In many ways cryptocurrency represents the embodiment of internet culture. Crypto’s original value proposition was decentralization - giving power to the people - and all it requires is an internet connection. And within the crypto industry itself, no sector reflects online culture as much as memecoins. Since they provide no utility besides signaling a social allegiance towards a particular meme or internet subculture, memecoins have long been seen as a comical sub-niche within Web3. However, the past year or so has demonstrated the power of memecoins to become the leading narrative of the entire cryptocurrency market. With the rise of fast cheap networks like Solana and user-friendly tools like pump.fun, it seems that every viral online occurrence can now be monetized with meme tokens. However, the past few weeks may have exposed that the meme industry has gone a bit too far - with actual heads of state launching, promoting, and “rugging” their own meme coin projects.
$TRUMP and $MELANIA Lead the Way
With just days to go before his official inauguration, Donald Trump shocked the cryptosphere by announcing the launch of his own cryptocurrency $TRUMP. This move exemplifies how the blockchain can instantly convert an intangible concept - such as political support or viral enthusiasm - into a tradable asset. The project established itself as a memecoin right away, because it made no pretense of having actual utility. The terms and conditions on the coin’s official platform underscore this, stating, “Trump Memes are designed as a form of endorsement” and carry “no assurance or guarantee that their value will rise or remain stable relative to your initial investment.” Capitalizing on the imminent event of the presidential inauguration, $TRUMP shot up from $1 billion in market capitalization to around $72 billion in just 24 hours. This was followed roughly a day later with the first lady Melania Trump also launching her own meme token $MELANIA, which shot up in price right after launch but led to a sharp decline in $TRUMP price possibly due to dilution of sentiment. However, as is unfortunately quite common in the world of meme tokens after initial euphoria and attention wears off, both the $TRUMP and $MELANIA coins are already trading at a fraction of their all-time highs.
Hype for CZ’s Dog
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the founder and ex-CEO of Binance, disclosed his dog’s name in an X post earlier in February, and it ignited a frenzy of memecoins inspired by his Belgian Malinois. Since the dog’s name was revealed to be “Broccoli,” meme tokens related to CZ’s dog have rapidly proliferated across leading memecoin platforms. Pump.fun is already home to over 480 Broccoli-themed tokens, and BNB chain’s four.meme platform features at least 300 CZ-dog-inspired coins. Among them, one Solana-based Broccoli memecoin surged to a $1.5 billion market cap within a day of CZ’s original post, showcasing the speculative fervor surrounding timely memes. Some within the crypto community viewed this event as negative for the industry at large, because it showcased a venerated thought leader like CZ getting mixed up with non-utility projects like meme tokens. While CZ is not directly involved nor is there an official token for his dog, the proliferation of meme coin culture possibly highlights the value extraction element of crypto in which participants are only interested to make a quick buck rather than build revolutionary applications for the long-term.
Argentine President Milei’s LIBRA Catastrophe
The rollout of Libra (LIBRA), a cryptocurrency backed by Argentine President Javier Milei, quickly devolved into a financial disaster as insiders dumped over 107 million tokens and erased nearly 94% of project value in mere hours. On-chain analytics firm Lookonchain revealed that at least eight wallets tied to the Libra team drained liquidity from the project, cashing out 57.6 million USDC and 249,671 SOL in the process (valued at around $107 million in total at the time). After Milei promoted the project on his official X account, the Libra token briefly surged to a market capitalization of 4.56 billion before plummeting to $257 million, just 11 hours after it started trading on decentralized exchanges.
In Milei’s now deleted post that mentioned Libra, he touted it as a private project created to help the Argentine economy and also stated the token contract address. Following the rugpull, Milei has now denounced the token and attributed his previous endorsement to sabotage by political opponents. The Argentine president also demanded an investigation into the debacle to see if any national laws were broken, and emphasized that he did not personally benefit from the token or was involved in its development. Nevertheless, opposition forces in the Argentine government are now calling for Milei to face impeachment due to the crypto scam.
While meme coins offer traders the opportunity to profit handsomely in short time frames, the recent underperformance of major projects endorsed by powerful figures like Trump, CZ, and Milei may dampen retail traders’ enthusiasm. It’s always important to do your own research before making any risky investment, and the same holds true for the latest viral meme.
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