Scamurai Weekly: Trump launching a meme token will end badly
My boyfriend has made thousands. My arguments against investing in shitcoins are losing their edge.
When I first saw Trump’s post about his latest crypto venture on X, I assumed his account had been hacked. Surely, it had to be a scam.
I had too much faith in the man.
Since its launch on January 17, the value of Official Trump has skyrocketed. At the time of writing, it’s trading at around $57, with a market cap of $11.3 billion. That makes it the 21st-largest token, overtaking the native tokens of Uniswap and Polkadot.
Unlike Trump’s previous crypto ventures—NFTs tied to sneakers and the chance to win a gala dinner, or governance tokens with dubious utility—this memecoin doesn’t even attempt to disguise itself. It’s a full-fledged shitcoin.
Thanks to him, any lingering caution about investing in memecoins seems to have evaporated. The president, who takes office today, has now launched one. The endless warnings about avoiding celebrity-backed financial schemes? Forgotten. The Hawk Tuah Girl debacle feels like a distant memory.
On the upside, my boyfriend is thrilled. He’s made thousands of dollars, adding to his earlier windfall from Fartcoin, a memecoin whose only appeal is an immature name. At this point, my arguments against investing in shitcoins are starting to lose their edge.
The token’s website is as strange as the concept itself. A fist-pumping Trump, oddly reminiscent of a Ken doll, greets visitors alongside some copy that poses more questions than it answers:
“On July 13, 2024, President Trump faced death and came up fighting! With his fist in the air and the iconic battle cry FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT, President Trump showed the world what a LEADER is made of. His strength and courage ignited a movement becoming the most memorable meme of the century.
Now, you can get your piece of history. This Trump Meme celebrates a leader who doesn’t back down, no matter the odds. Join the Trump Community - we’re all about fighting for what matters.”
What matters? What community?
The site, which is conspicuously low-effort, offers only limited details. There’s no white paper. What it does say is that the team has released 200 million $TRUMP tokens, with plans to expand that to 1 billion over three years. Only 10% is allocated for public distribution, another 10% for liquidity, and the remaining 80% is locked up for staggered release over two years.
That remaining four-fifths will go to six different groups named “Creators and CIC Digital”. The latter is an entity owned by Trump which has run several of his other crypto projects. It’s not clear if creators means the people who made the project or influencers that may promote it in the future.
Despite all the talk of “community”—my least favourite crypto buzzword—there’s no Discord or Telegram group, just an X account. The FAQ section is sparse, and the footer looks suspiciously recycled, still referencing “card allocations,” likely from one of Trump’s earlier NFT projects.
Even more absurdly, the site insists the token isn’t political or an investment opportunity. The language stretches credibility:
Trump Memes are an “expression of support for, and engagement with, the ideals and beliefs embodied by the symbol "$TRUMP" and the associated artwork, and are not intended to be, or to be the subject of, an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type. GetTrumpMemes.com is not political and has nothing to do with any political campaign or any political office or governmental agency.”
Sure.
And just when I thought it couldn’t get any weirder, Melania Trump joined the party with her own token. While hers is worth less—$11 per token with a market cap of $1.7 billion—it’s still a staggering figure. Together, the tokens boast a combined market cap exceeding the GDP of countries like Mauritius and the Bahamas.
The problems here are glaring, whether you’re a Trump fan or not. It flies in the face of years of attempts by regulators and others to dissuade people from blindly investing into something just because it’s being promoted by a celebrity or influencer.
The President is effectively saying that’s fine.
Also on Scamurai
Why I Quit CoinDesk: A really stupid saga involving Justin Sun, a banana, Tron’s PR team and CoinDesk’s parent company, Bullish. Read here.
Huione builds a blockchain: I do a deep dive into Huione’s blockchain efforts since an Elliptic report last year exposed how one of their platforms is facilitating billions in crypto-based money laundering. Read here.
Tron Wallet Exploits: I talk to a team who say almost 30 Tron wallets are hit daily by permissions hacks and a wallet provider trying to keep up with online scams using their company’s name. Read here.
Crypto Crime 2024: Chainalysis’ latest report breaks down crypto crime numbers for last year. Read here.
Elsewhere
The SEC has filed charges relating to fraud and registration violations against Helium creator, Nova Labs. From the SEC.
(This one was published in September but I think is worth sharing again) A deep dive into Trump’s previous crypto project, World Liberty Financial. From CoinDesk.
How Thailand’s Prime Minister was nearly duped by a scam call purporting to be from another world leader. From NBC.
Housekeeping
I’m still fine-tuning this newsletter and trying to work out the best things to do in terms of content/length/format. If you have any ideas or feedback, suggestions are welcome. Get in touch at callan@scamurai.io.
And please, if you have a story you want me to cover, let me know!
Thanks,
Callan Quinn