Trump's Memecoin Rises 8% Despite New $320 Million Unlock
President Donald Trump's official cryptocurrency TRUMP rose more than 8 percent in the last 24 hours on Friday night, even after 40 million tokens (worth $320 million) were unlocked on Thursday, expanding the available supply for trading.
The new tokens represented 4% of the project's one billion token cap, but increased the circulating supply by 20%, from 200 million to 240 million.
Traders expected selling pressure; instead, the market price rose from about $7.54 before the unlock to about $8.30, leaving the meme coin with an 8.5 percent gain on the day and well above the lows of the holiday weekend.
Data published by CoinMarketCap shows that only $1.3 million in volume can still push the price up 2 percent on the largest exchanges, a sign of weekend liquidity that may increase volatility.
Token unlocking events typically put significant pressure on digital currencies because early holders can sell their assets. Thursday's allocation belonged to the project's creators and CIC Digital LLC, the corporate entity managing Trump's licensing agreements, according to the meme coin's website.
Online forums buzzed with rumors that Trump is planning a meeting for major token holders. However, no details or confirmations have emerged.
The purpose of the coin is still unclear
Beyond bets on action and price movements, the purpose of the coin remains unclear. The project's website states that the tokens are 'an expression of support and commitment to the ideals and beliefs embodied by the symbol '$TRUMP' and the associated art,' and emphasizes that 'they are not intended to be ... an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any kind.'
Dune's blockchain data shows that 636,000 wallets hold TRUMP, but only 12,285 control more than $1,000 in value. Research firm K33 labeled the tokenomics as 'poor' in a note from January when the coin briefly hit its record of $71.
Regulatory scrutiny has followed the hype. Three days before taking office, Trump promoted the Solana-based token on social media. The watchdog group Public Citizen urged authorities to investigate the backing.
Reuters reported in February that the entities behind the coin raised nearly $100 million in transaction fees in two weeks, citing estimates from three blockchain analysis firms.
Government concern has also shifted to legislation. Last month, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, French Hill, R-Ark., said that the increasing crypto activity of the Trump family is complicating Congress's efforts to draft rules on stable assets. It includes ties to the decentralized finance company World Liberty Financial and its planned stablecoin.
Trump is listed as manager, president, secretary, and treasurer of CIC Digital LLC, which has already licensed his image for various NFT collections.
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