- Trump-themed memecoins soared on the ex-president’s guilty verdict.
- Political memecoins are poised to play a huge role in Solana’s rally.
Donald Trump’s guilty verdict sent shockwaves through the $65 billion memecoin market, launching tokens linked to him and President Joe Biden on a rollercoaster ride of volatility.
After a jury of 12 found Trump guilty of all 34 felony counts in his hush-money trial on Thursday, the largest memecoin linked to Biden plummeted.
Jeo Boden, a buzzy Solana-based memecoin worth nearly $200 million, dropped 7%, according to CoinGecko.
Investors backing Trump-themed coins fared better, with MAGA — a reference to the Trump campaign slogan “Make America great again” — and Doland Tremp surging 13% and 11%, respectively, over the same period.
MAGA and Doland Tremp have total market values of $670 million and $112 million.
The day’s volatility hasn’t been without its oddities, either. Super Trump seems to be an outlier after falling about 20%, and an anti-Biden memecoin called Joe Biden Has Perished is up 102% on the day.
The price moves highlight two growing trends: the ongoing memecoin frenzy and the growing politicisation of crypto.
Memecoin frenzy
Joke currencies are big business.
They generated over $6.5 billion in trades over the past 24 hours alone and command a total market value of $65.5 billion.
The sector faces criticism for being purely speculative — denunciations echoing the scepticism of crypto critics in general.
Even so, memecoins, named after presidents or celebrities, hold sway among crypto retail investors for their low cost and alluring potential for massive earnings.
“Memecoins seem to be one of the last remaining opportunities in crypto for a normal person to go from zero to respectable [net worth] in a short period of time,” Jordan Fish, a crypto influencer better known as Cobie, wrote on X.
Given how illiquid many memecoins are, though, they are just as likely to crash to zero overnight.
Crypto in politics
Still, political joke coins are playing a huge part in the frenzy.
Ryan McMillin, chief investment officer at crypto fund manager Merkle Tree Capital, recently told DL News he expects the niche to catapult Solana — the blockchain many memecoins are traded on — to new $400 record highs in the coming months.
The focus on memecoins comes as crypto becomes increasingly politicised ahead of the November election.
Recently, the House of Representatives voted in favour of a sweeping crypto bill known as the FIT21 Act, which, if passed in the Senate, would clarify which agencies are responsible for regulating which types of cryptocurrencies.
In parallel, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds.
Trump and Biden have both latched on to the momentum.
Earlier in May, Trump embraced the industry in his strongest terms yet during an event at the Mar-a-Lago.
“If you’re in favour of crypto you’d better vote for Trump,” he said, adding that his campaign would start accepting donations in crypto.
The comments highlighted an evolution of his stance. He famously dismissed Bitcoin as “a scam against the dollar” in 2021.
Comparatively, Biden has adopted a more anti-crypto stance, having threatened to veto a pro-crypto bill that would repeal a controversial SEC policy, and to raise Bitcoin miners’ taxes.
Naturally, many in crypto community prefer Trump to Biden, 45% to 43%, according to a recent poll by investment firm Paradigm.
Ryan Selkis, CEO of crypto market intelligence firm Messari and a vocal Trump supporter, paints a second Biden term as a future involving mass seizures of crypto assets.
Eric Johansson is DL News’ News Editor. Got at tip? Email him at eric@dlnews.com.
