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US President-elect Donald Trump launched his own cryptocurrency, the market capitalization of which quickly soared to several billion dollars.
He released the $Trump meme coin as he prepares to take office as the 47th president of the United States on Monday.
The venture was coordinated by CIC Digital LLC — an affiliate of the Trump Organization — which previously sold Trump-branded shoes and fragrances.
Meme coins are used to increase the popularity of viral internet trends or movements, but they have no intrinsic value and are an extremely volatile investment.
By Saturday afternoon, hours after the launch, Trump’s market capitalization had reached nearly $5.5 billion (£4.5 billion), according to CoinMarketCap.com.
CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight Fight LLC, a company incorporated in Delaware earlier this month, own 80% of the tokens. It is not yet clear how much money Trump can make from this venture.
“My NEW Official Trump Meme IS HERE! It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: VICTORY!” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, announcing the meme coin on Friday night.
About 200 million digital tokens have been issued, and another 800 million will be issued in the next three years, according to the coin’s website.
“This Trump meme celebrates a leader who doesn’t back down, no matter what,” the site says.
It included a disclaimer stating that the coin is “not intended to be or the subject of” an investment opportunity or security and is “not political and has nothing to do” with any political campaign, political office or government agency.
Critics have accused Trump of cashing in on the presidency, with one crypto commentator calling the meme coin “predatory.”
“Trump owning 80 percent of the stock and launching hours before the inauguration is predatory, and many are likely to suffer,” Nick Tomaina, a crypto venture capitalist and former head of Coinbase, one of the largest crypto trading platforms, said in a statement in social networks.
Such digital tokens are notorious for speculators using the hype to drive up the value before selling at the top of the market, leaving latecomers to count their losses as prices fall.
Cryptocurrency investors are hoping that the Trump administration will provide a major boost to the industry.
President Joe Biden’s regulators cited fraud and money laundering concerns when they cracked down on crypto companies by suing exchanges.
Trump has been dismissive of cryptocurrency in the past.
But at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville last year, he said America would be the “crypto capital of the planet” when he returned to Washington.
His sons Eric and Donald Jr. announced their own crypto venture last year.
