[Simone Del Rosario]

President Donald Trump became an overnight cryptocurrency billionaire after dispensing Trump meme coins on the Solana blockchain.

The official Trump digital token exceeded a $10 billion market capitalization ahead of Trump’s inauguration Monday, with one coin fetching more than $50. However, if all coins were in circulation, the fully diluted value would exceed $50 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. 

Despite Trump and others getting rich on the new offering, the official website warns Trump Memes are not “an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type.”

The fine print reads: “Trump Memes are intended to function as an expression of support for, and engagement with, the ideals and beliefs embodied by the symbol “$TRUMP.”

It also warns the trade is not political and not affiliated with a political campaign, office, or governmental agency. CIC Digital LLC is an affiliate of The Trump Organization. Together with Fight Fight Fight LLC, they collectively own 80% of the Trump Cards, according to the website GetTrumpMemes.com. 

Like other cryptocurrencies, the Trump meme coin is digitally traded through a computer network, in this case, the Solana blockchain. Cryptocurrencies are seen as decentralized and an alternative to “fiat money,” national currencies like the dollar, which governments control. 

The Trump coin took a dive Sunday when Trump’s wife, Melania, launched her own offering. The official MELANIA Meme had a market cap of around $1.5 billion ahead of the inauguration ceremony Monday, with each coin trading around $8. The fully diluted value is north of $7 billion.

$MELANIA contains the same disclosures as $TRUMP: They are digital collectibles intended to function as an expression of support. 

On X, Melania Trump’s tweet promoting the meme coin came with a warning from Community Notes: “Buying this token is incredibly risky and will likely result in the loss of funds.” That note was later removed. 

Cryptocurrency has functioned as part of the Trump trade since Trump the candidate headlined the Bitcoin2024 conference in Nashville. 

Donald Trump: If crypto is going to define the future, I want it to be mined, minted and made in the USA. It’s going to be, it’s not going to be made anywhere else. And if Bitcoin is going to the moon, as we say, is going to the moon, I want America to be the nation that leads the way, and that’s what’s going to happen.

Simone Del Rosario: Crypto advocates call Trump the first Bitcoin president. Bitcoin touched higher than $108,000 early Monday morning ahead of Trump’s swearing in. It’s a huge return from its value of less than $70,000 on Election Day in November. 

The first couple’s foray into meme coins is unprecedented and brings up concerns of conflict. Multiple former White House ethics lawyers have raised red flags about Trump financially benefiting from an industry he is charged with regulating. 

Trump has vowed to relax the more stringent regulatory landscape on cryptocurrency taken during the Biden administration. In his first week in office, he is expected to sign an executive order creating a crypto advisory council. 

Crypto advocates have long lambasted Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler for regulating most cryptocurrencies as securities. Gensler left the agency Monday. 

In December, Trump tapped the more crypto-friendly Paul Atkins to chair the SEC. He was previously an SEC commissioner under President George W. Bush and co-chair of the Digital Chamber of Commerce’s Token Alliance. 

Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Chris Giancarlo told Straight Arrow News Atkins is “an advocate for blockchain and digital assets.”

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