Apropos to nothing, United States President-elect Donald Trump‘s official social media accounts dropped details of a new “official meme” from the popular leader across platforms. Accompanied by no immediate statement from vocal Trump, or his representatives, the posts were initially dismissed as a hack, but as the hours passed and linked websites led back to Trump’s known businesses, the buzz skyrocketed.

The hype around the $TRUMP meme coin pushed its value to $36 per token, for a market capitalisation of $7.18 billion, at the time of writing (January 19, 11.25 am IST), according to data available on Coinmarketcap. According to a report by Fox Business, the virtual token has risen by an impressive more than 1,000 per cent since launch.

Late on January 18, Eric Trump posted on X (formerly known as Twitter), officially confirming the development. He wrote: “I am extremely proud of what we continue to accomplish in crypto. $Trump is currently the hottest digital meme on earth and I truly believe that World Liberty will revolutionize DeFi/Cefi and will be the future of finance. We are just getting started!” (sic)

Trump and his sons Eric and Donald Junior launched World Liberty Financial, a digital asset platform aimed at the decentralised finance (DiFi) segment, in September 2024. DeFi is an arcane crypto sector in which people trade, lend, and borrow digital assets peer-to-peer using automated software, according to a Bloomberg report.

Thus, the gains for Trump’s linked businesses is around $7 billion at present, and rising. At current trends, an AFP report noted that combined with the coins not yet on the market, the token’s worth would be around $24 billion by 2028.

According to an AFP report, neither Trump nor the company managing the launch, Fight Fight Fight LLC, offered details about how much he made from the initial batch of meme coins released. However, the coin’s official site said 200 million meme coins were issued, and another 800 million would be issued over the next three years.

Bloomberg noted that the website’s fine print disclaimed that the tokens, available via the Solana blockchain network, are not intended to be an “investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type,” but crypto-minded Trump fans immediately started buying.

The AFP report pointed out that meme coins have no economic or transactional value and are often seen as a means of speculative trading. It added that most meme coins, such as $TRUMP, are designed to capitalise on the popularity of a certain personality, movement, or viral internet trend.

Notably, the move, hailed by crypto industry proponents as “savvy”, has been met with criticism from watchdogs and officials who decried the second-time President’s assets as being even more subject to conflict of interest debates.

For months, Trump has decried the authorities’ requirements that he and his Cabinet picks divest assets to reduce conflicts of interest while in office.

As per the ethics pledge on the General Services Administration’s website, Trump has not pledged that he would avoid conflicts of interest or that he hold only “non-conflicting assets”, according to a Reuters report.

Trump has a $3.76 billion stake in Trump Media & Technology Group, which runs Truth Social, as well as stakes in a cryptocurrency business, real estate properties, and several foreign deals. The family real estate company, now run largely by Trump’s son Eric, also owns a portfolio of hotels, golf courses, resorts, New York City office space, retail operations, and condominiums, the Reuters report added.

As such, $TRUMP has drawn an immediate rebuke from government watchdogs, who called it his latest breach of ethical norms and a way to profit from his place on the world stage.

Danielle Brian, executive director of the nonpartisan Project on Government Oversight told Bloomberg, “A memecoin, which is usually unlinked to any underlying business and thus highly speculative for investors and potentially wildly lucrative for founders, pushes the boundaries further. Any effort the Trump Organization was making to demonstrate they were concerned about potential conflicts, specifically where it comes to foreign governments — this seems to entirely undermine.”

• Scott Bessent: The billionaire hedge fund manager is Trump’s pick for Treasury Secretary. He has spoken favourably about crypto, a Reuters report said, noting that, as per a financial disclosure filed last month, Bessent holds shares in a BlackRock bitcoin exchange-traded (ETF) fund worth between $250,001 and $500,000.
• Bessent has promised the US Treasury in writing that he will divest his interests in the fund and other investments within 90 days of his confirmation.
• Howard Lutnick: The CEO of New York brokerage firm Cantor Fitzgerald, manages billions of dollars worth of Tether and is Trump’s choice for Secretary of Commerce. Lutnick is also a vocal supporter of bitcoin, the Reuters report added.
• Elon Musk: Trump’s appointee for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is a well-known champion of Bitcoin and Dogecoin (also a meme coin). Musk’s company, Tesla, owns $1.5 billion of bitcoin, with unspecified digital assets totalling $184 million in September 2024, Reuters reported, citing a company financial report.
• Vivek Ramaswamy: Musk’s co-chief for DOGE is the founder of Strive Asset Management, which last month filed to launch an ETF which invests in corporate bonds for bitcoin investments, the Reuters report noted. As of June 2023, Ramaswamy held $100,001-$250,000 of Bitcoin and $15,001-$50,000 worth of Ether.
• David Sacks: Trump’s pick for White House’s AI and Crypto Czar is tasked with developing the US’ legal framework for the crypto industry. He is the founder of Craft Ventures, which has invested in crypto companies like BitGo and Bitwise.
• Steve Witkoff: Real estate mogul and donor to Trump’s own World Liberty Financial, Witkoff is named as Middle East envoy.
• JD Vance: Trump’s Vice President held between $250,001-$500,000 in bitcoin till August 2024, and his VC firm Narya, has made investments in Ramaswamy’s Strive. Brian Hughes, spokesperson for the Trump-Vance transition told Reuters Trump will deliver on his promise to encourage American leadership in crypto and other emerging technologies.
• Paul Atkins: Trump’s pick for the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is lawyer Atkins, who has advocated for deregulation of cryptos. He is expected to be softer on the asset compared to present Chair Gary Gensler. He did not respond to queries, the report added.

The Reuters report noted that Bessent, Lutnick, Musk, Ramaswamy, Sacks, Witkoff, and Atkins did not respond to requests for comment.

(With inputs from Agencies)