Trump’s cryptocurrency poised to become one of the most valuable in the world

The Trump family’s new crypto token has exploded in just two days to become one of the world’s most valuable forms of digital currency, creating the potential for a multibillion-dollar payout for the family, but also generating a storm of questions about conflicts of interest. the new business is created.

President-elect Donald J. Trump announced the launch of the new token, $Trump, Friday evening as hundreds gathered for a crypto-inspired inauguration ball not far from the White House.

The venture has been hailed by some as a sign of how digital currencies are now becoming mainstream in the United States.

But economists and even some longtime crypto investors have said the new digital coin, known as memecoin, could also become a historic moment in the speculative history of crypto trading and the potential dangers it poses. for the financial system. Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency linked to an online joke or celebrity mascot.

“If people want to play, I don’t care,” said Lee Reiners, a former Federal Reserve economist who is now a lecturer at a center studying global economic markets at Duke University. “What matters to me is that when this crypto bubble bursts – and it will burst – it will end up impacting people across the economy, even if they don’t have an investment directly into cryptography. And this new piece only makes things worse.

Eric Trump, one of Mr. Trump’s sons, who helped launch the token, declined to comment on Sunday.

At least on paper, Trump tokens on the market had a total value of nearly $13 billion on Sunday, and a total of $29 billion in transactions took place in just two days. That calculation is based on the nearly $64 value of each of the 200 million tokens issued, according to CoinGecko, an industry data tracker.