Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Rebecca Noble/Getty Images/SOPA Images
Topics: Cryptocurrency, Donald Trump, US News, Politics, Social Media
Britt Jones
Topics: Cryptocurrency, Donald Trump, US News, Politics, Social Media
People have become millionaires after investing in US President-elect Donald Trump’s memecoin.
If you’ve not been keeping a close eye on the cryptocurrency market lately, you’ll have completely missed the fact that Trump released his $Trump memecoin as he prepares to take office and become inaugurated tomorrow (January 20).
The soon-to-be 47th president of the US sent out a tweet from his official Truth Social, his social media platform account, telling his followers to join him in ‘winning’ to celebrate his presidency.
The website said: "This Trump Meme celebrates a leader who doesn't back down, no matter the odds.”
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However, it came with a disclaimer to confirm that the coin is ‘not intended to be, or the subject of’ an investment opportunity and it’s also ‘not political and has nothing to do with’ any campaigns, persons or offices.
It states that it is not intended to be an ‘expression of support for, and engagement with, the ideals and beliefs embodied by the symbol $TRUMP’ and it’s also not ‘intended to be, or to be the subject of, an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type’.
Co-ordinated by CIC Digital LLC, which is an affiliate of the Trump Organization, the meme coin did something that many could not have anticipated- it skyrocketed into the billions overnight.
Within just six hours, it went from a few cents to $14, and it just kept climbing from there.
Hours after its launch, the market capitalisation was nearly $5.5bn, as per CoinMarketCap.com, making 500 traders millionaires thanks to their investments.
While only some 200 million coins have been issued, the website stated that 800 million will be released in the next three years for traders to snatch up.
But while many have become super rich thanks to their investments, others have accused Trump of benefiting from the coin.
Nick Tomaino, a crypto venture capitalist, said on social media: "Trump owning 80 percent and timing launch hours before inauguration is predatory and many will likely get hurt by it."
According to SolanaFloor, a news site which reports on digital finance, wrote on X: “A trader is up $29.8M on $TRUMP, Donald Trump’s official memecoin on Solana. He spent $1.09M to buy 5,971,750 TRUMP coins, now worth $30.8M in under 2 hours—a 2,634% gain. The trader has not sold any coins yet.”
At the time of writing, the memecoin has become the second largest on the market, with a 272 per cent increase in investment.
According to onchain data, it had over $3 billion in trading volumes within hours of it going live, it boasted a $2 billion market capitalization and it even brought in early buyers over $70 million in paper gains, and around $1 million for the smaller traders.
As this is the first time a president has given their likeness to a memecoin, it’s a pretty big deal in the crypto world.
According to a screenshot of traders, over 525 people became $TRUMP millionaires in less than 24 hours of investing in the coins.
UNILAD contacted Donald Trump’s representatives for comment.