President Donald Trump and first Lady Melania Trump each launched their own digital tokens over the long holiday weekend and rode renewed market enthusiasm about cryptocurrencies — stoked by campaign promises of a more crypto-friendly environment under the new administration — to billions of dollars in new personal wealth.
Trump launched his “Official Trump” meme coin last Friday and it was trading for about $6.50 at its debut, rising to nearly $73 before dropping by about half just ahead of Monday’s inauguration ceremony. As of midday Tuesday, the token was trading for around $40 with a market capitalization of $7.8 billion, according to real-time tracking by CoinGecko.
First Lady Melania Trump announced her own meme coin, Melania, on Sunday and the token opened trading at about $7 before moving up to $13 on inauguration day before edging back down. As of midday Tuesday, the Melania token was trading at just under $4.50 and a market capitalization north of $600 million, according to CoinGecko.
Cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase defines meme coins as digital currencies that are “often inspired by internet memes or trends” and “typically characterized by their volatile nature and lack of intrinsic value.”
Is crypto a good investment?
While Trump is a past critic of cryptocurrencies and at one point warned that investments in the digital tokens were a “scam,” he has since pivoted to being a crypto proponent and made repeated campaign pledges to create a friendly space for the sector. Among his pro-crypto comments was a promise made during a speech at a cryptocurrency conference last summer in Nashville that, under his administration, “the rules will be written by people who love your industry, not hate your industry.”
Trump made good on that pledge last month, selecting Paul Atkins to head up the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Atkins, who served as an SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008, is widely known as a strong supporter of the cryptocurrency market.
Trump highlighted Atkins’ stance on digital currencies in an announcement of the selection, posted on Truth Social in December.
“Paul is a proven leader for common sense regulations,” Trump wrote. “He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our Economy the best in the World. He also recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before.”
In a Tuesday report from CNBC, Kenneth Lamont, a principal at Morningstar, warned investors not to jump into crypto trading without being properly informed about the risks involved.
“If Donald Trump delivers on his election promises, we could see cryptocurrency markets continue to surge. However, investors would do well to resist the siren call of fear of missing out, and sit on their hands,” Lamont said in emailed comments Tuesday.
Why has cryptocurrency value gone up?
Trump’s pro-digital currency stance has fueled value spikes across the cryptocurrency market including Bitcoin, which broke the $100,000 mark for the first time in early December and flirted with $110,000 later in the month before pricing eased a bit. The digital token ended 2024 up over 100% for the year, with about half that gain realized after Trump’s election victory in early November.
Bitcoin set another high value benchmark on Monday ahead of the inauguration, rising to over $109,000 before easing later in the day. Some market watchers speculate the release of the Official Trump and Melania meme coins may have led to some downward pressure on Bitcoin value as the new tokens attracted investors interest that may have otherwise stayed on Bitcoin.
“Rumors that cryptocurrency may be declared a national interest by the United States during the inauguration are having a positive effect on the price of bitcoin,” Gracy Chen, CEO of crypto exchange Bitget, told CNBC. “I don’t believe the rise in bitcoin’s price is due to the launch of new meme tokens. Rather … without the release of the Trump family tokens, bitcoin’s price would have grown more. Instead, capital shifted to new coins, limiting overall growth.”
Bitcoin’s value was on the rise again on Tuesday, trading for almost $107,000 per token around midday and up over 3% in the last 24 hours, per CoinGecko data tracking.
