How $Melania and $Trump meme coins just supercharged the crypto market – and why it might end in disaster
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Billions have already been wiped from the value of the latest cryptocurrencies, with experts warning of more volatility. The launch of meme coins from Donald Trump and his wife Melania triggered a record-breaking crypto rally that has seen the market surge by more than half a trillion dollars over the last week – but both tokens are already experiencing extreme price volatility.
The incoming First Lady, who will enter the White House on Monday, launched a cryptocurrency on Sunday, just one day after her husband released his own $TRUMP meme coin. They have a combined market cap of more than $10 billion, though this has fallen from a peak of $16 billion over the weekend.
Positioning himself as the first ever pro-crypto US president, Trump has pledged to usher in a number of policies that could continue to benefit the market, prompting bitcoin to reach a new all-time-high just hours before his inauguration. Yet despite the positive momentum, some experts have issued warnings about the latest meme coins and their potential impact on the market.
As the name suggests, meme coins are typically based on a joke or trend that has no inherent value. The first ever meme coin, dogecoin, was launched in 2013 as a “tongue-in-cheek cryptocurrency” that poked fun at the emerging bitcoin boom. There have since been thousands of cryptocurrencies launched, based on everything from baby hippos, to the ‘Hawk Tuah girl’.
