Is the game of Trump issuing coins and chasing money with power begun?

Organized by: Deng Tong, Golden Finance

At 9:44 pm local time on January 17, Trump announced on his social media account that he would launch his personal Meme currency TRUMP. Users need to visit the website with the domain name "gettrumpmemes" to obtain the Meme currency.

Once the news was released, voices of support and opposition flooded the market, and the entire encryption market was boiling. Many investors also took this opportunity to make a lot of money. According to CoinGecko data, the TRUMP token hit an all-time high of $72.02 at 8:03 pm on January 19.

Trump will be sworn in at 12 noon Eastern Time on the 20th (1 a.m. Beijing time on the 21st) under the auspices of Chief Justice Roberts of the United States, and will subsequently deliver an inaugural speech. The three richest people in the United States, Musk, Bezos, and Zuckerberg, attended the event together. Two sources said that Trump is preparing to issue a large number of executive orders and directives on his first day in office. The total number may exceed 100, covering immigration, energy production, etc.

At this ingenious moment, Trump’s behavior of issuing Meme coins can’t help but cause market speculation: Will such a move really benefit the encryption market? Is it a game of chasing money with power?

1. What do industry insiders who support Trump’s coin issuance say?

• DWF Labs partner Andrei Grachev tweeted: Trump is doing the best marketing for the cryptocurrency market.

• Cardano co-founder Charles Hoskinson revealed in a post on X that 78.5% of Trump’s net worth of $29.6 billion is cryptocurrency, making him one of the richest cryptocurrency entrepreneurs. This is mainly due to the Meme coin TRUMP issued by Trump. Hoskinson also noted that Trump’s extensive involvement in cryptocurrencies could lead to significant changes in the industry. His administration may redefine IRS policy on capital gains taxes and fair market value assessments of digital assets, anticipated changes that could impact the regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency industry.

• Animoca Brands co- founder Yat Siu posted on the President Trump has the ability to do great things with TRUMP, which may go down in history as the most generous and charitable American president in history.

• Eric Trump , executive vice president of the Trump Organization , said on the and will be the future of finance, and we’re just getting started.”

2. What do people in the industry say who oppose Trump’s currency

issuance?

• Forbes said: Trump’s issuance of Meme coins may trigger a constitutional crisis. According to the report, although the new SEC chairman who is about to be nominated may introduce encryption-friendly policies, the relevant basic legal principles remain unchanged, and the personality and policy preferences of SEC leaders cannot override established securities laws. The Supreme Court's Howey test has been a cornerstone of securities regulation for 75 years, independent of individual governments and political appointees. While the SEC's enforcement priorities may change under new leadership, its statutory obligation to apply the Howey test remains absolutely unchanged. This enduring framework for evaluating investment plans is independent of any chairman’s crypto-friendly stance or industry affiliations. The report pointed out that the launch of the TRUMP Meme coin exposed a fundamental tension in contemporary American politics. While Trump has positioned himself as a champion of the cryptocurrency industry and pledged to make the U.S. the "crypto capital of the world," the structure and timing of his own digital token project illustrates the challenges to his personal enrichment and political power. Convergence is worrisome. The concentration of token ownership in companies with ties to Trump, coupled with the timing of the issuance just before the inauguration, raises questions about whether this represents true support for cryptocurrency innovation or is simply further efforts to alienate the president. A clever attempt at job monetization.

• Arthur Hayes said regarding "Trump issuing Meme TRUMP": This is the launch of the political meme currency market. Any politician who is not afraid of public opinion will launch his own meme. These token economics are fugazi (note: derogatory term, fake stuff) , but this "shit" reaches 10 billion US dollars. But he also pointed out: Meme coins are the best fan interaction tool ever. If Trump does it, there's far less risk of Beyoncé or Swift doing it.

• Nick Tomaino, a former Coinbase executive and crypto venture capitalist, said that Trump owns 80% of the TRUMP coin and launched it just hours before the inauguration, which is predatory and many people may be harmed by it. Trump should be airdropping on the people, not using it to enrich himself or his team. Currently it looks like an FTX token. But he also pointed out: Trump’s move means a shift from the Biden anti-cryptocurrency era to the Trump era.

