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Donald and Melania Trump Launch a Pair of Meme Coins (cnn.com) 96

Posted by BeauHD from the no-intrinsic-value dept.
Donald and Melania Trump have launched a pair of meme coins just before President Trump was sworn into office. The coins are already worth billions of dollars, raising "serious ethical questions and conflicts of interest," said Richard Painter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota. CNN reports: Melania Trump launched her cryptocurrency $MELANIA in a social media post Sunday, sending her husband's cryptocurrency $TRUMP, announced two days earlier, plummeting. "The Official Melania Meme is live! You can buy $MELANIA now. https://melaniameme.com," the future first lady wrote on X Sunday. Meme coins are a type of highly volatile cryptocurrency inspired by popular internet or cultural trends. They carry no intrinsic value but can soar, or plummet, in price. "My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE!" Trump wrote on X Friday. "It's time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump Community. GET YOUR $TRUMP NOW. Go to http://gettrumpmemes.com -- Have Fun!" Both coins are trading on the Solana blockchain. [...]

$TRUMP is the first cryptocurrency endorsed by the incoming president, who once trashed bitcoin as "based on thin air." [...] While executive branch employees must follow conflict of interest criminal statutes that prevent them from participating in matters that impact their own financial interests, the law does not apply to the president or the vice president. [...] The Trump coin's market capitalization, which is based on the 200 million coins circulating, is capped at $13 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. The meme coin's website said there will be 1 billion Trump coins over the next three years. Both $MELANIA and $TRUMP's websites contain disclaimers saying the coins are "intended to function as a support for, and engagement with" the values of their respective brands and "are not intended to be, or to be the subject of, an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type."

The website says the meme coin is not politically affiliated. But 80% of the coin's supply is held by Trump Organization-affiliate CIC Digital and Fight Fight Fight LLC, which are both subject to a three-year unlocking schedule -- so they cannot sell all of their holdings at once. Trump coin's fully diluted value (which reflects the eventual total supply of Trump coins) stood at around $54 billion as of Monday morning, according to CoinMarketCap. At that value, the 80% linked to Trump is worth a staggering $43 billion, at least on paper. The $TRUMP coin's website says it is "the only official Trump meme. Now, you can get your piece of history. This Trump Meme celebrates a leader who doesn't back down, no matter the odds," the website reads. "Trump owning 80% and timing launch hours before inauguration is predatory and many will likely get hurt by it," Nick Tomaino, a former Coinbase executive, said in a post on X. "Trump should be airdropping to the people rather than enriching himself or his team on this."

Donald and Melania Trump Launch a Pair of Meme Coins More | Reply

Donald and Melania Trump Launch a Pair of Meme Coins

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  • And as already a shitload of people going "HODL!" To reassure people who are panicking over losing thousands of dollars on this nonsense scam.

    What I'm curious about is How all the people who voted for Trump here on this forum who knows that this is a scam feel about this. Are they okay with it because they aren't themselves being scammed? It's weird to think that somebody might be perfectly okay supporting a president who actively scams thousands and thousands of people just because they're smart enough

    • I think anyone dumb or greedy enough to buy these coins (and similar such coins) deserves to be taken for every penny they spend on them.

    • How all the people who voted for Trump here on this forum who knows that this is a scam feel about this.

      I didn't vote for Trump, but I don't see how this is a "scam".

      No one was misinformed. They got what they paid for.

      Stupid people can do stupid things without being "scammed".

      • It's not- yet.
        These kind of meme coins are often quick pump and dumps followed by a rug pull, and it's hard to imagine what their legitimate use is beyond that.
        But you are correct- nobody has been scammed- yet.

  • This is literally an advertisement (Score:4, Insightful)

    by jhoegl ( 638955 ) on Monday January 20, 2025 @05:13PM (#65104327)
    How is this shit allowed?

    And if you dont know, they already pump and dumped one of them.

    If you feel the need to legally pay off Trump because you are scared of the power given him, I guess... spend away.

    • Re: (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Have you not seen /. lately? Nothing but ads, and they've started blocking the ways around them.

    • How is this shit allowed?

      The same way that all the cryptocoin rubbish is allowed. It's the Wild West of finance with little to no regulation or protection with a lot of stuff going on there borderline legal.

