meme coin

Donald Trump has made the news in many ways this week but one surprising item was the launch of the $TRUMP meme coin to mark his inauguration.  There was also a meme coin for Melania Trump but that was less significant.  The two together reached $9.5 billion on Inauguration Day.

A meme coin is a cryptocurrency coin launched by speculators to make money or to allow people to show their support for a particular celebrity or, in this case, politician.  The first meme coin was launched in 2013 with the face of Kabosu from the Doge meme on it.  It was intended to make a joke of cryptocurrencies but it has proved to have enduring value.

Whether the $TRUMP meme coin will retain its value is doubtful.  Initially its value soared but it has dropped off considerably, particularly when Trump said that he didn’t know much about cryptocurrency.  He just knew that his coin was worth a lot. The people who take bitcoins seriously were not pleased. And a more general concern was that a President was using his inauguration to make money for himself.