Donald Trump Unveils $TRUMP Meme Coin Ahead of Inauguration, Met with Widespread Disapproval

As the United States readied for President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday, he was met with widespread disapproval for introducing a cryptocurrency

As President-elect Donald Trump prepared for his inauguration on Monday, he faced widespread criticism for introducing a cryptocurrency just before taking office in a move that is expected to benefit industry sectors that supported the GOP’s successful campaign.

"This act of launching a cryptocurrency is essentially profiting from the presidency—it's a way for money to flow to the president's family by leveraging his position,” Adav Noti, executive director of the Campaign Legal Center, told The New York Times.

“This is completely without precedent.”

Jordan Libowitz, vice president for communications at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, expressed astonishment at Trump's actions, contrasting them with the norms observed by prior presidents, according to Politico.

"This is absolutely wild."

Libowitz further noted, “For decades, presidents-elect have distanced themselves from their financial holdings before inauguration to avoid conflicts of interest. Yet here we have a president-elect who is not only launching new ventures right before taking office but also promises to roll back regulations to directly benefit from his presidency,” he explained.

The president-elect unveiled the $TRUMP meme coin on the Solana blockchain through his Truth social media platform and Elon Musk's X platform—Musk being a major supporter and the world's wealthiest individual—on Friday. He celebrated this launch with a message saying, "it's time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING!"

He directed his followers to a website that detailed, “There are 200 million $TRUMP available initially, expanding to a total of 1 billion $TRUMP over three years.” The website clarified that “Trump Memes are meant to symbolize support and engagement with the values represented by ‘$TRUMP’ and its associated imagery, and should not be considered an investment or security.”

Forbes revealed that “80% of the tokens not yet released are held by Trump Organization affiliate CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight Fight LLC, a business established in Delaware on January 7, according to state documents. Both entities will receive an undisclosed share of the trading revenue.”

Eric Trump, who manages the Trump Organization, told the Times, “This is just the start.”

“I am incredibly proud of our ongoing achievements in cryptocurrency,” he declared. “$TRUMP is presently the most trending digital meme globally.”

In a piece titled “Donald Trump, crypto billionaire,” Axios reported that by Sunday morning, “Trump's cryptocurrency assets, along with his other holdings, valued him at about $58 billion, positioning him among the top 25 wealthiest individuals worldwide.”

Reacting to the Axios article, Wa'el Alzayat, a former Middle East policy advisor at the U.S. Department of State, commented, “During my ten years in government, I couldn't accept a lunch costing more than $20. Now, anyone can hand millions to our future president.”

Journalist Jeff St. John predicted, “This is going to end VERY badly for everyone except Donald Trump and his close associates,” describing the situation as “a scandal and an outrage.”

The announcement of the meme coin coincided with the inaugural Crypto Ball in Washington, D.C., attended by the elite of the cryptocurrency world.

Although the president-elect did not attend, notable figures such as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and nominees for commerce and treasury secretaries, Howard Lutnick and Scott Bessent, were present. A Reuters report highlighted that Trump had attracted cryptocurrency campaign donations with promises of being a ‘crypto president’ and was expected to soon sign executive orders to reduce regulatory obstacles and promote the adoption of digital assets.

Trump is no stranger to ethical controversies. As Mother Jones outlined:

The meme coin is the latest in a series of controversial merchandising efforts by Trump. Last February, he promoted gold “Never Surrender High-Tops” for $399 at Sneaker Con, which Fox News praised for appealing to Black voters. In March, he endorsed the $59.99 “God Bless the USA Bible,” which includes the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and handwritten lyrics to Lee Greenwood's anthem. (Trump's inaugural committee has confirmed that he will not use one of these Bibles for his swearing-in.) In August, he introduced another series of his “baseball card” NFTs.

S.V. Dáte, a senior White House correspondent at HuffPost, emphasized on Sunday that “Trump's D.C. hotel previously served as a convenient place for lobbyists to directly funnel money to him.”

“This cryptocurrency venture takes it to another level. It allows anyone globally to directly transfer money to him. It's hugely efficient,” Dáte remarked. “With a hotel, you have the overheads like property costs and staff payments. Selling this virtual currency is almost pure profit.”

The Trump Organization sold the D.C. hotel in