• Former Coinbase Chief Technology Officer Balaji Srinivasan posted that more than 90% of Trump’s net assets of approximately US$59 billion have now been converted into crypto assets. This shift may have major impacts: 1) Trump’s proportion of crypto assets has increased from 1 % jumped to 90%, similar to the wealth accumulation path of early Bitcoin and Ethereum holders; 2) This phenomenon of rapid depreciation of non-crypto assets may occur globally in the future; 3) If the value of TRUMP tokens continues, it may It triggered political and business celebrities to follow suit and issue personal tokens. He suggested that Trump could resolve potential conflicts of interest through airdrops: At current valuations, airdropping locked TRUMP tokens worth $100 to each of 77 million supporters would only cost $7.7 billion. Even if it were increased to $500 per person, it would still be There is more than 20 billion US dollars left. Balaji believes that this plan can not only establish a new "president-citizen" relationship, but also provide a public opinion basis for Trump to promote encryption-friendly policies. He also pointed out: Meme coin is a zero-sum lottery and it does not create wealth. Every buy order is simply matched with a sell order. After the initial surge, the price eventually collapses and the last buyer loses everything. If you consider the commission the platform takes from it, meme coins are actually a negative sum.

• Danielle Brian, executive director of the nonpartisan Project on Government Oversight , said meme coins are often not tied to any underlying business, making them highly speculative for investors and potentially lucrative for founders. Profit, "Any move the Trump Organization makes to signal that they are concerned about potential conflicts, particularly those involving foreign governments, appears to completely undermine its efforts." Other groups raising concerns include the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center and Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington , which unsuccessfully sued Trump during his first term for violating the Constitution's ban on foreign gifts and compensation. "The clear difference with cryptocurrencies is how quickly you can get a windfall," said Kedric Payne, general counsel at the Campaign Legal Center.

• CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju posted on It's inevitable. As victims emerge, chaos will affect the law - that 's the saddest part. " Trump is less likely to cash out his memecoin. He 's more likely to use it to increase his net worth. " , and reward loyal supporters and colleagues.”

• Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital: This is bad for the industry and compared it to the level of corruption of former Ugandan president Idi Amin.

• Ben Meiselas, co-founder of Meidas Touch : Trump should focus on more pressing matters.

• Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports : This matter is similar to Internet celebrity Haliey Welch’s alleged plan to pump out the Meme currency HAWK.

• YouTube Crypto Detective Coffeezilla: This launch is a “historic act of stupidity”.

• Bitcoin Bull Anthony Scaramucci : Warns One Million Followers on X Not to “Fool Yourselves” About Trump’s Official Meme Coin Launch.

• Bitcoin Magazine, the organizer of the Trump Bitcoin Conference, said on social platforms that TRUMP is a shitcoin. Bitcoin Magazine was a well-known pro-Trump media during the election. During its official event, the Bitcoin 2024 Conference, it invited Trump to the stage and delivered a speech. In the speech, Trump announced the launch of the Bitcoin strategic reserve and ensured that the United States would become the world’s Plans such as the Crypto Center and Bitcoin Superpower, and the firing of the SEC Chairman have kicked off the Trump administration’s crypto-friendly policies.

• Attorney David Lesperance pointed out that the president-elect’s launch of the Meme coin violated the provisions of the U.S. Constitution designed to prevent foreign countries from influencing U.S. government officials. “In the past, President-elect Trump’s launch of his meme coin, TRUMP, would have been viewed as a clear example of a violation of the Foreign Emoluments Clause of Article I, Section 9, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution.” “Given that TRUMP can easily be used by foreign purchases by individuals or governments, which would appear to be in violation of this provision.”

3. Will Trump’s Meme coin help Trump reach the top of his net worth?

Crypto KOL Conor posted on the Bill Gates; touching $203: surpassing Mark Zuckerberg; touching $225: surpassing Elon Musk; touching $270: becoming the richest man in the world.

