Within 24 hours of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, both the $TRUMP and $MELANIA tokens experienced significant losses, plummeting by 60%.
This big drop happened because traders sold the tokens after they were disappointed that Trump’s inaugural speech did not include any friendly speech about crypto.
Before the crash, $TRUMP market value was at $13.72 billion and was priced at $56.70. But after the swearing-in, the value dropped to $8.27 billion, as prices plunged to $31.20, which is a 60% loss from its ATH of $72.
$MELANIA token was also not immune to the plunge. It lost 54% as the price dropped from $11.41 to $4.91, leaving its market capitalization at $750 million.
Meanwhile, both tokens recorded $23.5 billion in trading volume in just 24 hours, surpassing other more popular digital assets, such as Tron (TRX) and Cardano (ADA).
The drop was compounded by the liquidation losses, with futures tracking the tokens suffering nearly $70 million in liquidations as traders betting on higher prices got caught off guard.
Industry’s Mixed Reactions
Billionaire Mark Cuban expressed his criticism of the frenzy by saying, “Mint it, print it, sell it, f**k it. That is the mantra for the world you are suggesting.” Cuban further slammed the speculative nature of the tokens and warned they could damage crypto’s credibility, saying, “Goodbye whatever hope the crypto industry had of legitimizing itself,” he added.
He also mentioned that the ex-SEC chairman, Gary Gensler, “has got to be laughing his ass off.”
Meanwhile, well-known investor Balaji Srinivasan sees things differently. He called Trump the “first crypto president.”. He said, “Trump just went from being perhaps 1% of his net worth to 90%+,” comparing this change to how early users of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana quickly made a lot of money.
Srinivasan said this event might start a trend of famous people starting their own personal memecoins. He noted, “Every politician, influencer, and celebrity worldwide is watching, mouth agog at the phenomenon.” He suggested that, if it works, these tokens could change how people get involved in politics. Supporters would directly gain from being linked to a figure’s policies or brand value.
Srinivasan even suggested the president giving out free $TRUMP tokens: “At current valuations, Trump could give $100 of locked up TRUMP to all 77M Trump voters via airdrop, and it would ‘only’ cost him $7.7B in an asset that was worth zero two days ago. Heck, he could give $500 per person and still have $20B+ left over.” He believed this plan could help the president connect with his political supporters.
Meanwhile, data from Moonshot, one of the first places to offer $TRUMP, showed that trading volumes dropped from $6 million to only $1 million in one day.
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