by Jude Ayua

With only a few hours to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, his meme coin, $TRUMP, launched on 18 January 2025, crossed $70 within 36 hours. Reaching a market cap of $14.5 billion and a total of 999.99 million on 19 January, $TRUMP overtook Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL) and Ripple (XRP), becoming the top second in trading volume after bitcoin (BTC). Launched on the Solana blockchain, over 200 exchanges, including major exchanges like Binance, Crypto.com, Kraken, OKX, Bitget, KuCoin, MEXC, Meteora VD, and ByBit have listed $TRUMP since its launch.

Trump announced the launch on 18 January via his social media platforms, including Truth Social and X, capturing widespread attention in the digital asset world. Trump  wrote on X:

“My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE! It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! … GET YOUR $TRUMP NOW. Go … Have Fun!”

The official icon for the meme is Trump’s photo with his fist raised up and the caption, “FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT.” It represents his resilience after he survived assassination during his campaign on 13 July 2024. Coinmarketcap describes $TRUMP as a meme that “celebrates a leader who doesn’t back down, no matter the odds.”

Industry reactions: Politics or investment?

While $TRUMP has sparked debates within the crypto industry about its legitimacy, political implications, and impact on the market, Fight Fight Fight (FFF) LLC, the legal developer and promoter of the meme, states on its website:

Trump Memes are intended to function as an expression of support for, and engagement with, the ideals and beliefs embodied by the symbol “$TRUMP” and the associated artwork, and are not intended to be, or to be the subject of, an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type. GetTrumpMemes.com is not political and has nothing to do with any political campaign or any political office or governmental agency.

This statement should clear the fears of legitimacy and the purpose of $TRUMP, at least as far as the promoters are concerned. According to the terms published by the promoters, only individuals who are 18 and above or capable of entering into a legal contract and duly incorporated entities can deal with it or trade it. It also prohibits certain users including individuals or entities that are the subject of economic or trade sanctions.

Read more: Trump’s ‘America-first’ crypto reserve: What happens to bitcoin?

Political implications

$TRUMP’s launch reflects Trump’s overall pro-crypto agenda. Having made several promises during his campaign to transform the US crypto industry, Trump appointed crypto-friendly figures including Elon Musk, David Sacks, and Paul Atkins to head key regulatory positions. He also launched World Liberty Financial, a crypto buying and lending platform, in September 2024. 

Trump’s other crypto moves may also include proposing a BTC reserve, an executive order to prioritize American-based crypto reserves, and proposing a Cryptocurrency Advisory Council. Trump’s pro-crypto appointments, executive orders, and launch of crypto projects predict that the crypto industry will form a major part of his administration’s policies. 

The challenge of meme coins as “shitcoins” with no value 

However, the meme’s rapid rise, coupled with the general perception of meme coins as “shitcoins,” raises questions about its long-term viability and implications for Trump and his Presidency.

Although $TRUMP reinforces Trump’s political branding as an innovative leader who embraces modern technologies and appeals to tech-inclined and crypto stakeholders, there are reputational risks if the project fails to deliver sustained value. Notwithstanding the caveat on the FFF website, Trump may still face public backlash if something goes wrong. 

Regardless, perhaps the most significant thing about the emergence of $TRUMP is that a president-elect is involved in or promoting a meme coin that has broken every record in crypto history at a time when the US crypto industry particularly needed a break from the status quo.

Read more: Donald Trump promises to make the U.S “crypto capital of the planet”.

Industry implications and global impacts

A high-profile crypto project launch as $TRUMP could drive broader adoption of cryptocurrencies and normalize their mainstream use. It could also create more political attention globally, that may lead to clearer regulatory frameworks that would benefit the industry.

However, the speculative nature of $TRUMP as a meme coin could intensify already existing public perceptions of cryptocurrencies as a volatile, high-risk investment. Furthermore, the possible failure of the project may raise more scrutiny of political figures publicly engaging in similar projects.

$TRUMP’s launch presents both opportunities to boost digital assets adoption and risks of reputation, investment aversion, and increased regulatory scrutiny across the global cryptocurrency market.

Read more: Anticipation of a new pro-crypto administration in the US boosts confidence in crypto—The Block’s Report.

Image source: $TRUMP site

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Jude Ayua is a policy analyst at CAB. A lawyer, Jude is an associate at Infusion Lawyers where he is a member of the Blockchain & Virtual Assets Group. He is also a member of the Policy & Regulations Committee of the Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SiBAN). Jude reports and writes on crypto policy and regulations. jude@infusionlawyers.com

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