Is the coin real?
That was the question plaguing crypto traders from U.S. to Asia alike as an “official” memecoin linked to Republican Donald Trump was issued in early Asian hours Saturday from his verified X and Truth Social accounts.
Prices ran from few cents to $14 in less than six hours amid widespread confusion on whether the token was actually backed by Trump or was a possible hack of Trump’s account with a fake token issued by the attacker to fleece unsuspecting buyers.
CoinDesk could not independently confirm if the token was legit or not as of early European hours Saturday.
The token — which is viewed with scepticism among some traders — has attracted $3 billion in trading volumes hours after going live and commands a $2 billion market capitalization at current prices. It has netted early buyers over $70 million in paper gains, and smaller traders as much as $1 million, onchain data shows.
The apparent move comes days before Trump takes office on Jan.20, and is the first time a sitting president will give their liking to a memecoin. It’s the latest in a long list of crypto-related businesses and products linked to Trump — with the Republican having previously issued multiple NFTs and the relatively new decentralized finance platform World Liberty Financial.
“My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE! It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING!,” an X post from the @realDonaldTrump account reads. “Join my very special Trump Community. GET YOUR $TRUMP NOW. Go to http://gettrumpmemes.com — Have Fun!”
The X post went up on 2:44 UTC Saturday and has stayed up until after 8:15 UTC. It was initially perceived to be
The token was first posted on Trump’s Truth Social, where it ran from a fully diluted valuation of $200 million to over $1.3 billion in just over an hour. It gained traction and interest from crypto traders after the X post.
A disclaimer on the meme’s website stated that the Trump meme token were intended to function as an “expression of support for, and engagement with, the ideals and beliefs embodied by the symbol $TRUMP” and are not “intended to be, or to be the subject of, an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type.”
The reasoning is in line with how memecoin markets have shaped up since late 2024, moving away from mere tokens related to pictures (such as dogecoin) to cult tokens where holders believe in a shared vision or idea that the brand implies (such as SPX6900 flipping the U.S. stock market, or MOG representing “tokenized winning.”)
Meanwhile, some previously-issued memecoins themed after Trump took a hit early Saturday, dropping as much as 50% as their value proposition fell.