Trump’s Crypto Moves Get Copied by Strongmen Like Javier Milei and Nayib Bukele
On inauguration weekend, the president and First Lady launched the $TRUMP and $MELANIA tokens, a pair of crypto-currencies that had little to distinguish them except their association with the first family—worthless meme coins, in other words. (Or, to the less charitably minded, “shitcoins.”) But because it was Trump, the tokens briefly exploded in value, accumulating billions of dollars in market capitalization, at least on paper, before the inevitable crash. The Trump family reportedly made at least $100 million from trading fees.
There is nothing new—no technical or financial innovation—in Trump’s crypto portfolio. He’s simply slapped his name and likeness on as many crypto ventures as possible while taking majority ownership in the companies behind them.