One year of Trump's memecoin: 93% decline and impact on US cryptocurrency policy

Source: PortaldoBitcoin Original Title: One Year of Trump’s Memecoin: 93% Drop and Challenges for US Cryptocurrency Policy Original Link: An unexpected bombshell on Friday night.

Three days before his second inauguration, in January last year, President Trump’s social media was flooded with news about the launch of the Official Trump (TRUMP), a memecoin based on the Solana network that bears his name and political brand.

The token reached a market capitalization of $10 billion within hours, hitting a peak of $73 and driving the most avid investors into frenzy, generating over 8 million requests per minute that overwhelmed Phantom Wallet’s infrastructure.

A year later, the TRUMP token is trading just below $5, a decline of about 93% from its all-time high, with a market cap exceeding $987 million.

Conflicts of interest under debate

As Trump marks one year in office, questions of conflicts of interest remain unresolved — the Trump family continues managing various cryptocurrency ventures while the president is in office, and Democrats increasingly cite his personal enrichment as a reason to block digital asset reform.

“The launch of Trump’s memecoin did more harm than good to the sector, as his political opponents cite his personal gains from the meme coin launch as a reason to block or delay cryptocurrency legislation,” said Peter Chung, head of research at Presto Labs, based in Singapore.

Trump’s conflicts of interest with cryptocurrencies have dominated the debate and even delayed the passage of legislation regulating stablecoins. In May, Congresswoman Maxine Waters led a Democratic protest against “Trump’s corruption with cryptocurrencies,” in an attempt to force the inclusion of divestment clauses in the bill.

Connections with cryptocurrencies

The president’s connections to cryptocurrencies range from the memecoin to World Liberty Financial and its $1 stablecoin.

The Trump family’s crypto empire has grown exponentially, generating over $1 billion in profits, according to his son, Eric Trump, who told the Financial Times in October that the amount was “probably higher.”

Last May, Congresswoman Waters introduced legislation aimed at restricting the president’s ability to profit from digital assets while in office.

That same month, the president hosted a closed dinner for the 220 largest TRUMP holders, including international investors who bought millions in TRUMP and invested tens of millions in World Liberty.

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren called the dinner “a orgy of corruption” during a press conference, while hundreds of protesters gathered outside the venue.

World Liberty Financial also attracted similar attention, with the Trump family’s involvement in WLFI increasing its net worth by more than $6 billion since negotiations began. Trump disclosed earnings that lawmakers labeled as “blatant corruption,” and Senator Warren considered an investment linked to the project’s stablecoin “suspicious.”