Trump and Melania Meme Coins: Will They Crash Further?

January 22, 2025 - Written by Frank Davies

STORY LINK Trump and Melania Meme Coins: Will They Crash Further?

Crypto Industry Wary as Trump Jumps on the Meme Coin Bandwagon

Over the past day, Official Trump (TRUMP) recorded a trading volume of $11,012,466,402, reflecting a 35% decrease compared to the previous 24-hour period. The token’s highest recorded price of $73.43 was achieved on January 19, 2025, making its current value 45.60% lower than that peak. Meanwhile, its all-time low of $4.29 was noted on January 18, 2025, marking an 830.96% climb from that bottom.

The crypto industry has welcomed the prospect of new and favourable era of regulation under President Trump. The move to issue his own meme coin initially triggered a wider surge in crypto asset prices, but there has been a quick backlash amid concerns that the wider and more serious industry could be damaged if these meme coins are seen as a personal wealth grab.

The president launched the $TRUMP meme coin on Friday evening, pitching it as a way “to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING!” First Lady Melania Trump followed on Sunday with the launch of $MELANIA.

$TRUMP spiked to highs above $75 from $7. The promise of lighter regulation coupled with President Trump’s move triggered strong initial buying across crypto assets with Bitcoin hitting a record high above $110,000 on Inauguration Day.

Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro, commented, “This growth was driven by the successful launch of meme-coins associated with Trump and his wife Melania, whose substantial capitalisation growth positively impacted the entire market.”

Grzegorz Drozdz, market analyst at Conotoxia Ltd added; "The cryptocurrency market gained additional popularity due to the launch of the TRUMP and MELANIA cryptocurrencies just before the inauguration."

November’s election victory for President Trump triggered strong gains for crypto assets with expectations that the regulatory environment would be more favourable for the industry.

In 2021, Trump had a very negative stance on crypto assets with comments that "Bitcoin, it just seems like a scam. I don't like it because it's another currency competing against the dollar."

His position changed rapidly, however, and ahead of the November election he stated that he would make the US the crypto capital of the world.

He promised to create a bitcoin and crypto presidential advisory council with rules written by people “who love your industry, not hate your industry.”

Trump clearly sees that the crypto industry can be another source of wealth for the US.

A clear target of Trump was Securities and Exchange Commission Gary Gensler who adopted a tough approach to regulation.

He threatened to dismiss Gensler on day 1, but Gensler resigned first. Commissioner Mark Uyeda has been appointed as acting chair until Paul Atkins can make it through the Senate confirmation process.

The industry has campaigned aggressively to remove Gensler and are looking for a much more favourable regulatory environment.

As well as a pro-crypto chairperson of the SEC, Trump has promised to set up a bitcoin strategic reserve from the significant stockpile of cryptocurrency amassed from government seizures.

$TRUMP is now trading around $40 with $MELANIA sliding to around $4 from a peak near $13 and below the issue price.

According to Matthew Dibb, chief investment officer at crypto asset manager Astronaut Capital; "I think in the short term there's a chance this could be a sell-the-news event," said adding that crypto investors had been anticipating some executive actions to be rolled out during Trump's first day in office.

Bitcoin has also retreated to below $105,000.

The coins are traded on the Solana blockchain network.

Some 80% of the Trump coin’s tokens are owned by CIC Digital, an affiliate of Trump’s business, and another entity called Fight, Fight, Fight, according to its website. The Melania coin is offered by MKT World LLC, a firm incorporated by the first lady in 2021.

A majority holders are subject to a three-year unlocking schedule, so they can’t sell all at once, but there have been concerns that the Trump family sees the industry as an opportunity to increase personal wealth.

According to Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban; “It’s just a matter of time until a lot of people lose money from this. I’m a crypto fan. This is not crypto any more than infamous fraudster Bernie Madoff was just buying and selling shares of stock.”

James Thurber, the founder and former director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies added; “There are shameful and major conflicts of interest with respect to his family business benefiting from his cryptocurrency policies.”

Kyla Curley, a crypto expert and partner at global advisory StoneTurn noted; “Generally, the introduction of any meme coin ruffles the feathers of those who are serious about the use, legitimacy and security of crypto.”

She did add; “the Trump meme coins shouldn’t lead us to presume that the Trump administration will not seek to further the crypto regulatory environment.”

According to Gareth Rhodes, managing director at advisory firm Pacific Street “The industry, whether or not they are fans of meme coins, are excited about a new era for the regulatory approach to crypto.”

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