      How do you expect someone like Trump to ignore all of that? Having his own coin is incredibly on-brand for him: it's something basically worthless that idiots are willing to buy for money...just like his other schemes: remember Trump University? Arguably this is less of a scam though since anyone who looks into crypto of any

    • Re:This is literally an advertisement (Score:4, Informative)

      by ArchieBunker ( 132337 ) on Monday January 20, 2025 @06:24PM (#65104593)

      It’s a cult. A rich man who owns a gold toilet is able to talk poor people into giving him money. I’m pretty sure there’s even a relevant verse in the Bible.

    • How is this shit allowed?

      It shouldn't be, but who is going to hold Trump accountable? His own party doesn't care, the Democrats don't have enough seats to do anything, and the American public knew about Trump's crypto grifts before the election. There's no one else to blame, this is the America the majority voted for.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by profke ( 546335 )
      That's easy: it's allowed because 75.000.000 Americans voted for this moron. This is de biggest con in history.

  • Scammer in Chief, but it's really legal bribery. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by TheMiddleRoad ( 1153113 ) on Monday January 20, 2025 @05:17PM (#65104341)

    He already used Truth Social to collect bribes. Now he's got meme coins. Is anybody shocked? It's not as much a problem for the stupid people who buy these coins. There aren't that many of them. It's that his billionaire backers from across the world, including China and Russia, can now legally send him cash.

    • Re:Scammer in Chief, but it's really legal bribery (Score:5, Interesting)

      by ihavesaxwithcollies ( 10441708 ) on Monday January 20, 2025 @05:20PM (#65104349)

      It's that his billionaire backers from across the world, including China and Russia, can now legally send him cash.

      It's the easiest way to buy Trump with some anonymity involved, other than going to Mar-a-largo on your knees like musk, bezos or zucker. Some people have self-respect, those 3 do not.

    • It's that his billionaire backers from across the world, including China and Russia, can now legally send him cash

      So how do you envision that working?

      Let's China sends him a few million in Trump coin. And, let's assume that the "value" doesn't drop by 80% before he receives it. How does he cash out?

      I'm genuinely curious how this scheme is supposed to work.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by ufgrat ( 6245202 )

        Slightly more legally than Egypt's $10 million contribution to Trump's campaign in 2016. Or his bank account in China in 2016 and 2017.

      • No.

        Anonymous person A buys $1B in Coin X.
        People see that coin X has a shit ton of volume suddenly. People start buying. Price goes up.
        That which is held by Person B (the lion's share) is now worth more money. The value doesn't drop until the dump.

        It's a variation of the common crypto scam pump and dump, only if you happen to be a corrupt politician, you could get foreign actors to do the pumping for you.

      • "Let's China sends him a few million in Trump coin. And, let's assume that the "value" doesn't drop by 80% before he receives it. How does he cash out?"

        You're working it backwards. China *buys* the shitcoins. Trump gets millions in real money. China has shitcoins that are worthless, but they don't care, the whole purpose of the exercise was to put the millions in real money in Trump's pocket to buy his favor.

        • This. When you buy $TRUMP, you are literally buying Trump himself. You get his favor and his influence.

          The presidency is for sale, right before our eyes.

    • U wot m8? None of those Solana memecoins are even remotely anonymous.

      • Memecoins are pretty fucking anonymous- particularly if your role is a non-participating-in-the-dump pumper.
        In the end, you can say that "The wallet that is almost certainly Trump's just made a whole metric fuckton of money, and 6 wallets did nothing but purchase $4B in coins and then sit on it."

        You know what wallet has what money. You don't know who has what wallet. You can derive it from regular economic activity, but for a one-time pumper? Na. No way in hell.

  • “Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

    —Martin Luther King, Jr.

  • ... a three-year unlocking schedule ...

    Trump is assuming his coins will be popular for three years: Not on their own, they won't. Trump will have to use the Office of the Convicted Felon (Really, US Congress should change the name of that department.) to inflate demand, until he can sell everything. As someone mentioned, the real benefit is anonymous bribes ^H^H^H donations to the leader of the USA.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by dfghjk ( 711126 )

      Convicted felon AND rapist. Who's married to an ex-prostitute. Since this scam involves both, let's not forget all the details.

      • Spreading misinformation isn't helpful.
        Trump is not a convicted rapist.

