The majority of the crypto community is pinning their hopes on the incoming administration of Donald Trump as a game changer for the industry. Much of this optimism is due to the promises made during his campaign, which many believe could herald a new era of politics favorable to cryptocurrency adoption and innovation.
Although administration has yet to officially begin, recent market trends have offered a preview of the excitement it could bring to the industry. This preview comes in the form of Donald Trump’s newly launched memecoin, OFFICIAL TRUMP, which has attracted a wave of enthusiasm rivaling the 2021 bull market. The coin has not only made headlines but has also raised questions about the future of the industry from here.
Record debut for Trump Coin
On January 17, 2025, Donald Trump made a surprising announcement on social media platform Xreveals the launch of $TRUMP, a memecoin tied to his name and legacy.
According to the meme coin official websitethe meme coin was created in recognition of Trump’s “Courage & Strength” on July 13, 2024. Initially, there was skepticism regarding the legitimacy of $TRUMP, but official confirmations soon followed and investors began buying in large quantities.
Launched on the Solana network, the meme coin was immediately listed on major crypto exchanges, including Bybit, KuCoin and Bitget. This saw its value rise sharply in a matter of hours and quickly climb the ranks of cryptocurrencies by market cap.
A few crypto analysts have expressed concerns about the allocation of the meme coin, as 80% of the $1 billion TRUMP tokens created were allocated to the issuers. However, this was not enough to deter buyers, as both old and new crypto investors continued to pour in.
At the time of writing, the official Trump meme coin is trading at $42.2 with a market capitalization of $9.39 billion, a fully diluted value of $46.93 billion, and a 24-hour trading volume of $11.24 billion. The magnitude of these numbers was unprecedented, and the meme coin has officially broken previous records for trading activity and volume among newly launched cryptocurrencies
The meme coin has also fueled demand for Solana, its parent blockchain. This in turn has caused the price of Solana to rise by double digits over the past 24 hours to now trade at a all-time high above $275.
Where does the crypto industry go from here?
A US president-elect creating a meme coin was unprecedented, but it undoubtedly shows Trump’s positive leaning towards cryptocurrencies. As such, the impact of $TRUMP’s launch is expected to extend beyond its immediate success. It could be the much-needed primer needed to return to bullish momentum like the 2021 bull market.
The meme coin’s launch has also highlighted the growing intersection between politics and cryptocurrencies. Latest discussions around create a Bitcoin reserve and prioritize US-based digital currencieslike Solana and XRP, have further emphasized the role digital assets can play in shaping fiscal policy under Trump’s leadership.
Interestingly, the success of the meme coin has not taken away from Bitcoin’s current rally. The leading cryptocurrency has continued its upward path over the $100,000 mark along with inflows to Official Trump ($TRUMP).
Featured image from Axios, chart from TradingView
