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Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world
The re-election of Donald Trump as the president of the United States has brought many firsts. The launch of an official cryptocurrency on Friday may be the most surprising. This symbol has no inherent value. But depending on how you look at it, it may have some merit.
Badged $TRUMP, the new crypto wheeze candidate was worth $10bn on Monday, based on circulating supply, six times its initial market capitalisation. That’s a long way from bitcoin, the $2tn goliath crypto. But as far as so-called memecoins go, it’s impressive, ranking third behind canine-inspired digital assets Dogecoin and Shiba Inu. Separate memecoin launched by Melania Trump achieved a price of $ 2bn on Monday, behind the $ 2.5bn tokens of Fartcoin.
But what exactly is it? It’s not an investment, says the small print – more of a “statement of support”. Put another way, for all the hype, $TRUMP is just a novelty to collect presidential votes, like Maga’s red cap, or bobble-headed dashboard doll, only useful. less and more expensive. Trump had already traded in the digital age, lending his image to a series of non-fungible tokens – basically digital images – including portraits of himself as George Washington, and a piece of golden chess.
While not a good investment, $TRUMP has some value. For one, it’s a very strong statement of purpose. Trump has indicated that his plan is to take crypto mainstream, including the creation of a US crypto reserve, and the appointment of a crypto king to his cabinet. His new coin only emerged when Securities and Exchange Commission chief Gary Gensler, an executive who had proven a disaster for would-be crypto-innovators, stepped down .
Of course, as money both Trump and Melania tokens fail traditional tests – such as being a reasonable form of exchange. As for other random attempts, no kidnapper can demand a ransom paid in $MELANIA. The circulation of both currencies also has 1bn tokens. That said, the only real test of money is whether enough people will accept one. In that sense, there is no reason why $TRUMP is any more crazy than Doge, Tether or any other digital asset experiment.
And if the Trump coin is not found to have sustainable monetary value, it could serve another function: as a living opinion poll. But my feelings can be unstable. As of Monday, $TRUMP was up 1,000 percent and down a third, according to CoinMarketCap. Being valued in real time by the market is something a president can appreciate over time.
