominent backer Sam Bankman-Fried, which dented sentiment for Solana at the time.

"Trump's official memecoin" was issued on the Solana blockchain late Friday by a team that includes ecosystem giants Jupiter and Meteora. Prices of Jupiter's JUP tokens are up 30% in the past 24 hours.

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 https://t.co/GX3ZxT5xyq — Have Fun! pic.twitter.com/flIKYyfBrC

The token launch was co-ordinated by CIC Digital LLC - an affiliate of the Trump Organization, and the newly-formed company Fight Fight Fight LLC, according to the BBC. The duo holds 80% of the tokens, subject to a vesting period of over three years. It is unclear how much money Trump might make from the venture.

TRUMP prices rocketed from a few cents to $14 in less than six hours amid widespread confusion on whether the token was actually backed by Trump or if someone had hacked Trump's account and issued a fake token.

"It trades above $44 in Asian afternoon hours Sunday, grabbing listings on prominent exchanges Coinbase and Binance, as well as several futures products. It has become the third-largest memecoin by market capitalization behind dogecoin (DOGE) and shiba inu (SHIB), flipping pepecoin (PEPE).