Singapore/London: Donald Trump’s newly minted cryptocurrency reached nearly $11 billion in market value on Monday, driving billions in trading volume, while Bitcoin hit a record high just hours before the US president-elect returns to the White House. .
Launched on Friday, the Trump meme coin, also known as $TRUMP, was at $52.71 as of 1230 GMT on Monday, giving it a market capitalization of about $10.7 billion, according to CoinMarketCap, which ranked it the 18th largest. Positioned as a cryptocurrency. The coin rose to $74.59 on Sunday, up from less than $10 on Saturday morning, while 24-hour trading volume reached $52.5 billion.
Trump launched the digital token on Friday with branding that included an image of his assassination attempt in July, expanding his cryptocurrency interests that already include World Liberty Financial. Of the total number of tokens, 80% are owned by CIC Digital LLC, an affiliate of Trump’s business The Trump Organization, and another business called Fight Fight Fight LLC, according to the token’s website.
Melania Trump launched her own cryptocurrency on Sunday, which was trading at around $9.6 at 1230 GMT with a market cap of $1.85 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $109,071.86 in early European trading and then traded around $106,600. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has increased by more than 10% so far this month.
“Pandora’s Box”
Even participants in the cryptocurrency community were surprised by the launch of the Trump meme coin.
Justin D’Anethan, an independent crypto analyst based in Hong Kong, said, “While it is tempting to dismiss this as just another Trump spectacle, the launch of the official Trump token has opened a Pandora’s box of ethical and regulatory questions.”
While the coin represents the blending of the world of decentralized finance (DeFi) into the political sphere, it “blurs the lines between governance, profit, and influence,” D’Anethan said.
“Should public figures, especially those with such political clout, have this kind of influence in speculative markets? “This is a question that regulators are unlikely to ignore,” he said.
Peter Schiff, chief economist and global strategist at Euro Pacific Asset Management, pointed to the surge in $TRUMP’s value on messaging platform X and called it the new digital gold.
Trump has promised to become a “crypto president,” and is expected to issue executive orders aimed at reducing crypto regulatory barriers and promoting widespread adoption of digital assets.
He will assume the presidency at noon ET (1700 GMT) on Monday.
The prospect of relaxed regulations around crypto policy has been greeted with fanfare by the industry and Bitcoin has surged following Trump’s election victory in November.
