In President Donald Trump‘s recent campaign, he has promised change unlike any previous president. Through all levels of government, he plans to overhaul and alter previous policies as well as use his own methods of operating the country. While he pioneers these new changes, he finds himself distracted by a new venture which is completely uncharacteristic of a president, cryptocurrency.
In the days leading up to his inauguration, the pro-crypto president announced the launch of $TRUMP, his own official meme coin. The meme coin is a form of crypto which has seen a rise in recent times, mostly trading on hype, which means that the more people talk about it on social media the higher the value. Considering his position of importance, President Trump is taking advantage of his power in order to pad his pockets with his crypto, something a president should never do.
“I recently got into trading stocks, but crypto seems a bit more of a risk to me. I just put some extra money I had into some stocks like Dow Jones and forget about it and it makes money, but with crypto, you have to be more careful,” sophomore Gabriel Morales said.
The meme coin is known as a highly volatile currency however, Trump has promised crypto investors stability in its market, something many dismissed. Trump’s motives behind creating his own crypto are still unclear, but he has promoted it as a commemoration for his victory in the election.
With many meme coins being used as a vehicle for scams known as rug pulls, traders are usually highly speculative of celebrities starting their own. In a recent example, influencer Hailey Welch, also known as the “hawk tuah girl”, was sued over her own coin, which skyrocketed to a $500 million market cap before it fell 90%, with many investors accusing her of tanking her own coin’s value.
“I heard about the thing that happened with the hawk tuah girl [Hailey Welch] and her crypto thing, and honestly I have not heard of it since. I think she really did run a scam and then just disappear when she was done and made her money,” freshman David Orozco said.
Trump does plan to combat this with measures in place to fight sudden devaluation of the coin by putting in place a rule that states majority holders are subject to a three-year unlocking schedule, he ensures owners of the coin cannot oversaturate the market by dumping all of their coin at once. While Trump is ensuring this, he is still undertaking an endeavor he is not supposed to be in.
Trump is raking in large profits from this new undertaking by blatantly exploiting the American people and his position of president. On the coin’s release date of Jan. 17, one unit could be purchased for $7.0886. The coin immediately soared to $601 million volume and in a single day and the Trump Organization had profited an estimated $58 million in trading fees alone.
“It’s pretty interesting that Trump started a crypto, but the fact that he’s profiting off of it should make people feel upset. He’s in an important position and one of the most influential in the world, so while he can use that to make money, he should be more of a role model,” sophomore Marcos Daniel said.
On the eve of the inauguration, the coin reached its all time high up until this point as the hype of the event drove up the price of the coin with the price for one Trump coin reaching $75.08 and the volume reaching an $18.4 billion peak. In the days since the inauguration, the coin has declined in value slightly comfortably settling between $30-$40 per unit.
While this venture into cryptocurrency is relatively novel for a president and is relevant to the modern day, it can also be seen as predatory. As meme coin is built and traded primarily off hype, President Trump peddling his own coin is manipulating the market and exploiting his position of power to put money into his pockets. With 80% of the total supply being held by Trump Organization affiliates, questions have been asked of the ethics of a United States President promoting this.
“I think it’s completely wrong for a president to do this, and not only is it wrong but it’s also even worse, because it’s a president promoting it. He is setting a really bad example as a leader of the country, and showing that he is willing to exploit the American people for money,” junior Caterina Nuonno said.
Despite concern, President Trump and his affiliates continue to push the meme coin and attempt to drive hype for it. As the controversial coin continues to be exchanged, investors simply hope for a high yield on their investment amid the chaos. However, the critiques of the coin are for the most part for valid reason. President Trump is tampering with the crypto market and manipulating it, something uncharacteristic of a U.S. President. In the future, while the coin will likely continue to run, it is ethically wrong and should be shut down.