The crypto venture – a billion-dollar success

Cryptocurrency
Donald Trump's multi-billion-dollar success after crypto launch

Erik Melin

Updated 14.58 | Published 14.05
 

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• Donald Trump has launched a cryptocurrency, called $Trump, which has quickly increased in value by 714 percent, which now constitutes a significant part of his total assets.
• Melania Trump has also launched her own cryptocurrency, $Melania, which increased in value by 42 percent, which temporarily negatively affected the value of $Trump when it crashed by 40 percent.
  
• The launch of the Trump couple's cryptocurrencies has caused concern and criticism in the cryptocurrency sphere, with accusations of potential "pump and dump" and volatility in the market.

Trump called crypto a fraud.

Now his own currency is worth 128 billion kronor.

His wife's investment is valued at just under 20 billion.

Ahead of tonight's ceremony, when Donald Trump officially takes office as president of the United States, there has been speculation about whether his statements about cryptocurrencies will become politics or just election gimmicks.

The unexpected events of the weekend suggest more of the former.

On Friday, Donald Trump launched his own cryptocurrency, or "

" as he himself wrote on his own platform Truth Social.

His wife, Melania Trump, has also entered the crypto world.

"The official Melania meme is out," she announced on X on Sunday.

The announcement shows how clearly Trump has swung on the issue of crypto assets. In 2021, he called bitcoin a fraud.

Donald Trump. Photo: Evan Vucci / AP

The websites of both currencies state that the assets should be seen as a kind of collector's item for those who want to support Trump and his wife. They are not intended as an investment opportunity, they write.

Melania caused $Trump to crash

But for those who have seen the currencies as an investment, it has been a successful journey.

The development has been explosive. Each $Trump, as the currency is called, was valued at $7 at launch. On Monday morning, the value is around $57 per unit. An increase of 714 percent.

The $Melania currency has increased in value by 42 percent in less than a day. And in connection with Melania launching her currency, $Trump crashed by 40 percent before recovering, writes the analysis firm The Kobeissi Letter on X.

A huge profit for Trump

For Donald Trump, the launch of his own currency has been a stroke of luck. A few days ago it did not exist at all, but now it accounts for 89 percent of his total assets, reports Axios.

And there could be more. 200 million units of the currency have been released for sale, out of a total of 1 billion. The remaining 800 million units, all controlled by various Trump-linked individuals or organizations, are to be sold over the next three years.

The presidential couple's currency maneuvers have created chaos in the crypto market at large, as capital has been withdrawn from other currencies to be put into $Trump and $Melania. Both bitcoin and other major currencies have been on a roller coaster ride in value over the weekend.

Criticized: "Embarrassing"

Not everyone is overjoyed about Donald Trump's crypto launch. Amerikanska Forbes writes that several prominent figures in the sphere are critical.

"Trump coin is embarrassing. "It's the opposite of what you voted for," writes bitcoin-podcaster Peter McCormack on X.

Above all, it's the risk of a so-called "pump and dump" that has created concern, meaning that people inflate the value of an asset and lure ordinary people into investing, before selling off for their own profit while those lured in are left with a worthless asset when the value plummets.