Former President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency, $TRUMP, surged past $10 billion in market value on Monday, just days after its launch. The cryptocurrency’s debut coincided with Bitcoin hitting a record high, fueled by renewed optimism ahead of Trump’s return to the White House.
Launched on Friday, the $TRUMP token saw its price skyrocket from less than $10 on Saturday morning to a peak of $74.59. Despite giving up some gains by Monday, it maintained strong momentum in the market. The token’s branding includes an image referencing Trump’s attempted assassination in July, marking an expansion of his ventures into digital currencies.
Melania Trump followed suit by launching her own cryptocurrency, $MELANIA, on Sunday. The token’s market cap quickly exceeded $1 billion, solidifying its place among the top-performing digital assets.
According to the $TRUMP website, four-fifths of the token’s supply is owned by CIC Digital, an affiliate of Trump’s business empire, and another entity named Fight, Fight, Fight. The coins are described as a symbol of support for Trump’s ideals and beliefs, rather than an investment or security.
The launch drew mixed reactions within the cryptocurrency community.
“While it’s tempting to dismiss this as just another Trump spectacle, the launch of an official Trump token opens up a Pandora’s box of ethical and regulatory questions,” said Justin D’Anethan, a Hong Kong-based independent cryptocurrency analyst.
The Trump Organization announced earlier this month that Trump would transfer daily management of his multi-billion-dollar real estate, hotel, and licensing portfolio to his children upon taking office.
As of 1:45 p.m. GMT, the $TRUMP token was trading at $46.93 with a market cap of $9.4 billion, ranking it as the 19th largest cryptocurrency by market value, according to CoinMarketCap. Trading volume exceeded $41 billion within 24 hours.
Bitcoin also experienced a rally, reaching an all-time high of $109,071.86 during early European trading before settling near $107,600. The cryptocurrency has surged more than 10% this month.
“The cryptocurrency market gained additional popularity due to the launch of the TRUMP and MELANIA tokens, boosting investor sentiment just before the inauguration,” said Grzegorz Drozdz, market analyst at Conotoxia Ltd.
