 "Trump launches his own cryptocurrency days before he takes over the White House")
Before he commenced his second term in the Oval Office, US President-elect Donald Trump launched his own cryptocurrency, which soon gained significant momentum in the market. On Saturday he released a meme coin called “$Trump” which soared in market capitalisation to several billion dollars.
According to Trump’s website, the venture is co-ordinated by CIC Digital LLC - an affiliate of the Trump Organization. The private company was responsible for selling Trump’s shoes and fragrances in the past. It is important to note that meme coins are often used to build the popularity of an internet trend. However, they lack any sort of intrinsic value and are touted as extremely volatile investments.
Hours after it was launched, the CIC Digital LLC - an affiliate of the Trump Organization, according to CoinMarketCap.com. CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight Fight LLC are two companies from Delaware that own 80 per cent of the tokens. It remains unclear exactly how much money the president-elect will make in the business venture.
Trump boasts about the meme coin
On Friday night, the Republican firebrand took to TruthSocial to introduce the meme coins. He said that his team stands for “winning”. “My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE! It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING!” Trump wrote on his social media platform.
The coin’s website maintained that around 200m digital tokens have been issued. Trump’s team involved in the venture promised that another 800m will be released in the next three years. “This Trump Meme celebrates a leader who doesn’t back down, no matter the odds,” the website said.
The website also comes with a disclaimer that the coin is “not intended to be, or the subject of” an investment opportunity or security. The website also mentioned that the coins are “not political and have nothing to do with” any political campaign, political office or government agency.
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Meanwhile, critics slammed Trump for introducing meme coins just days before he assumed office. “Trump owning 80 per cent and timing launch hours before the inauguration is predatory and many will likely get hurt by it,” Nick Tomaino, a crypto venture capitalist, said in a social media post.
It is quite usual that meme coins often use the hype of ongoing events to pump up their value before selling at the top of the market. This leaves the latecomers to count the losses incurred as soon as the price of the coin crashes. As the bitcoin enthusiast takes over the White House, Cryptocurrency investors are hoping that the Trump administration will boost the industry.
Meanwhile, outgoing president Joe Biden’s regulators cited concerns about fraud and money laundering as they cracked down on crypto companies by suing exchanges. Trump on the other hand thinks differently. At a bitcoin conference in Nashville last year, Trump said America would be “the crypto capital of the planet” once he returned to Washington. Last year, both his sons Erik and Donald Jr announced their own crypto venture.
With inputs from agencies.
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