Robinhood Crypto VP and GM Johann Kerbrat says the company is ‘optimistic’ about ‘The Claman Countdown’.
New First Lady Melania Trump launched her own crypto token on Sunday after President-elect Trump announced his crypto token, called the $TRUMP coin, days before he returns to the Oval Office.
Melania Trump unveiled her cryptocurrency token, $MELANIA, on social media as the president-elect held a victory rally at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC, on Sunday afternoon.
“The official Melania meme is live!” she posted on X. “Now you can buy $MELANIA.”
The token entered the market for just a penny, and by Sunday night was trading for more than $10.
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The website associated with $MELANIA indicates that 15% of the tokens will be available for public distribution.
But according to the Wall Street Journal, the $MELANIA token caused the $TRUMP coin to drop more than 45% before recovering some of its value.
On Friday, Trump announced the launch of $TRUMP, and in less than 24 hours, the crypto rose from just a few cents to $33.87, representing an incredible price increase of over 18,000%. Like most cryptocurrenciesthe token is showing volatility, although it was trading around $48 on Sunday evening, after peaking at around $76 earlier in the day.
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Both President-elect Trump and new First Lady Melania Trump have launched crypto tokens. (GIORGIO VIERA / AFP) (Photo by GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Trump announced the coin’s unveiling on Truth Social and X at 9:45 p.m., while industry giants celebrated his return to office at the inaugural Crypto Ball in Washington, DC.
FOX Business reached out to Trump’s transition team for comment, but did not hear back.
Trump promises to be the most cryptocurrency-friendly president in history and has promised to change that Biden administration regulatory crackdown on the sector, resulting in the relocation of many American companies’ operations overseas.
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President-elect Trump has promised to be a crypto-friendly president. (Brett Carlsen/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
When news of Trump’s cryptocurrency broke on Friday, many Crypto Ball attendees were skeptical, speculating that the president-elect’s accounts had been hacked. Donald Trump, Jr., who likely knew about the announcement, was holed up in an exclusive VIP area. It is not clear if he has spoken to anyone about the token launch.
Both coins, which carry the trademarks TRUMP and MELANIA, are known as “meme coins”, a highly speculative type of cryptocurrency that has no inherent utility and is often created based on a joke or parody, such as $PEPE, a meme of a cartoon frog that has market value of over 7 billion dollars.
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Sophisticated investors are often wary of meme coins, not only because of their wild price swings, but also because of their tendency to be associated with scammers looking to make a quick buck off exuberant investors.
Last month, social media influencer Haliey Welch, better known as “Hawk Tuah Girl,” was sued by investors when the price of her meme coin, $HAWK, plummeted hours after its launch, leading to huge losses for investors.
FOX Business’ Eleanor Terrett contributed to this report.
