TRUMP: a new era of meme coins and crypto regulation?

Memecoins were on the rise in 2024. Their overall market capitalisation increased from $20 billion last January up to $120 billion in December 2024.

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Media OutReach Newswire - 31 January 2025 - Memecoins saw a surge in 2024. Their total market capitalisation increased from $20 billion in January to $120 billion in December 2024. Coins like DOGE, PEPE, or SHIB thrived, mainly driven by community support and innovative strategies. Some experts even acknowledged meme coins as a viable crypto trend.

TRUMP, a meme coin created by Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th U.S. President, has emerged as a speculative and rather controversial asset. However, it may still signal mass adoption of crypto, regulatory warm-ups and new crypto trends. Global broker Octa explains how the meme coin may impact the market.

TRUMP: launch and accelerated growth

Donald Trump surprised society on 17 January 2025, three days before his inauguration, by launching the meme coin TRUMP on the Solana blockchain. Trump announced the launch on his official X and Truth Social accounts. The coin’s value quickly surged, especially when it was listed on several CEX (centralised crypto exchanges) like ByBit. Within two days, it increased from $7 on 17 January to $75 on 19 January. The next day, when the President entered the White House, the price soared significantly. The minimum was around $38 per coin. At one point, the coin became the 19th most valuable crypto globally during its peak on 19 January. At the moment of writing the article, the coin ranks 25th on CoinMarketCap in terms of market capitalisation, outperforming popular memecoins like PEPE and, notably, 10-year-old XMR.

TRUMP is considered a memecoin since it has no inherent value, and the asset’s price entirely depends on the market sentiment: buyers and sellers can manipulate the price. Nonetheless, Trump’s fans and crypto enthusiasts have actively supported the coin. The volume of daily traded coins reached its maximum on the inauguration day, 20 January, and surpassed $52 billion.

Currently, the circulating supply accounts for almost a fifth of the whole supply: 200 million tokens. Another 800 million are controlled by Trump-owned entities. The developers plan to release the remaining tokens gradually within three years. However, many experts are concerned because the owner can ruin the market by selling the controlled assets.

MELANIA meme coin: launch and impact on the market

Following the TRUMP coin hype, Melania Trump announced the launch of her own meme coin, MELANIA. While its value almost reached $13 on 20 January, and a lot of crypto traders abandoned TRUMP to trade MELANIA, the asset’s price has dropped since then. The First Lady’s coin was officially presented by her incorporated company, MKT World LLC.

The coin has contributed to the Trump family’s crypto hype. There were even rumours that another coin from Ivanka Trump, the daughter of the elected President, was about to see the world. However, no official news or proof was released, so this could be fake.

The future of TRUMP

TRUMP has been a controversial asset. Some believe it signals “a new regulatory era, where governments see crypto as a technology to reach out to the masses directly”. Others are sure that the launch has undermined the credibility of the industry, as the coin is rather volatile and speculative. For example, a popular Bitcoin investor, Erik Voorhees, has criticised the asset.

“Although TRUMP may be considered as a ‘rug pull’—a quickly abandoned coin—it may have potential longevity. One of the deciding factors is the remaining 80% of the supply and its future,” comments Kar Yong Ang, a financial market analyst at Octa Broker. “For now, the future of the asset depends on the crypto society and its willingness to buy TRUMP. This is proved by the MELANIA launch, which shifted liquidity in its favour and significantly dropped the President’s token price.”

Considering the emotion-driven buying frenzy of the TRUMP coin, which potentially drove many newcomers to the crypto market, it’s likely to provoke another rise of memes from celebrities and influencers. While meme coins are known for their high returns, especially during the launch on CEX, they are very volatile and speculative. Traders should avoid quick decisions and overbudgeting to secure their funds.

What is more, it’s advised to beware of scams. For example, there are fake TRUMP tokens now. Moreover, hackers can try to capitalise on the meme hype. Just recently, scammers breached Nasdaq’s X account and promoted a fake meme coin, STONKS. It was launched the same day and was a copycat of a pre-existing memecoin on Solana. Despite this, the project's market capitalisation reached $80