Over the weekend, US President-elect Donald Trump took the crypto industry by storm with an unexpected launch. Trump announced on social media he was launching the official TRUMP memecoin on the Solana blockchain last Friday, kickstarting a multi-billion three-day frenzy that sparked heavy community backlash.
Crypto Market On Its ‘Memecoin Era’
Ki Young Ju, founder and CEO of CryptoQuant, shared his thoughts on the weekend frenzy, announcing that “Trump opened the Era of Memecoins.” According to the X post, “financial markets have always been about chasing memes,” and following trends “is nothing new” for financial investors.
Ju pointed out that the rise of the Internet and social media has made spreading ideas faster and enabled them to reach a wider audience. He also highlighted crypto exchanges had already opened the door to “an era of retail investing,” in which people take a more hands-on approach instead of “parking their money in banks or index funds.”
CryptoQuant CEO weighs in on Trump memecoin frenzy. Source: Ki Young Ju on X
As a result, investors who lack expertise follow trends, listen to influencers, and learn from what others are doing. “It’s unlikely retail investors will suddenly get smarter about investing, and without government regulations, the herding behavior around trendy keywords won’t stop,” he stated.
The CEO considers that “the Trump administration seems less interested in regulating this phenomenon and more inclined to take advantage of it,” suggesting that their approach is “if it’s inevitable, use them.”
Moreover, he added that celebrity tokens are just one of the forms memecoins can take, asserting that “the underlying reality of financial markets behaving like memes isn’t going away, so it’s worth considering how to make the most of it.”
Ju believes that the upcoming president is “likely to use” his token holders as a “powerful community base for collective action,” adding that the token’s value will depend on what Trump does and is unlikely to go to zero unless the president pulls the rug on his “fervent fan base.”
If a celebrity coin issuer avoids rug-pulling and takes responsibility for their sales, it’s not as harmful as you might think. Even Bitcoin had its fair share of pyramid scheme promoters in the early days, selling to elderly investors. Now, with its massive price rise, those same scammers started being called “visionaries.”
He concluded that regardless of the community’s feelings, the ongoing wave is “unstoppable—at least until 2028,” suggesting that investors should prepare for the next wave.
Trump Token Frenzy To Continue
Despite investors’ initial concerns about a hacking scam, Trump’s official token experienced a meteoric rise a few hours after launching, reaching a market capitalization of $6 billion by Saturday morning.
Throughout the following day, the US President’s official memecoin surged to an all-time high (ATH) of $75 and a market capitalization of $15 billion. The token eclipsed the crypto market, with only a few cryptocurrencies following its lead. Amid the weekend rally, Bitcoin (BTC) turned the $102,000 resistance into support, while Solana (SOL) hit a new ATH of $270.
Nonetheless, the unexpected launch was also met with heavy criticism from the community. Crypto investors expressed their concerns and discontent on X, with some members suggesting the token could harm the industry’s reputation.
Meanwhile, others called out the upcoming President’s memecoin venture a “grift.” As reported by Bitcoinist, popular internet investigator Coffeezilla expressed his skepticism on social media. “Dropping TRUMP memecoin 2 days before becoming president is nasty work,” he stated, adding that “new SEC/DOJ guarantees no prosecution.”
The criticism grew on Sunday afternoon when incoming First Lady Melania Trump announced the launch of her memecoin, MELANIA, on Solana. After the launch, the market saw a 6% correction, with BTC briefly dropping below $100,000 and TRUMP nosediving 30% in an hour from its ATH price to $49.
However, the market has started to recover amid the Inauguration Day rally. The flagship crypto hit a new ATH of $109,000 earlier before retracing just below the previous ATH range. Some analysts expect today to be “very volatile in both directions” but remain optimistic about the coming months with the new crypto-friendly administration.
Bitcoin's performance in the one-week chart. Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView
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