TRUMP and MELANIA meme coins: launch and impact on the market

Donald Trump surprised society on 17 January 2025, three days before his inauguration, by launching the meme coin TRUMP based on the Solana blockchain.

In a surprising move, former U.S. President Donald Trump announced the launch of his own meme coin, called TRUMP, on January 17, 2025, three days prior to his inauguration. The coin, built on the Solana blockchain, was quickly listed on several centralized crypto exchanges (CEX), including ByBit.

As a result, the coin's value surged rapidly, increasing from $7 on January 17 to $75 on January 19. The price continued to rise significantly the following day, with a minimum value of around $38 per coin, as the President entered the White House. At its peak on January 19, the coin became the 19th most valuable cryptocurrency globally.

According to CoinMarketCap at the time of writing, the coin is ranked 25th in terms of market capitalization, outperforming popular memecoins like PEPE and even the 10-year-old cryptocurrency XMR.

TRUMP is categorized as a memecoin due to its lack of inherent value, with the asset's price being entirely dependent on market sentiment, which can be manipulated by buyers and sellers. However, the coin has reportedly gained active support from Trump's fans and crypto enthusiasts.

The volume of coins traded daily reached a maximum on the inauguration day, January 20, with over $52 billion in trades.

Currently, the circulating supply of the coin is around 200 million tokens, which is almost a fifth of the total supply. An additional 800 million are controlled by Trump-owned entities, with plans from the developers to gradually release the remaining tokens over three years. However, concerns have been raised by several experts regarding the potential for the owner to manipulate the market by selling these controlled assets.

Following the hype surrounding the TRUMP coin, Melania Trump, the former First Lady, announced the launch of her own meme coin, called MELANIA. The coin's value reportedly reached a maximum of around $13 on January 20, and many crypto traders shifted their attention from TRUMP to trading MELANIA, which contributed to a subsequent decrease in the President's token price.

The First Lady's coin was officially launched by her incorporated company, MKT World LLC. The Trump family's involvement in cryptocurrency also included rumors of another coin, to be launched by Ivanka Trump, the daughter of the elected President. However, no official news or evidence has been released regarding this claim.

TRUMP has been a controversial asset, with some believing it signals “a new regulatory era, where governments see crypto as a technology to reach out to the masses directly.” Others are convinced that the launch has“undermined the credibility of the industry,” considering the coin's volatility and speculative nature. A well-known Bitcoin investor, Erik Voorhees, has notably criticized 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 favor 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.

Moreover, it's advised to beware of scams. For example, there are now fake TRUMP tokens. Hackers may also capitalize on the meme hype. Just recently, scammers hacked Nasdaq's X account and promoted a fake meme coin, called STONKS. It was launched the same day and was a copycat of a pre-existing memecoin on Solana. Despite this, the project's market capitalization reached $80 million, and several days later, the token's price crashed.

Nonetheless, TRUMP can be considered an evidence of a crypto-favorable regulation. Since Donald Trump was elected as the U.S. President, crypto society has considered this as another proof of an anticipated bull run and crypto mass adoption. For example, Bitcoin hit another ATH (all-time-high) on the inauguration day. This is probably driven by the President's crypto-related plans, such as industry deregulation or a potential strategic Bitcoin reserve.