The Wolf from the White House: How Trump Profited from Cryptocurrencies

Evening of January 18, 2025, Washington, D.C. Just days before the inauguration of the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump, over 1,500 cryptocurrency entrepreneurs gathered in one of the city's historical buildings to celebrate the Republican's victory.

After years of tense relations with Washington politicians and regulators, executives of cryptocurrency companies, dressed in tuxedos and evening gowns, enjoyed exquisite cocktails and miniature lobster rolls at the first-ever "Crypto Ball." The atmosphere was further enhanced by performances from hip-hop stars – Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, and Soulja Boy.

The festive mood, sense of triumph, and faith in a bright future for the crypto industry were unexpectedly interrupted by social media announcements from Trump about the launch of his own cryptocurrency called $TRUMP. Later, his wife Melania also announced the launch of a coin named after her.

Industry representatives were shocked not only by the fact that the newly elected president launched his own cryptocurrency, but also by the fact that he took the easiest route – launching meme coins, whose value depends solely on "hype."

By deciding to profit during his peak popularity, Trump opened a "Pandora's box." The new model of token launches associated with political figures and celebrities could lead to bankruptcies for many eager to make quick profits.

Why did the decision of the 47th President of the United States to join the crypto market infuriate its participants?

Skillful Maneuvering and No Fraud

The launch of their own coins by the newly elected U.S. president and his wife surprised many. The fact that his team chose the meme coin model created the impression that Trump simply wants to make quick money while the world talks about him for a few days.

Unlike Bitcoin, which has its own blockchain (Bitcoin blockchain) and a network of miners to ensure its stability, the value of meme coins is largely determined by social media popularity, trends, and community activity, rather than technical or political factors.

Coins like $TRUMP are often a reaction to a cultural phenomenon or even a joke on social media. Their price is based on hype, viral spread, and celebrity endorsement, directly depending on the popularity of the character or theme they are associated with. In most cases, meme coins have no real utility.

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From a technical standpoint, creating a meme coin is quite simple. With the right tools, a token can be created on a blockchain like Ethereum in just a few hours. The Trump token was created on a similar blockchain platform called Solana.

The emergence of $TRUMP was so successful that it literally shook the market. In the first few days of its existence, the market capitalization of the meme coin belonging to the 47th President of the United States exceeded $12 billion, and by the morning of January 20, its price surged from virtually zero to over $70 per token.

Together with her husband, First Lady Melania launched the cryptocurrency, which caused the price of $TRUMP to drop by more than 40% – to the mark of $38. After that, the value of the coin began to recover. Currently, there are 200 million meme coins of Trump in circulation, and plans are in place to issue up to one billion over the next three years, as noted on the official cryptocurrency website.

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Essentially, Trump decided to monetize his popularity through one of the most speculative types of cryptocurrencies. This did not sit well with many representatives of the crypto community. The main argument of critics is that such actions will further undermine trust in a market already filled with fraudulent schemes and unscrupulous players.

Angela Volch, a research associate at the Blockchain Technology Center at University College London, called the situation disgraceful. "The crypto sector has brought a person to power who, with his first step, decided to take advantage of the opportunity for enrichment within this industry," the researcher states.

However, Trump's actions cannot be labeled as fraud, believes Sergey Fursa, Deputy Director for Securities Trading at Dragon Capital (owner of UP). "This is not fraud, as no one hides that this cryptocurrency has no intrinsic value other than Trump's name. But, on the other hand, it cannot be called an investment tool either," he notes.

Sources from the crypto market often cite two main reasons for the creation of the cryptocurrency named after Trump: profit-making and consolidating supporters in an unconventional way for politicians.

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A total of 1 billion coins were created, of which 800 million remain owned by the Trump Organization CIC Digital, while the remaining 200 million were released to the market on January 17, 2025, during the initial offering.

According to analysts from the research company K33, these 80% of tokens will not be sold immediately but will be gradually released over three years.

Despite Trump securing support from leaders in the American crypto industry and promising to implement favorable regulations for digital assets, the launch of his own meme coin raises doubts about the seriousness of his intentions. Moreover, this is not his first experience in profiting from the crypto world – as early as 2022, he made millions from the release of NFT, where he was depicted as a superhero.

The First Crypto President

Representatives of the cryptocurrency industry were among the most active supporters of Trump's election campaign. Additionally, they invested at least $131 million in the recent congressional elections to help elect dozens of "pro-crypto" legislators.

It is not surprising, as during the election campaign, Trump frequently referred to himself as the "crypto president." Interestingly, in a 2021 interview with Fox Business, Trump stated that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies "could be a big scam" and that they "undermine the authority of the dollar." However, now the newly elected president has promised to implement a series of initiatives that could change the regulatory policy of the U.S. regarding virtual assets.

One of the main campaign pledges was a commitment to remove SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) Chair Gary Gensler, who became famous for his tough approach to regulating cryptocurrencies. Gensler officially resigned from his position on January 20, when Trump was sworn in. The new head of the agency is Paul Atkins, who is expected to drive a shift towards loosening regulations, especially for the cryptocurrency industry.

According to Trump, Atkins' appointment is intended to initiate the process of fulfilling his next promise – to turn the U.S. into the world's "crypto capital." The main idea of the new president is to create a favorable environment for cryptocurrencies to prevent China's dominance in this area.

Trump also supported the idea of creating a state Bitcoin reserve, which was previously proposed by Senator Cynthia Lummis. Its goal is to use cryptocurrencies to pay off the U.S. national debt. According to BitcoinTreasuries, the U.S. already owns nearly 200,000 BTC, which were confiscated from cybercriminals or seized from the black market, and Trump promised not to allow their sale.

Among other promises, Trump pledged to support the mining industry and prevent initiatives aimed at regulating cryptocurrency mining that were promoted by the Joe Biden administration. He expressed a desire to make the U.S. a global center for Bitcoin mining, aiming for both economic and geopolitical objectives.

Finally, Trump announced the creation of a cryptocurrency advisory council to help develop market regulations.

It is important to understand that merely discussing potential