Source: TRM; Compiled by: 0xjs@黄金财经
On January 18, then-President-elect Donald Trump launched the $TRUMP token, a meme coin on the Solana blockchain, marking a major step forward in the cryptocurrency space. The TRUMP token was announced through X and Truth Social and is promoted as a digital asset that embodies community values and "winning." Based on the Solana blockchain, the $TRUMP token takes advantage of the blockchain's high-speed, low-cost transaction infrastructure, making it very efficient for transactions and integration within the ecosystem.
After the launch of $TRUMP, the incoming first lady announced on Sunday that she had also launched her own meme coin on Solana. "Official Melania Meme Coin is online!" she posted on the X platform. After the release of the MELANIA token, the total market value quickly soared to approximately $1.6 billion.
Specifics of the TRUMP token include a total supply of 1 billion. At launch, 200 million tokens (20%) will be available for public purchase via the $TRUMP official website, using debit cards and cryptocurrencies. The remaining 800 million tokens (80%) were allocated to CIC Digital LLC, an affiliate of the Trump Organization. These reserved tokens are locked for 3 to 12 months, and then unlocked on a daily incremental unlocking schedule over the next 24 months. This organized release mechanism is designed to reduce the risk of a large sell-off and ensure market stability.
Meme coins are a unique class of digital currencies that thrive on internet culture, memes, and social trends. Unlike cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, which are built on technological innovation or specific utility, the value of meme coins is primarily derived from community engagement and viral appeal. Popularized on platforms like X, Reddit, and Telegram, these tokens tend to be speculative in nature, with market performance driven by hype rather than intrinsic functionality.
Prominent examples of memecoins include Dogecoin (DOGE), which started out as a joke but has since become one of the most widely known cryptocurrencies, and Shibacoin (SHIB), often referred to as the "Dogecoin killer" with a market cap of billions of dollars at its peak. Others, such as Pepecoin (PEPE), based on the online meme "Pepe the Frog," and FLOKI, inspired by Elon Musk's dog, have attracted attention for their community-driven growth. These tokens demonstrate the speculative and volatile nature of memecoins.
Soon after $TRUMP was launched, its value quickly climbed. The price rose to about $10 per coin, then soared to a peak of $74.59 within hours before stabilizing at around $52. This rapid growth has pushed the coin's market cap to nearly $11 billion, making it one of the most valuable cryptocurrencies.
The launch of TRUMP has attracted a great deal of attention from retail investors and cryptocurrency enthusiasts, thanks to Trump’s global popularity and the cultural appeal of the meme coin. However, this popularity has also led to scrutiny of potential conflicts of interest and the regulatory framework for such tokens.
Since its launch, there have been some questions in the media about whether this could be a pump and dump or a “pump and dump” scam. A “pump and dump” is a cryptocurrency scam in which developers suddenly withdraw liquidity from a project, causing the token value to plummet and leaving investors with worthless assets. A “pump and dump”, as the name implies, is when the owner of an asset artificially inflates the value of an asset and then sells it when it reaches a peak.
As of January 21, 2025, while the token value has fallen to approximately $38 per coin, a 50% drop from its highs last weekend, $TRUMP does not have the characteristics of a recent “pump and dump” scam. According to the CFTC, pump-and-dump schemes often involve fake news reports, anonymous organizers, and the entire process can be over in minutes.
For example, in October 2021, scammers launched a token called $SQUID, named after the popular Korean Netflix series Squid Game. Its flashy website and slick social media accounts were filled with images from the show, giving the illusion of official endorsement. Within weeks of its launch, $SQUID's price soared more than 40,000%. But when holders rushed to cash in their gains, they were shut out by the smart contracts that backed the tokens. It turned out that these contracts only allowed the creator to sell. When the creator cashed out, $SQUID's price plummeted from $2,862 to less than a penny, leaving investors penniless. In an instant, the anonymous scammers had walked away with millions of dollars, some of which was moved through mixers and other on-chain money laundering methods.
In addition, reputable and licensed exchanges are offering trading in $TRUMP on their platforms (unusual for the get-rich-quick meme coin), and reserved tokens are locked for up to 12 months and unlocked gradually over two years, which reduces the risk of a sudden sell-off, which is a typical feature of a "run" or "pump and dump".
Value trend since launch, data from Coinmarketcap.com
While previous similarly themed tokens, such as Solana-based Trumpcoin (DJT), launched in June 2024, have been associated with fraudulent activities, $TRUMP has demonstrated relative stability and transparency since its launch. Despite initial skepticism, there have been no sudden liquidity withdrawals or developer misconduct, which further supports the conclusion that $TRUMP does not have the characteristics of a "runaway", although things change very quickly in the 24/7 meme coin space. However, large insider allocations have sparked discussion about memecoin market volatility and foreign influence, and highlighted the need for regulatory oversight in the evolving memecoin space.
$TRUMP tokens were created on the Solana blockchain at the address 6p6xgHyF7AeE6TZkSmFsko444wqoP15icUSqi2jfGiPN.
Using the TRM forensics tool, we can see details of transactions and other assets associated with this address.
$TRUMP addresses appear to hold other Meme tokens, such as
“Trump Second Chance” (ETJ3eax4qn5EezzsarNuxEJamD67KXa7z8W4uKEWpump),
“Official Trump Coin” (BAKr8e4iV1Y2c2XJxVFhbMyYnfcRU4dvkaKzQUsepump)
and “Mark Cuban Meme” (AVH97ZaMnUmZYGdSJTEJ6KRSicxGGf7ijQ994rm5pump).
It is unclear whether the creator intends to launch these additional meme coins next, or whether there is any special significance in the fact that the creator of $TRUMP also has two other tokens related to President Trump (which seem to be ready to launch) as well as the Mark Cuban meme coin.
As a meme coin, $TRUMP is integrated into cultural and political narratives, becoming a speculative asset while also promoting community participation. Its launch has sparked discussions about the integration of politics, digital assets, and investor behavior. Despite criticism, the success of $TRUMP shows the growing influence of cultural figures in the cryptocurrency space, which brings both opportunities and challenges.
While there is no evidence that $TRUMP is a "runaway" scam, its large insider distribution and its prominence at the cultural level suggest that careful supervision is needed.
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