A short-lived symbolic frenzy within the Trump family left hopeful investors with heavy losses.
Official memecoins of US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania fell 60% in the past 24 hours, amid heavy profit-taking after Monday’s inauguration. Futures contracts tracking both tokens have seen similarly bad results for traders – with liquidation losses of nearly $70 million for those betting on higher prices.
These are also not thinly traded tokens whose prices are easy to change. Data shows that TRUMP amassed more than $19 billion in volume over a 24-hour period, while MELANIA saw $4.5 billion exchange hands.
Top tokens, such as Tron’s TRX and Cardano’s ADA, generated volumes of less than $4 billion during the same period, reflecting the high interest in Trump family-themed tokens .
Overall buying volumes are stagnating, in line with pricing on trading app Moonshot, which was among the first to offer TRUMP to retail traders. A Dune dashboard created by @Seoulcalibur.eth shows that volumes have fallen from an average of over $6 million from January 18-19, to just over $1 million in the past 24 hours.
Crypto markets expected Trump to mention the asset class in his inaugural speech – like plans for a promised Bitcoin strategic reserve – but the lack of relevant words sent BTC falling from a high from Monday above $109,000 to just over $101,000 Monday morning in Asia.
Traders, however, remain optimistic about a pro-crypto policy in the near term, with a focus on Solana’s SOL tokens.
“The launch of $TRUMP on SOL proves to be a significant on-chain endorsement, making it plausible that the SOL ETF could gain approval much sooner than expected,” Singapore-based QCP Capital said in a show on Tuesday. “With increased media exposure following similar launches, retail streams will likely flood in.”
“Trump’s memecoin launch appeals not only to the masses of memecoin retailers, but also to large institutions, as it solidifies the president’s pro-crypto stance. Institutional investors are on the edge of their seats, waiting for concrete pro-crypto policies that could significantly influence the future of the economy,” the company added.
