The Trump Memecoin Is a Messy Signal of Sea Change in US Fintech Policy

President Donald Trump has been unapologetic in his goal to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet,” but some in the cryptocurrency industry are questioning Trump’s crypto competency after he launched his own memecoin in the days leading up to his inauguration.

President Donald Trump has been open about his goal to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet,” but some in the cryptocurrency industry are questioning Trump’s crypto competency after he launched his own memecoin in the days leading up to his inauguration.

The crypto industry poured millions of dollars into Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign after he promised to establish a national stockpile of digital assets and oust former Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, a crypto skeptic who penalized companies that didn’t comply with existing laws. 

But while his top supporters were celebrating the new crypto-friendly administration at a star-studded Crypto Ball event on January 17, Trump sent a shockwave through the industry, launching his very own memecoin — an asset that derives its value from hype and entertainment rather than any financial utility. 

Some crypto advocates were excited by the president bringing new attention to the space, but others wondered if Trump’s memecoin would undermine their efforts to bring legitimacy to an industry that has struggled to be taken seriously due to high-profile scams, short-term cash grabs and legal controversies.

What Is the Trump Memecoin?

The Trump memecoin, officially known as $TRUMP, is a cryptocurrency launched by U.S. President Donald Trump shortly before his 2025 inauguration. Hosted on the Solana blockchain, the coin belongs to a category of digital assets that derive value from hype and internet virality over actual money-making potential.

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What Is the Trump Memecoin?

The $TRUMP memecoin is a cryptocurrency asset on the Solana blockchain. The “meme” is an image of Trump holding his fist in the air overlaid with the words “fight fight fight,” which Trump mouthed to rally-goers moments after he was shot in the ear during a campaign rally in July 2024. 

Referring to Trump as “the crypto president,” the $TRUMP website describes the asset as a “meme” that is not intended to be “an investment opportunity, investment contract or security of any type.” The site accepts debit card payments, which are facilitated through an app called Moonshot.

After more than a day of trading, $TRUMP surged above $74 with a market cap of nearly $15 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap. But in the hours after Trump’s inaugural address, it fell nearly 60 percent to $31.63 and a market cap of $6.3 billion.

Two days after $TRUMP hit the market, First Lady Melania Trump launched her own memecoin called $MELANIA. This meme, which is also on the Solana blockchain, is accompanied by a black-and-white image of Melania Trump clasping her hands in front of her face.

Within several hours, $MELANIA peaked at $13.64 with a market cap of $2.2 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap. After four days, it plummeted to less than $3 — a nearly 80 percent drop from its high — with a market cap of $483 million.

What Are Other Notable Memecoins?

One of the first memecoins, Dogecoin, is also the most popular. Launched in 2013 as a joke, the coin is based on the “doge” meme: a Shiba Inu dog with funny internal thoughts depicted in colorful comic sans font. Dogecoin first garnered popularity among Reddit users, and it has since been promoted by Elon Musk. As of Jan. 27, it has a market cap of nearly $50 billion.

Memecoins are notoriously volatile, as evidenced by the recent rise and fall of the $HAWK coin. The coin was inspired by Hailey Welch, who went viral on social media after coining the phrase “hawk tuah” in a street interview. When Welch and her business partners launched $HAWK in December, it peaked with a market capitalization of $491 million. Within hours, it plummeted to less than $50 million, according to DEX Screener. Investors are now suing the coin’s creators, including Welch. 

Memecoins are easy and inexpensive to produce, so new ones are hitting the market every day. One of the most recent memecoins to take hold is Fartcoin, which, like Dogecoin, started as a joke. The coin has attracted a community of people who revel in the absurdity of a coin based on nothing other than jokes about gastrointestinal functions. The coin, which launched in October 2024, peaked on Jan. 19 with a market cap of more than $2.5 billion. It had a market cap of roughly $1 billion as of Jan. 27.

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Who Created the Trump Memecoin?

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