Investing.com — President Donald Trump has largely ignored questions about adding billions of dollars to his personal wealth by launching the TRUMP memecoin ahead of his inauguration.
In response to a reporter's questions about memecoins, Trump confirmed that he had launched memecoins, but claimed that he had little knowledge about personally benefiting from their performance.
“I don't know anything about the beneficiary, I don't know where he is, I don't know much about him except that I launched it, and I heard it was very successful,” Trump said at a White House event on Tuesday.
When Trump responded to a reporter by telling him he had made “several billion dollars” from memecoin, Trump said, “Several billion? That's simple for these guys,” although it was not immediately clear who he was referring to. .
It was launched to trader fanfare last week, and comes just days before Trump's inauguration on Monday. The token rose to a market value of more than $14 billion at its peak, generating Trump, a major holder, billions of dollars in paper gains.
But the memcoin has swung wildly in volatile trade, raising some questions about possible price manipulation, especially amid rumors that Trump has sold some of his holdings.
Trump's price stabilized at $41 after reaching a peak of around $80 after its launch.
But the success of the memecoin, and the subsequent launch of $MELANIA, which was met with less positive reception, raised concerns among traders about the ethical issue of Trump using his influence to influence speculative markets to his advantage.
Trump also made little mention of cryptocurrency policy in his first two days in office, dampening hopes that he would immediately implement pro-crypto policies through presidential decrees.
— which had risen to record highs of more than $109,000 before Trump's inauguration — pulled back from those peaks in choppy trading. The broader cryptocurrency markets have also seen increased volatility following the launch of Trump Coin.
