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Your guide to what the 2024 US elections mean for Washington and the world
The re-election of Donald Trump as President of the United States brought many firsts. Friday's launch of the official cryptocurrency may be the most surprising. This symbol has no inherent value. But depending on how you look at it, it may have some benefit.
The president-elect's new cryptocurrency, bearing a Trump badge, was worth about $10 billion by Monday, based on circulating supply, six times its market cap for the first time. This is a far cry from Bitcoin, the $2 trillion cryptocurrency giant encryption. But as so-called memecoins go, they're impressive, ranking third behind dog-inspired digital assets Dogecoin and Shiba Inu. Melania Trump's separate memecoin had achieved a valuation of $2 billion by Monday, narrowly ahead of Fartcoin's $2.5 billion valuation.
But what is it exactly? It's not an investment, as the small print says – it's an “expression of support.” In other words, despite all the hype, the Trump price is just a new version of presidential collectibles, like the red MAGA hat, or the bobble-head dashboard doll, but with lower interest and a more volatile price. Trump had already brought merchandise into the digital age, lending his image to a series of non-fungible tokens — essentially digital artwork — including images of himself as George Washington, and a golden chess piece.
Even if it's not a completely sound investment, $TRUMP has some value. Firstly, it is a very strong statement of intent. Trump has indicated that his plan is to embrace the mainstream of cryptocurrencies, including creating a US cryptocurrency reserve and appointing a crypto official to his cabinet. His new coin emerged just as SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, a regulator who had proven the scourge of would-be cryptocurrency innovators, stepped down.
It is true that the Trump and Melania tokens, as a currency, fail traditional tests — such as being a reasonable medium of exchange. As far as more informal tests are concerned, it is unlikely that any kidnapper would demand a ransom paid in the amount of MELANIA. Trading of both currencies is capped at 1 billion tokens. However, the only real test for a currency is whether enough people will accept it as a single currency. In this sense, there is no reason why $TRUMP should be inherently more ridiculous than Doge, Tether, or any other attempt at digital bidding.
If the Trump Coin does not turn out to have lasting monetary value, it may serve another function: as a direct opinion poll. But opinions can be fickle. By Monday, Trump's price had risen by 1,000 percent and then fell by a third, according to CoinMarketCap. Real-time market appreciation is something the president may value less and less over time.
