MEME SCHEME

‘Historic Grift’: Trump’s Memecoin Creates $14B Out of Nothing

Cryptocurrency commentator Stephen Findeisen called the venture “cynical.” Trump supporter Dave Portnoy compared it to a “Ponzi scheme.”

President-elect Donald Trump’s new cryptocurrency became the second-largest meme coin by market cap over the weekend, creating a potential windfall worth billions for his family company.

The Trump memecoin had a market value of $14.2 billion early Sunday, nearly triple the $4.9 billion just 12 hours earlier, data shows. It’s now second only to Dogecoin, the speculative joke asset beloved by MAGA billionaire Elon Musk.

The president-elect’s decision to launch a memecoin—a digital asset linked to no underlying business or asset—to capitalize on enthusiasm for his inauguration immediately raised questions about how, or if, Trump plans to address conflicts of interest with his business interests during his second term.

BEARING FRUIT

Crypto Bro Who Ate $6.2M Banana Art Piece Gives Trump $18M

Leigh Kimmins

“My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE! It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING!” he wrote, announcing the token in Friday evening posts on his Truth Social platform and X.

The fine print on its official website implicitly notes the complete lack of value underpinning the coins, saying they merely “function as an expression of support for, and engagement with, the ideals and beliefs embodied by the symbol ‘$TRUMP.’”

In other words, the digital asset is highly speculative for investors while it could deliver a huge payoff for Trump-linked entities.

A Trump Organization affiliate called CIC Digital LLC and a related firm managing the launch, Fight Fight Fight LLC, own a roughly 80% share of the memecoin.

UNDER MY WING

Trump’s Murky Crypto Venture Was Intended to Help Barron

Will Neal

Their holdings will unlock over a three-year period, with 200 million tokens available immediately and 1 billion in circulation over the next three years, according to the website.

“The public’s gonna get wrecked and obviously the people that are going to make the most money are the insiders,” said Stephen Findeisen, a cryptocurrency journalist and commentator, in a video posted Saturday.

“What I think is so cynical about this is it’s going to fully vest during the presidency so there’s no way that they’re not going to get millions of dollars out of this,” he added. “They’re going to extract so much value from the Trump base, it’s insane. It’s gonna be the historic grift, I honestly can’t believe it.”

Even one prominent Trump supporter joined the chorus who blasted the launch as a cynical stunt.

“What’s the difference between the Hawk Tuah coin and the Trump coin besides nothing?” asked Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, in a post on X, comparing it to the memecoin promoted by viral “Hawk Tuah” star Haliey Welch that collapsed, leading to allegations of a “pump-and-dump” scheme.

He added: “Can I string up my own coin now and tell people it’s a Ponzi scheme from the jump and I’m gonna rug pull at some point and you better just hope you’re out when I do it and that would make the entire thing legal?”

Trump’s son Eric, who serves as the executive vice president of the family holding company, called Trump’s new digital currency “currently the hottest digital meme on earth.”

Eric and his older brother, Don Jr., have also been promoting a crypto platform called World Liberty Financial in which they have a stake.

Their father participated in a live-streaming event to introduce the company during the presidential campaign, while their younger brother Barron is listed on the paperwork as a “DeFi visionary.”

See more of our coverage in your search results.

ADD THE DAILY BEAST ON GOOGLE

Sean Craig

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.