The cryptocurrency launched by former President Donald Trump has crashed more than 90% from its peak, inflicting massive losses on investors who bought at the top. The Trump token, launched just before his inauguration last January, briefly surged from $1.20 to a peak of $75.35. It now trades at $4.96, representing a 94% decline from its high. (Trump Token Weekly Chart, Latest Price: $4.96) Just days after the Trump token's issuance, his wife, Melania Trump, launched her own meme coin. Its price has now plummeted to $0.15 from a peak of $13.73, a staggering 99% drop. (Melania Token Weekly Chart, Latest Price: $0.1542) According to a prior Financial Times investigation, the Trump family's cryptocurrency ventures have generated over $1 billion in pre-tax profits. These token projects have faced severe criticism from crypto industry insiders, governance experts, and Democrats, who view them as rapid wealth-extraction mechanisms and an abuse of power.
Meme Coin Mania Cools
Investor enthusiasm for meme coins reached its zenith in late 2023 and early 2024. These highly volatile tokens can be created online by anyone, possessing no fundamental value, business model, or cash flow. Their speculative appeal relies solely on popularity and association with viral moments or famous figures. Despite the significant price collapse, data from CoinMarketCap shows Trump's token remains the fifth-largest meme coin by market capitalization. The Trump and Melania tokens have generated approximately $427 million in sales and trading fees, although the specific profit-sharing arrangement between the parties remains unclear. The Trump organization has since shifted its focus to other projects. Trump Media & Technology Group, which controls and operates the Truth Social platform, plans to issue a new crypto token to shareholders on February 2nd as part of an agreement with the Crypto.com exchange.
Conflicts of Interest Raise Alarms
Since his return to the White House, Trump has been a vocal supporter of the cryptocurrency industry, appointing pro-crypto regulators and granting pardons to some offenders. He and his family have also founded several cryptocurrency businesses. U.S. governance experts are calling for landmark crypto market structure rules currently being developed in Washington to include strict safeguards against government conflicts of interest. Multiple groups, including Democracy Defenders Action and the Project on Government Oversight, sent a letter to the Senate last week urging it to incorporate measures that would prohibit the President and other senior officials from holding or trading cryptocurrencies. They warned that without such measures, the system "could be exploited by those in power, exposing ordinary investors to risks of fraud, manipulation, and abuse," pointing specifically to the Trump family's various crypto ventures.
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