Trump’s presidential meme coin has the crypto industry worried he's going to blow this

Hard launch… The crypto community’s conflicted about Donald and Melania Trump’s pair of Solana meme coins, which the couple peddled on social media leading up to Inauguration Day. They launched the tokens on the solana blockchain, which has a reputation for volatility and scams (ahem: the Hawk Tuah coin). The prices of $TRUMP and $MELANIA have swung sharply since launch, though Trump’s coin briefly hit a fully diluted market value of $70B before plunging. 

• Toss-up: The $TRUMP website says 80% of the coin is owned by two Trump-tied businesses: CIC Digital, an affiliate of Trump’s conglomerate, and Fight Fight Fight LLC, a new company co-owned by CIC Digital.

• Safeguard: The companies can’t sell their coins all at once because of a three-year unlocking schedule that could prevent a “rug pull” scam (when big investors suddenly cash out, causing the coin’s value to plummet). 

• Still: Some critics said Trump’s meme-coin rollout undermined the credibility of the industry and raised questions over whether the POTUS was merely promoting crypto for personal gain. 

Belle of the crypto ball… Crypto execs and celebs like Snoop Dogg celebrated Trump’s inauguration at an industry gala in DC on Friday — but they were expecting much more than meme coins from his first day in office. Trump left crypto fans on read when it comes to an exec order he was expected to issue making crypto a national priority. He also failed to elaborate on the strategic bitcoin reserve he promised on the campaign trail. One bright spot: yesterday the new SEC announced a “crypto task force” that’s expected to provide greater regulatory clarity while taking a chiller approach than former boss Gensler’s SEC.