From presidential endorsements to market crashes: Power and fraud in the Meme coin craze

What Lies Behind a Glamorous Crypto Feast?

In mid-January 2025, the elected president returns to Washington to attend the inauguration. At an event called the “Crypto Ball,” elites from all sectors gather—Speaker of the House and crypto influencers take photos together, political advisors relax in front of arcade machines, former child actors now co-founders of crypto companies are also present.

This weekend, a new token called “TRUMP” suddenly announced its launch on social media. The price skyrocketed instantly. Hours later, the president’s wife also released her own token, “MELANIA.”

This doesn’t resemble traditional financial activities—more like a row of arcade machines placed at the national center. The token prices surged wildly within hours, and holders’ assets reached billions of dollars in a short period. But then, everything collapsed. According to on-chain data analysis firms, the teams behind these tokens may have profited over $350 million, while hundreds of thousands of retail investors lost all their funds.

Meme Coins: From Jokes to Financial Disasters

To understand this upheaval, we must go back to the origins of Meme coins.

In 2013, two software engineers created Dogecoin inspired by a Japanese Shiba Inu meme. Their original intent was to mock the numerous cryptocurrencies emerging after Bitcoin, but investors flocked in. This seemingly useless token evolved into a cultural phenomenon.

Over the years, whenever the crypto market heats up, Meme coins re-emerge. In 2021, after a well-known figure endorsed this type of token, many new Meme coins with quirky names like “Dogwifhat,” “Bonk,” and others flooded the market.

Unlike traditional financial bubbles, Meme coins do not represent any real business value or cash flow. According to conventional valuation standards, these tokens should be worthless. Their operation is simple: only when enough people buy at higher prices can early holders profit. Essentially, it’s speculation on speculation itself.

A co-founder of a Meme coin creation platform admitted in an interview that the platform has issued about 1,400 Meme coins, generating approximately $1 billion in trading fees over the past year. The 22-year-old founder appeared nervous during an interview at a New York café. He refused to disclose his identity but demonstrated how the platform works—creating tokens only takes a few clicks, no programming knowledge required.

Behind the Scenes: Power Networks and Key Players

The origin of the Trump token remains ambiguous. Who actually created these tokens? The official website only lists a company called “Some Company” LLC, with an address at a UPS store.

In documents from Delaware, a name appears: Bill Zanker. The 71-year-old businessman co-authored business books with the president and has been promoting various projects for years—from real estate seminars to crowdfunding websites. Whenever a project fails, he seems to find the next opportunity. In 2022, he launched digital trading cards with the president, which alone earned at least $7 million.

Meme coins have become a new way to make money. But Zanker remains low-profile and does not respond to inquiries.

However, the real mystery is how this process could be so rapid and profitable. To find answers, investigators tracked similar events in another country.

Argentine President and On-Chain Evidence

Weeks later, the president of a South American country was also embroiled in the Meme coin frenzy. He promoted a token called “Some Coin,” which collapsed within hours.

By analyzing public transaction records on the blockchain, investigators found anomalies. One address bought $1.1 million worth of Trump tokens within seconds, then sold them three days later for a $100 million profit. Another address purchased a spouse token before it was publicly launched and later made $2.4 million in profit—this address was the same as the creator’s wallet.

These findings pointed to a key figure: a young advisor named Hayden Davis. A dropout from Liberty University, he claims to be an entrepreneur, running a company called Kelsier Ventures with his father, which specializes in helping with token issuance. According to analysis, Davis and his team may have profited over $150 million from these operations.

When the “President Pump-and-Dump” scandal broke in Argentina, Davis released a video admitting he was an advisor. He wore a striped Moncler hoodie, had messy blond hair, and large pilot glasses—hardly resembling a Wall Street elite. He claimed to have made $100 million from the token but said these funds were “trust-held” and never returned.

Climbing to the Top: Meteora Exchange and “Cats”

Davis is not acting alone. He often mentions another name: Ben Chow, CEO of a major crypto exchange. Chow appears to play a key role in several large Meme coin projects.

The true controller of this exchange is a Singaporean named Ming Yeow Ng, who uses “Cat” as his avatar. Although Ng has no official title, insiders know he is the real power behind the scenes.

Ng is an interesting character. His app allows anyone to easily issue tokens. He frequently discusses his philosophy of a “free crypto market” in podcasts and articles. He believes Meme coins are not scams but “pioneers of digital expression and cultural connection.” In his view, issuing tokens is like “founding a religion”—just a symbol, a community, and a story.

When asked about the Trump family tokens, Ng claimed he only provided “technical support.” Meteora Exchange is merely a tool for anyone to issue any token, he said, and it should not control the issuer’s intentions.

“All financial assets are essentially Meme coins,” Ng said while patting the table in a cat café, “the US dollar is also a Meme coin! Everything is based on collective belief.”

Disillusionment and Lingering Issues

Initial enthusiasm gradually cooled. By November 2025, Meme coin trading volume had fallen 92% from its January peak. Investors were repeatedly “scalped” until the money ran out.

The Trump tokens now are worth 92% less than their peak, and the spouse tokens have fallen 99%. Both are now nearly worthless.

Davis is now an “outcast” in the crypto industry—even in an industry that despises rules, this is hard to achieve. No one knows where he is now; his social media accounts have gone silent, but on-chain data shows his wallet continues to trade Meme coins.

In contrast, Ng and his exchange have succeeded. The exchange launched its own token in October, now valued at over $300 million.

When all promoters and the presidential family remain silent, no one knows exactly how this wealth was generated so quickly. In traditional stock markets, regulators scrutinize suspicious large transactions, requiring personal identification to detect market manipulation. But in the Meme coin space, such regulatory systems do not yet exist.

A New York lawyer is suing on behalf of harmed investors, accusing the system of being a “manipulated casino by insiders.” He also alleges that Davis, Chow, and the exchange repeatedly engaged in “pump-and-dump” fraud. Both cases are ongoing.

Regulatory Vacuum and Concentration of Power

Some call this the “ultimate value extraction machine, designed by highly capable individuals.” The presidential family has established a “diversified conflict-of-interest investment portfolio”: the president proposes that the federal government buy Bitcoin as strategic reserves; his son owns a Bitcoin mining company; the government promotes military equipment sales to a certain country, while the president’s brand also licenses skyscrapers in that country; a founder of a crypto enterprise is pardoned, and his company supports another Trump crypto project.

Some former Meme coin influencers now promote “prediction markets.” During the previous administration, this was considered illegal gambling and banned, but the new government is more liberal. The president’s son is now an advisor to related platforms.

As long as this system lacks transparency and regulation, similar incidents may continue to occur. Fundamental questions about how the Trump tokens were created, who profited the most, and whether there was misconduct remain unanswered. This is not only about a family’s wealth but also about the entire crypto ecosystem—a world with almost no regulation, where “cat” avatars can hide real identities, and billions of dollars can change hands in a weekend.