Just days before Donald Trump’s inauguration, the crypto world witnessed yet another bizarre spectacle as the TRUMP meme coin launched on January 18, 2025, and immediately went bonkers.
Built on the Solana blockchain with a supply of 1 billion tokens, this digital dumpster fire started trading around $10 before rocketing to $75.35. Let that sink in. A token with no actual purpose suddenly worth billions.
The numbers were staggering. An $11 billion market cap. The 25th most valuable cryptocurrency overnight. Trading volume exceeding $25 billion. All for a meme coin where 80% of tokens were controlled by CIC Digital LLC, a Trump Organization affiliate. What could possibly go wrong?
As if one presidential token wasn’t enough, Melania Trump launched her own meme coin the very next day. Also on Solana, it quickly reached a $1.6 billion market cap.
The double-Trump effect sent crypto markets into a frenzy, though MELANIA’s appearance actually knocked TRUMP’s price down from $70 to $45. Awkward family dynamics, blockchain style.
Investors piled in. Trump supporters. Day traders. Crypto newbies. Meanwhile, established crypto enthusiasts watched in horror. Cash grab? Conflict of interest? You think?
The price volatility was exactly what you’d expect from a meme coin with no inherent value. After its initial surge, TRUMP dropped to $52, then $39.5 within days. Many investors found themselves trapped in a classic bear market pattern as prices continued to fall more than 20% from recent highs.
Wild swings and rapid drops. Welcome to meme coin economics, where speculation is the only utility.
The token’s volume-to-market-cap ratio hit an absurd 328.71%. That’s not investing. That’s gambling.
TRM Labs has been monitoring transactions to ensure integrity and transparency throughout this market frenzy.
Behind the scenes, the tokenomics told the real story. Only 200 million tokens initially circulated, with the remaining 800 million secured for 3-12 months, gradually freeing up over two years.
Translation: Team Trump held at least 80% of the supply.
The combined value of both Trump tokens briefly surpassed major oil producers. Reality check: these were speculative tokens with zero utility.
Critics warned about market manipulation risks and the fundamentally high-risk nature of meme coins. The massive trading volume caused transaction delays on platforms like Solana and Coinbase. But in crypto, sometimes hype trumps sense. Until it doesn’t.
