(Bloomberg) — A digital token launched by President-elect Donald Trump has shaken up the cryptocurrency market, attracting billions of dollars in trading volume while stoking concerns about conflicts of interest.
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Trading under the ticker “Trump” on the Solana blockchain, the token’s market value soared to $15 billion over the weekend, according to CoinMarketCap data, after the Republican touted it on his network accounts social Friday.
The digital asset’s market capitalization then briefly slipped below $8 billion on Sunday in New York after Trump’s wife Melania also unveiled a coin, attracting traders looking to capitalize on the development of speculative demand for memes.
Meanwhile, the broader crypto market struggled over the weekend, including a decline in the largest token, Bitcoin, and a larger pullback for second-ranked Ether. SOL, the cryptoasset associated with the Solana digital ledger hosting Trump memecoins, bucked the trend and recorded a rally.
The “size of capital flowing” into the Trump token has left most other coins “wrong” outside of SOL and some associated assets, said Sydney-based Richard Galvin, co-founder of hedge fund DACM.
The president-elect’s token website describes it as “the only official Trump meme.” The project’s art features an illustration of the new US president with his fist in the air – a reference to his response following an assassination attempt at a campaign rally last year.
The fine print on the website states that the President-Elect Token is not intended to be an “investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any kind.” Still, crypto-minded Trump fans immediately started buying. Major exchanges like Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) and Binance Holdings Ltd. said over the weekend that they intend to list the token on their platforms.
The Melania Project website also states that the token is not intended to be an investment opportunity or security, adding that “Melania memes are digital collectibles intended to function as an expression of support and d commitment to the values embodied by the MELANIA symbol. »
Trump made explicit overtures to the crypto industry in the months before and after his election. Bloomberg News previously reported that he was considering an executive order designating the asset class as a “national priority.”