        He was found liable for sexual abuse in a civil trial where the evidentiary standard is a "a preponderance of the evidence", which includes such ironclad situations as "4 guys said he did it, and 3 guys said he didn't."
        Dude probably is at the very least some kind of disgusting ass power-abusing date rapist, but only probably. You don't get to say otherwise.

    • Trump is assuming his coins will be popular for three years: Not on their own, they won't. Trump will have to use the Office of the Convicted Felon (Really, US Congress should change the name of that department.) to inflate demand, until he can sell everything. As someone mentioned, the real benefit is anonymous bribes ^H^H^H donations to the leader of the USA.

      There is a schedule that allows some to be unlocked at different times. From what I remember the first occurs at 3 months.

  • And he has an "Article 2!"

    This is what MAGA wanted to "Own da libs!" - how getting themselves scammed and bilked "owns da libs" is owing any but their own BS is not clear but it is clear MAGA feels vindicated and validated by the auto de scam de jour. It really is priceless to hear them scream "Keep government out of my heath care!" then watch their face when they discover that the healthcare they are on is Obama Care, that their low priced internet is Biden's, that the tax cuts are Bill's, and that they st

  • While Californian wildfire prisoner fire-fighters get paid $1 an hour influencers can just make "meme" coins and "print" billions of dollars for themselves. Capitalism has completely failed us.
    • Different issue. A prisoner doesn't own their time - that's the point. This would probably be clearer if the simply paid them $0 instead of $1.

    • These things are unrelated. Prisoners already committed crimes. Influencers are maybe on their way.

      • Prisoners already committed crimes. Influencers are maybe on their way.

        I'd say. As TikTok went dark, one of the first lols I saw was an influencer saying they weren't going to pay their taxes now.
        That's not how it works, and by saying that, you've just made it a federal crime if you actually go through with it. Good luck.

  • If you buy these coins, you deserve to lose everything.

    If you buy almost any crypto-coin, you deserve to lose everything. Doge, Hawk-Tua, FartCoin, ShitCoin, PepeCoin, Boden, Trump, Melania... you put money into this? Are you fucking kidding me?

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Sebby ( 238625 )

      "This is what you voted for"

      Hope Americans are ready to hear this, repeatedly, from the rest of the world, since they chose to inflict Trump on the rest of us for the next 4 years, again!

      • To be fair to Americans I suspect that most were voting against the alternative and unfortunately for everyone Trump was the only other option. The same happened in the UK at the last couple of general elections: people did not really vote for Starmer so much as against the Tory insanity and, before that, a one wag put it, it was a choice between Corbyn who wanted to return the UK to the socialism of the 1970's and Boris who wanted to return it to the Empire of the 1870's and while both were clearly delusio

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by Anonymous Coward

          No, that argument doesn't work when Trump is on the line. Everybody knows Trump, everybody should see how unfit he is for office. That's why Biden won, people didn't vote for Biden, but against Trump. But in this case, they didn't vote because they didn't want to vote for a black woman, and now here we are.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Sebby ( 238625 )

          To be fair to Americans I suspect that most were voting against the alternative and unfortunately for everyone Trump was the only other option

          Their intention wasn't to vote for Trump but simply not vote for that they considered an undesirable alternative (to their eyes, because no one else in the world can comprehend that "logic").

          So yeah, it's all nice and well that they can make themselves feel better by claiming "we had no other choice - our hands were forced, blah blah blah", but just like you didn't intend to cause a crash into another car in the next lane when you swerved to avoid that squirrel running onto the road (but you did crash), it'

    • Our rights and principles as a country are only as good as the people we've elected to uphold them.

      "Dear leader says you can have TikTok back, and don't forget to buy his crypto" was totally not on my 2025 bingo card. When they say it's a slippery slope, they're not fucking kidding. It's a very short trip from world superpower to banana republic.

    • On the contrary, Trump has to carry off these scams before he takes office which is why his trust can't/won't do such things post inauguration.

      What they voted for happens after that.

  • The truth (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Baron_Yam ( 643147 ) on Monday January 20, 2025 @05:41PM (#65104451)

    People are crying 'how is this allowed?' or 'Trump should use this to help us!' like any of that matters or he cares.

    Y'all elected a con artist to the highest office in the land, AGAIN. It'll be the same as last time only with less push back.

  • He is preying on his own supporters. At least he is only targetting those that deserve to be taken for a ride.

  • How exactly is this press release about a felon committing more crimes "news for nerds"??

