Trump introduces crypto meme coin, boosting net worth before inauguration
The launch of a new business product by a president-elect is quite rare and raises significant ethical concerns for watchdog organizations.
TroibNews 
On Friday night, President-elect Donald Trump introduced a cryptocurrency token that saw a dramatic surge in value overnight, possibly boosting his net worth by tens of billions of dollars on paper just days before his inauguration.
The token, termed a memecoin—characterized as a digital asset without intrinsic value traded on a blockchain—was promoted through posts on Trump's social media site and X shortly after 9 p.m. As a result, the asset's value skyrocketed. By 2:30 p.m. Saturday, its market capitalization had surpassed $5 billion, with trading volume exceeding $11 billion, as reported by CoinGecko.
A Trump-controlled entity, CIC Digital LLC, is said to own 80 percent of the coin's total supply. The current availability stands at 200 million tokens, with plans to increase the circulation to 1 billion over the next three years.
This product launch highlights Trump's commitment to the cryptocurrency sector and raises ethical concerns as he gets ready to assume office. He has a history of involvement in crypto, having previously marketed crypto trading cards, and his sons launched a digital asset firm called World Liberty Financial last August. Additionally, Trump addressed a major bitcoin conference during his campaign.
Trump's financial interests in cryptocurrency coincide with his promise to implement policies that could favor the industry, such as revamping the regulation of digital assets and advocating for government reserves of bitcoin.
As of 2:30 p.m. Saturday, the new memecoin boasted a fully diluted market capitalization of over $27 billion, with the token priced just above $27. At this valuation, Trump's company holds assets worth more than $20 billion.
As Trump began promoting the coin, key figures from the digital asset space were present at an unofficial inaugural ball organized by crypto companies. David Sacks, Trump's incoming crypto and AI czar, declared at the event, “the reign of terror against crypto is over, and the beginning of innovation in America for crypto has just begun,” as detailed in a video shared on X. Crypto companies have contributed a minimum of $10 million to Trump's inaugural fund, and many executives are expected at his inauguration on Monday.
The launch of a new business product by a president-elect is an unconventional maneuver and raises significant ethical questions. Critics argue that Trump stands to gain from potential policy shifts that he may implement.
“It is absolutely wild,” stated Jordan Libowitz, vice president for communications at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “After decades of seeing presidents-elect spend the time leading up to inauguration separating themselves from their finances to show that they don’t have any conflicts of interest, we now have a president-elect who, the weekend before inauguration, is launching new businesses along with promises to deregulate … those sectors in a way to just blatantly profit off his own presidency.”
Additionally, some of Trump's critics in the cryptocurrency space are expressing concern over the optics of this move. Anthony Scaramucci, a crypto supporter who previously worked as Trump’s communications director and later became a vocal critic, remarked on X Saturday that it “is bad for the industry.” He further added, "Don’t delude yourself. It’s Idi Amin level corruption,” referencing the former Ugandan leader.
Trump's transition team has not yet responded to a request for comment regarding these developments.
Alejandro Jose Martinez contributed to this report for TROIB News
The token, termed a memecoin—characterized as a digital asset without intrinsic value traded on a blockchain—was promoted through posts on Trump's social media site and X shortly after 9 p.m. As a result, the asset's value skyrocketed. By 2:30 p.m. Saturday, its market capitalization had surpassed $5 billion, with trading volume exceeding $11 billion, as reported by CoinGecko.
A Trump-controlled entity, CIC Digital LLC, is said to own 80 percent of the coin's total supply. The current availability stands at 200 million tokens, with plans to increase the circulation to 1 billion over the next three years.
This product launch highlights Trump's commitment to the cryptocurrency sector and raises ethical concerns as he gets ready to assume office. He has a history of involvement in crypto, having previously marketed crypto trading cards, and his sons launched a digital asset firm called World Liberty Financial last August. Additionally, Trump addressed a major bitcoin conference during his campaign.
Trump's financial interests in cryptocurrency coincide with his promise to implement policies that could favor the industry, such as revamping the regulation of digital assets and advocating for government reserves of bitcoin.
As of 2:30 p.m. Saturday, the new memecoin boasted a fully diluted market capitalization of over $27 billion, with the token priced just above $27. At this valuation, Trump's company holds assets worth more than $20 billion.
As Trump began promoting the coin, key figures from the digital asset space were present at an unofficial inaugural ball organized by crypto companies. David Sacks, Trump's incoming crypto and AI czar, declared at the event, “the reign of terror against crypto is over, and the beginning of innovation in America for crypto has just begun,” as detailed in a video shared on X. Crypto companies have contributed a minimum of $10 million to Trump's inaugural fund, and many executives are expected at his inauguration on Monday.
The launch of a new business product by a president-elect is an unconventional maneuver and raises significant ethical questions. Critics argue that Trump stands to gain from potential policy shifts that he may implement.
“It is absolutely wild,” stated Jordan Libowitz, vice president for communications at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “After decades of seeing presidents-elect spend the time leading up to inauguration separating themselves from their finances to show that they don’t have any conflicts of interest, we now have a president-elect who, the weekend before inauguration, is launching new businesses along with promises to deregulate … those sectors in a way to just blatantly profit off his own presidency.”
Additionally, some of Trump's critics in the cryptocurrency space are expressing concern over the optics of this move. Anthony Scaramucci, a crypto supporter who previously worked as Trump’s communications director and later became a vocal critic, remarked on X Saturday that it “is bad for the industry.” He further added, "Don’t delude yourself. It’s Idi Amin level corruption,” referencing the former Ugandan leader.
Trump's transition team has not yet responded to a request for comment regarding these developments.
Alejandro Jose Martinez contributed to this report for TROIB News
