By Chris Menahan – Information Liberation
President-elect Donald Trump made over $58 billion for himself and his companies in two days by shilling a “$TRUMP” meme coin for which he holds over 80% of the supply, according to Axios.
From Axios, “Trump meme coin doubles again, stake worth $58 billion or more”:
President-elect Trump launched his own cryptocurrency Friday night, and as of Sunday morning appeared to have made more than $50 billion on paper for himself and his companies.
Why it matters: The stunning launch of $TRUMP caught the entire industry off-guard, and speaks to both his personal influence and the ascendancy of cryptocurrency in his administration.
– It also speaks to the nature of the crypto industry that someone could have more than $50 billion worth of something that literally did not exist 48 hours previously.
– Combined with the value of his social media business and his real estate holdings, it nominally makes Trump one of the world’s 25 wealthiest people.
Catch up quick: Friday night, while Trump was reportedly hosting a “Crypto Ball” for the industry in Washington, the president-elect launched his own meme-linked cryptocurrency.
– His website bills it as “the only official Trump meme.”
– While a number of Trump-branded meme coins popped up in recent months, none had his official endorsement until now.
By the numbers: According to CoinGecko price data, $TRUMP rose more than 600% overnight Friday into Saturday, and then more than 150% Saturday night into Sunday morning.
– It was trading just over $72 as of 7 a.m. ET Sunday.
– That gives the coin a fully diluted market capitalization just north of $72 billion.
– The meme website says 80% of the supply is held by Trump Organization affiliate CIC Digital, and a CIC co-owned entity called Fight Fight Fight LLC. (“Fight fight fight” is what Trump said after being shot at a rally in July.)
– They are subject to a three-year unlocking schedule, which means they cannot dump all of their holdings at once.
The fact Trump brought together a bunch of crypto billionaires right before taking office and then launched his own meme coin in concert with the event only for billions of dollars to flow into his piggybank sure seems connected.
Is he really going to want to put the interests of the US dollar before his newfound crypto empire after raking in billions of dollars for his family on this grift? This is so corrupt it boggles my mind.
Trump forgoed taking a salary during his first term to show his commitment to the country but now he’s literally shilling a sh*tcoin and raking in billions just days before taking office.