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The same night of the party, the incoming president launched $TRUMP, a #MemeCoin built on the #Solana platform. Its market cap over the weekend climbed past $14 billion. Like with other meme coins, there’s no underlying product. #Trump told his followers in a social media post, “It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING!”

The website for $TRUMP says 80% of the coins are held by the #TrumpOrganization & affiliates.

#Trump wasn’t done after one token.

On Sunday came the introduction of $MELANIA…. The #MemeCoin quickly spiked more than 40%, surpassing $2 billion in value. Both the Trump & Melania coins have dropped significantly from their highs.

Then there’s #WorldLibertyFinancial, a decentralized finance project endorsed by the Trump family, which hiked its token price from 1.5 cents to 5 cents & released an additional 5 billion tokens for sale.

The project, initially launched in September, has raised more than $300 million in total sales so far, acc/to #blockchain firm Arkham Intelligence.

The #Trump family gets 75% of #WorldLibertyFinancial’s #crypto coin revenue, acc/to the project’s founding document. On-chain data shows millions of dollars worth of token transfers to #Coinbase’s institutional custody provider.

In the period of 48hrs, the #Trump family’s net worth surged by billions, based on holdings of its just-launched #DigitalAssets, underscoring the #unregulated nature of #cryptocurrencies & Trump’s ability to use his fame, power & partnership w/the industry to enrich himself, his family & his allies at the flip of a switch.

…#Crypto industry leaders & investors emerged as some of Trump’s biggest supporters in the campaign in an effort to #influence future #policies & to ease #regulations….

…There was plenty of skepticism from those in & around the industry.

“Trump needs to fire his #crypto advisors, from top to bottom & replace with people who know what they are doing,” posted Gabor Gurbacs, founder of digital asset firm #Pointsville…. “The #memecoins cost the #US, the presidency & his family a lot of credibility & the consequences haven’t even started.”

#MarkCuban, the #billionaire fmr #tech entrepreneur & part owner of the Dallas Mavericks, commented on the apparent #lawlessness of it all.

“Hello every #scam targeted at everyone & anyone who has no clue about #crypto,” he wrote.

But at the pre-inauguration party, #Trump’s new coin wasn’t much of a topic. Rather, the chatter centered on the broader implications of Trump’s #policies, which promised to dismantle years of #regulatory gridlock in the #Biden admin.

…#Crypto firms made substantial contributions to Trump’s inaugural fund, signaling their enthusiasm. #Ripple donated $5M in digital tokens, while #Coinbase, #Kraken, & #Circle each gave $1M. Online broker #Robinhood contributed $2M.

#Coinbase & #Kraken have both been battling the #SEC in court. #Robinhood received a #WellsNotice in May related to its #US #crypto business, which is typically one of the final steps before the SEC issues formal charges. #Ripple has been in a years-long legal fight with SEC & outgoing Chairman #GaryGensler.

…There was a hefty dose of lawmaker support at the party, all from the #Republican side of the aisle. #House Speaker #MikeJohnson was there, along w/Senators #MarshaBlackburn, #TedCruz & #CynthiaLummis. Fmr House members French Hill & Patrick McHenry arrived to show their support.

#Cleanspark CEO #ZachBradford, who has been meeting w/ #Trump in private roundtables to discuss #bitcoin mining, said he spoke w/ #HowardLutnick, Trump’s pick to be Secy of #Commerce, at the event.

“We talked about #bitcoin mining & how bitcoin, but also bitcoin mining, can be a central point of commerce,” Bradford told CNBC.

Bradford said he emphasized to Lutnick the potential for #BitcoinMining to be a significant economic driver.

#ScottBessent, likely the next #Treasury Secy, [attended]…
#KohHarada, COO of #Aleo, a privacy-focused #blockchain, said Bessent was “pretty coy about things, but the fact that he was even there was very interesting.”

Aleo, which has raised >$200M from investors including #SoftBank & #AndreessenHorowitz, chose to establish in the #US while many rivals launched from #offshore jurisdictions like the #CaymanIslands as a shield from #regulations.

Also in attendance…was #MicroStrategy founder #MichaelSaylor, wearing his trademark orange bow tie, a nod to #bitcoin…, #Ripple CEO #BradGarlinghouse & top execs at #Coinbase, including global #policy head #FaryarShirzad….

The #Winklevoss twins chatted w/Chris Dixon of #AndreessenHorowitz & his colleague, Sriram Krishnan, who left his role…at the firm to join #DavidSacks’ task force. #BoHines, #Trump’s choice to lead the Presidential Council of Advisers for #DigitalAssets, was also present.…

While Snoop Dogg performed in the main ballroom, #VC Katie Haun was engrossed in conversation w/ #GalaxyDigital’s Mike Novogratz. Other musical guests Rick Ross & Soulja Boy, who was charged by the #SEC in 2023 for illegally promoting a #crypto token w/o disclosing he was paid, kept the larger crowd entertained.

Guests were issued wristbands based on #status. Black wristbands signified general admission & gold allowed entry to a VIP balcony. White bands granted the most exclusive perks. General admission cost $2,500, & some sponsors paid $1M for access to the greenroom on the ground floor tucked behind the stage in the main ballroom.

#FredThiel shared details of a #blockchain initiative his company had launched earlier that day w/ #MikeJohnson, an effort designed to symbolize the intersection of #crypto & #US #politics.

“We minted a block on the blockchain with a portrait of President Trump, created entirely from transactions,” Thiel said.

…#TracyHoyosLópez, a former California #prosecutor & one of the people credited w/ turning #Trump pro-#bitcoin, was also at the event.

“…people are currently trading these coins for around $53 apiece. There are 200 million of them in circulation, which puts the token’s…’market cap’ at around $10.7 billion. Eventually, over a period of 3 years (assuming Trump does not lose interest or change the parameters of the deal), 1 billion tokens are set to be released.

H/T @mogul

#law #crypto #regulations #USpol #Trump #felon47 #corruption #broligarchy #oligarchy #kleptocracy #plutocracy
https://www.citationneeded.news/trump-memecoin-valuation/

“It is this supply — 3 years from now — that is being multiplied by the current price of the tokens to achieve estimates in the several tens of billions for how much #Trump’s ‘net worth’ has increased, as though it can be safely assumed that not only will the price remain stable over the next 3 years, but that there is another more than $40 billion that is guaranteed to just materialize.”

H/T @mogul
#law #crypto #regulations #USpol #corruption #broligarchy #kleptocracy #plutocracy

“This is not to downplay the extent to which #Trump is grifting his devotees & those #crypto traders looking to make a buck on #memecoin speculation. But it is important that we accurately report on his cons and do not contribute to misleading crypto hype for the sake of large numbers.”

H/T @mogul

@KathrinBB @Nonilex I prefer #TheNerdReich (per @gilduran), but so long as it has a name that people can recognize...

@Donatella To be clear Fred Theil isn’t related to Peter Theil, but still no bueno.

@Nonilex oh, I've always thought they were related. Thx for updating me

@Donatella

@Nonilex

No wonder I got confused!