Hold onto your hats, folks, because President-elect Donald Trump and First Lady-in-waiting Melania Trump just turned the cryptocurrency world on its head. In a move nobody saw coming—but honestly, should have—they’ve launched their very own meme coins: $TRUMP and $MELANIA. And oh boy, are they causing a stir.
$TRUMP: Bigger Than Bitcoin? (Okay, Maybe Not)
The $TRUMP coin strutted onto the scene on January 17, 2025, with all the subtlety of its namesake. Starting at a modest $3, the coin rocketed to an eye-popping $76.94 almost overnight, hitting a jaw-dropping market cap of $15 billion. (Yes, billion, with a “B.”) As of today, it’s trading at a cool $56.18—still a tidy return for anyone who got in early.
Here’s the kicker: Out of the total 1 billion $TRUMP tokens, only 200 million were unleashed at launch. The rest? They’re snugly held by a Trump Organization affiliate, set to trickle into the market over the next three years. Talk about keeping it in the family!
Meanwhile, celeb backers like Aussie radio king Kyle Sandilands and Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy are raking it in. Sandilands claims he turned $10,000 into a staggering $700,000, while Portnoy boasted a $1 million payday.
$MELANIA: Because Why Should Donald Have All the Fun?
Not to be outdone, Melania Trump dropped her own meme coin, $MELANIA, just hours before the big inauguration. (Timing is everything, right?) In true Trumpian style, the coin’s valuation shot up to over $10.1 billion, with prices bouncing between $6.62 and $13.19 faster than you can say, “crypto craze.”
However, Melania’s launch came with a surprising side effect—$TRUMP’s meteoric rise suddenly hit a wall. Almost as soon as $MELANIA hit the market, $TRUMP experienced a sharp downturn, with its value plunging by nearly 40% in a single day.
Some investors scrambled to shift their focus to Melania’s coin, leading to a dramatic reshuffling of fortunes in the Trump crypto ecosystem.
$TRUMP:
$MELANIA:
While $TRUMP remains a high-stakes player, the abrupt crash has raised questions about the long-term viability of both coins coexisting without cannibalizing each other’s market share.
Crypto Drama and Ethical Headaches
Of course, no Trump venture would be complete without a side of controversy. Critics are raising eyebrows at the significant chunk of tokens still in Trump-affiliated hands and questioning whether this could lead to conflicts of interest. (Spoiler alert: Probably.)
Financial experts are also throwing up caution signs, warning that meme coins are about as stable as a Jenga tower on a windy day.
Still, the hype is real. Kyle Sandilands’ six-figure windfall and Dave Portnoy’s million-dollar jackpot have only added fuel to the fire. Who needs Wall Street when you’ve got meme coins making millionaires?
The Verdict: Love It or Hate It, You Can’t Ignore It
Whether you see it as genius marketing or just another chapter in the Trump show, $TRUMP and $MELANIA are shaking up the crypto world in a big way. Investors are laughing all the way to the bank (for now), while skeptics are bracing for the bubble to burst.
Either way, these meme coins are here, and they’re making a lot of noise.
So, will $TRUMP and $MELANIA turn out to be the next big thing or just another wild ride in the world of cryptocurrency? Only time will tell, but one thing’s certain: it’s going to be one heck of a show.
