What Is the Meme Coin Launched by President Trump?
Extreme Volatility Draws MZ Generation
Lack of Regulation Leads to Frequent Liquidations and Rug Pull Scams
Since the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, the meme coin OfficialTrump ($TRUMP), which he personally promoted, has been on a rollercoaster ride. The time it took for the $7 coin to surge tenfold to $70 was just one day. Conversely, it took only 11 hours for the price to be cut in half.
OfficialTrump is a meme coin introduced to the world on the 17th, before President Trump's inauguration, as the "only official Trump coin." Trump Group subsidiaries 'CIC Digital' and 'Fighter Fight LLC,' where President Trump's second son Eric serves as chief vice president, hold 80% of the total coins.
Anyone can purchase OfficialTrump, and it can be exchanged for dollars or other cryptocurrencies. After its release, the coin quickly soared to $70 (about 100,000 KRW) per coin, then dropped to $40 (about 57,600 KRW). On the inauguration day, the 20th, it rose again to the $60 range (about 86,400 KRW) before immediately halving to $30 (about 43,200 KRW). The volatility of OfficialTrump's price increased further with the release of 'Melania,' a meme coin of President Trump's wife Melania Trump. Within just one or two hours, investors' fates were divided between sudden wealth and sudden ruin.
As of 10 a.m. on the 24th, OfficialTrump's market capitalization exceeded $6.6 billion (about 9.5 trillion KRW), ranking it 25th in the overall cryptocurrency market. The coin's price per unit is around $33 (about 47,000 KRW), roughly half of its all-time high. Although it took only 24 hours for the price to rise tenfold from $7 to $70, it took just 11 hours to fall.
With OfficialTrump being listed on domestic virtual asset exchanges one after another, the number of domestic investors riding the rollercoaster is increasing. According to the virtual asset industry, Coinone and Bithumb began supporting OfficialTrump trading on the 20th and 21st, respectively.
Meme coins are cryptocurrencies created based on popular elements that have become viral in online communities, characterized by extreme volatility. The main investors in meme coins are younger generations familiar with internet culture and language. According to 'Dexscreener,' which shows coin transaction histories in real time, some young investors bought OfficialTrump with tens of millions of KRW and sold it for billions, but many others experienced the opposite.
This is not the first time meme coins have become a hot topic. Tesla CEO Elon Musk caused a price surge in 2021 by mentioning 'Dogecoin,' a type of meme coin. It was unprecedented for a presidential candidate to enter the existing meme coin market, which was based on internet slang, celebrities, and images.
Liquidations and Scams Are Common... Yet the Dream of Sudden Wealth Persists
The term 'rug pull,' a representative scam method in the cryptocurrency industry, is derived from the act of suddenly pulling away a carpet laid on the floor. When the coin investor holding the largest stake sells all their holdings at the peak price and disappears, the remaining investors suffer significant losses. Pixabay
Most meme coins exhibit far more extreme volatility than major virtual assets like Bitcoin, and investors try to capitalize on this volatility to strike it rich.
The volatility of meme coins paradoxically stems from their 'non-asset-like' nature. Most meme coin developers state on their official websites that the tokens are "created purely for fun." However, popular meme coins get listed on exchanges, allowing holders to exchange their meme coins for dollars or other cryptocurrencies if buyers are available.
Meme coins are also vulnerable to scams due to regulatory blind spots in financial authorities. Some victims have fallen prey to 'rug pulls'?where promoters heavily advertise meme coins on social media to attract buyers, then sell all their holdings and disappear once the scale grows.
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