The U.S. President has finally addressed the explosive success of his Official Trump (TRUMP) meme coin, admitting that he wasnt involved much in the project beyond launching it.
The Solana-based token, touted as the fastest-growing meme coin in history, initially skyrocketed to a $15 billion market cap over the weekend before dropping to around $8 billion following the release of a competing coin by First Lady Melania Trump.
At a pressbriefing on Tuesday to announce a $500 billion joint venture between OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank, the President was asked by a reporter if he intended to continue selling products that benefited him in reference to the TRUMP token.
In response, the head of state said he didnt know if hed benefited, admitting that he had no knowledge about the status of the coin. I dont know if it benefited [me]. I dont know where it is, he said.
He further dismissed any suggestion that he had a deep understanding of the project. I dont know much about it other than I launched it, he stated. I heard it was very successful. I havent checked.
Trump then inquired about the current value of the meme coin, with a reporter telling him hed made a lot of money. How much? the President asked. Several billion dollars, the journalist replied, to which Trump responded, Thats peanuts to these guys, referring to people who were at the briefing with him, including Masayoshi Son of SoftBank, OpenAIs Sam Altman, and the worlds fourth-richest man, Larry Ellison of Oracle.
The TRUMP meme coin has become a lightning rod for controversy, with critics warning it could undermine the credibility of the crypto market. Yesterday, billionaire investor Mark Cuban dismissed the project, describing it as a gamble that could harm the industrys legitimacy without proper regulations. Before him, former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan highlighted the speculative nature of such assets, calling it a zero-sum lottery.
There is also a supposition that the ownership of the TRUMP token is dominated by insiders, further fueling concerns about transparency and market manipulation. Some also feel that the President having skin in the meme coin game could hinder bipartisan efforts to advance much-needed crypto legislation.
This view is shared by TD Cowen, with The Block reporting that the financial services firm had warned that possible investigations into TRUMPs market influence might stall regulatory progress and deepen partisan divides.
At the time of writing, Official Trump was trading at $43.02, having gained 18% in the last 24 hours. The price is still 41% below the coins all-time high, but its $8.5 billion market cap places it as the third-largest meme token in the market, behind Dogecoin and Shiba Inu.