Donald and Melania Trump Launch a Pair of Meme Coins

Donald and Melania Trump have launched a pair of meme coins just before President Trump was sworn into office. The coins are already worth billions of dollars, raising 'serious ethical questions and conflicts of interest,' said Richard Painter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota. CNN reports: Melania Trump launched her cryptocurrency $MELANIA in a social media post Sunday, sending her husband's cryptocurrency $TRUMP, announced two days earlier, plummeting. 'The Official Melania Meme is live! You can buy $MELANIA now. https://melaniameme.com,' the future first lady wrote on X Sunday. Meme coins are a type of highly volatile cryptocurrency inspired by popular internet or cultural trends. They carry no intrinsic value but can soar, or plummet, in price. 'My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE!' Trump wrote on X Friday. 'It's time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump Community. GET YOUR $TRUMP NOW. Go to -- Have Fun!' Both coins are trading on the Solana blockchain.

$TRUMP is the first cryptocurrency endorsed by the incoming president, who once trashed bitcoin as 'based on thin air.' While executive branch employees must follow conflict of interest criminal statutes that prevent them from participating in matters that impact their own financial interests, the law does not apply to the president or the vice president. The Trump coin's market capitalization, which is based on the 200 million coins circulating, is capped at $13 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. The meme coin's website said there will be 1 billion Trump coins over the next three years. Both $MELANIA and $TRUMP's websites contain disclaimers saying the coins are 'intended to function as a support for, and engagement with' the values of their respective brands and 'are not intended to be, or to be the subject of, an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type.'

The website says the meme coin is not politically affiliated. But 80% of the coin's supply is held by Trump Organization-affiliate CIC Digital and Fight Fight Fight LLC, which are both subject to a three-year unlocking schedule -- so they cannot sell all of their holdings at once. Trump coin's fully diluted value (which reflects the eventual total supply of Trump coins) stood at around $54 billion as of Monday morning, according to CoinMarketCap. At that value, the 80% linked to Trump is worth a staggering $43 billion, at least on paper. The $TRUMP coin's website says it is 'the only official Trump meme. Now, you can get your piece of history. This Trump Meme celebrates a leader who doesn't back down, no matter the odds,' the website reads. 'Trump owning 80% and timing launch hours before inauguration is predatory and many will likely get hurt by it,' Nick Tomaino, a former Coinbase executive, said in a post on X. 'Trump should be airdropping to the people rather than enriching himself or his team on this.'

Read more of this story at Slashdot.