On January 19, “Trump’s virtual currency soared 1,250% overnight” ranked No. 13 on Baidu’s hot search list, and “Trump’s net worth soared 400% overnight” ranked No. 40 on Weibo’s hot search list. Related searches on Weibo are "Cryptocurrency President Trump's net worth soared to $28 billion overnight, thanks to the virtual currency 'TRUMP' issued by Trump, which increased his estimated net worth by 400% ”

In just 24 hours after Trump's issuance, its market value soared to a staggering $4.8 billion, with a fully diluted valuation of $24.3 billion. This number not only refreshes the record of Meme coins, but also indicates its potential to shake Dogecoin’s dominance in the field of Meme coins. In the eyes of many, the president's move to launch a meme coin is unprecedented, but if you look closely at Trump's development and utilization of his brand over the years, it is actually not surprising. From Trump University to Trump hotels, casinos, and even NFTs, the president has long been accustomed to monetizing his personal brand. The difference this time is not the strategy, but the medium—an ironic fact that it all stems from the current regulatory environment.

4. Is MELANIA, the Meme coin issued by Trump’s wife, reliable?

Trump’s wife Melania said on social media in the early morning that people can now buy the Meme coin MELANIA. However, according to Unusual Whales, the official website and domain name of Mrs. Trump’s Meme Coin MELANIA were created yesterday.

Ryan Selkis, a loyal Trump fan and founder of Messari, publicly called on Trump on social media, suggesting that he fire the relevant personnel who recommended the launch of the Melania project today. Selkis pointed out that the project has the following problems: the project team lacks professional capabilities; it may cause significant economic losses and damage to goodwill; and project decisions did not fully consider Trump’s interests.

According to Melaniameme’s official website, MELANIA tokens adopt a token economic model that is significantly different from TRUMP. The token distribution plan is: 35% team share, 20% treasury, 20% community, 15% public offering, and 10% liquidity. In terms of the unlocking mechanism, the MELANIA team’s share only needs to be locked for 30 days, while TRUMP needs to be locked for 3 years. The MELANIA team share will be unlocked for the first time on the 30th day at 10% (accounting for 3% of the total supply), and then the remaining share will be unlocked linearly in months 2-13, with approximately 2.25% of the total supply unlocked every month until the 13th month All unlocked.

According to on-chain analyst Ember’s monitoring, MELANIA, the currency issued by Trump’s wife, has a 5-hour FDV speed of 10 billion US dollars. However, the value of the team unlocking part in the MELANIA token distribution is suspected to be wrong. The official website writes “MELANIA total amount 1 billion "Coins: 35% team, 20% treasury, 20% community, 15% public distribution, 10% liquidity", but only 35% of the team has written unlocking rules, and the others have not been written. This may mean that MELANIA's circulation capacity is 65%. “The MELANIA team part will begin to be unlocked in one month and will be fully unlocked within 13 months.” However, according to the distribution map provided on the official website, the team is allocated 35%. Let’s look at the values ​​in the team unlocking rules below. This is calculated based on 30%.

According to monitoring by on-chain analyst @ai_9684xtpa, regarding the liquidity of MELANIA tokens, so far the DEV address has added 129 million tokens to the MeteoraMELANIA/USDC pool for unilateral liquidity. Token Economics points out that 10% of tokens It will be used for LP (i.e. 100 million pieces); there are currently 9.64 million MELANIA and 275 million USDC in the pool, and the TVL is as high as 393 million US dollars. Regarding chip distribution, the DEV address has distributed 870 million tokens to five addresses. Three of the receiving addresses have no action yet. Address 7Wk1V...xdMkA and address 3XKsc...t6uKu are also performing actions to add liquidity.

As of press time, according to CoinGecko data, TRUMP has increased by 47.3% during the day and is currently trading at $45.39.

MELANIA rose 8.0% during the day and is currently trading at $8.02.