    Oh right, I forgot - this "news" site is owned by a crypto platform [slashdot.org].

  • Allowing these fake valuations to balloon like this is risky to the entire cryptocurrency market. These meme coin market caps are larger than the stable-coin market cap which is mostly USDT and USDC. What happens when there is a bank run and people convert these meme coin valuations to stable-coins and then extract the stable-coins as fiat currency? It SHOULD result in no stable-coins left to provide their key liquidity fiat service in the crypto market. Of course Tether and other "stable coins" have ch
  • While Right and Left Theater is on... All the while, "Divided we Fall" is who is winning. How many decades of hiring no options options are we going to allow? How many times in the last 50 years were BOTH CANDIDATES subpar morons? WAKE UP! You are being "RULED" and not "Represented" and have been for decades.

  • trump memecoin is insane [youtu.be] ($TRUMP memecoin grift)
    I hate my life [youtu.be] ($MELANIA memecoin grift)

    Crime is now legal.

  • It'll be interesting to see if SCOTUS considers a rug-pull, or other common crypto scam, an official Presidential act and #47 gets immunity...

    • It'll be interesting to see if SCOTUS considers a rug-pull, or other common crypto scam, an official Presidential act and #47 gets immunity...

      The same SCOTUS that said deplatforming 170 million Americans isn't a 1A issue? I'm sure they'll praise Trump and ask him for some pointers on how they can launch their own SCOTUS coins. "Now you too can own a piece of America's highest court!"

      • They didn't actually say that.

        They said that 1) it doesn't fit under strict scrutiny because it didn't target a particular content or viewpoint,
        and 2) since it's not strict scrutiny, it's intermediate scrutiny, meaning it's pretty easy for the government to prove that their concern overrides the 1A concern.

        They never said it wasn't a 1A issue, but the 1A has never been inviolable.

  • It's about the poor. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by gillbates ( 106458 ) on Monday January 20, 2025 @06:24PM (#65104595) Homepage Journal

    Look, we all knew this was going to happen.

    This is what happens when you ignore the plight of the poor. Conservatives have been telling progressives that they've been ignoring the poor for the past two decades now, and the most common response was "What poor?! Where? Have you seen the stock market? Your 401k is just fine! Pay no attention to the price of rent, gas, or groceries!"

    Even though I don't agree with progressives on many issues, I can't deny the fact that if they had stuck to their principles, held the Democratic party accountable for their actions, this outcome would not have been possible. People didn't vote for the President as much as they voted against the party that ignored them. This is the second time the Democratic party has chosen a nominee based on favoritism rather than the popular vote, and the second time they've lost the election to an absolute imbecile. Burnt toast is more agreeable to most people than Donald Trump, and yet the Democratic party managed to find a candidate even less popular than a convicted felon. They have managed to lose control over all three branches of government.

    Of course you're not happy. You voted for the other candidate. You virtue signaled hard. But are you willing to put your hatred behind you and get on doing the hard work of building a better society, or are you content to just hate Trump on the Internet? The Republicans are serious. Are you?

    The reason I ask is not because I necessarily agree with you politically, but because this state of affairs can't continue for long. Unless conservatives and progressives are willing to come together for the greater common good, we're not going to have a country to argue about much longer. This insanity of extreme political ideologies dominating the body politic is not going to actually solve problems, but rather assign blame for the inevitable failure. We need to get back to a country where people work with each other instead of against each other.

    • Unless conservatives and progressives are willing to come together for the greater common good, we're not going to have a country to argue about much longer.

      Who exactly do you see as the big problem there? The people who can accept anything but intolerance, or...?

    • I've voted for "the other candidate" numerous times and never felt this way about an incoming president. I started hating trump ~35 years ago. It's not political for me. trump is evil. He always had been.

      And I will never forget or forgive him for violating his oath of office on January 6th.

      • The ironic thing about those who hate evil people, rather than evil itself, is the action of hating people actually assists the evil person in becoming even more evil.

        There's even a guy at the SPLC who "fights hatred", as if fighting anyone ever made them a more loving person.

  • Once again, Trump is cashing in on the POTUS title. You just can't get scorpion to not show it's true nature. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org] - I wouldn't be surprised if this crashes with a rug pull. what a total grifter.

  • Trump was selling commemorative "totally not for investment purposes" watches back in November. You folks aren't paying attention.

  • Great way for foreign interests to funnel him money for favors

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