President Trump's memecoin 'TRUMP' faces significant criticism from the cryptocurrency industry | CoinDesk JAPAN

Critics of the memecoin 'TRUMP,' which was launched by Donald Trump the day before his presidential inauguration in 2025 and became hugely popular despite controversy, were cryptoasset enthusiasts whom he would have sought to appeal to.

The TRUMP coin, which was launched on January 17 local time, soared from $ 7 (about 1100 yen, 1 dollar = 157 yen conversion) to an all-time high of $ 75 (about 117,000 yen) within 24 hours, and settled at $ 38 (about 5900 yen). Two days after the introduction of TRUMP, MELANIA, a coin endorsed by First Lady Melania Trump, entered the market. This one is struggling, starting at around $ 7 (about 1100 yen), temporarily peaking at $ 14 (about 2200 yen), and then falling sharply below $ 4 (about 630 yen).

While the volatile price movements of both tokens seem to have created overnight millionaires, there are also harsh criticisms from industry insiders.

The focus of the backlash lies in the possibility of conflicting interests, and critics including members of the US Congress have expressed concerns that the token may allow individuals to curry favor with the president.

Anthony Scaramucci, former White House Communications Director and current advocate for cryptocurrency, expressed concerns on X (formerly Twitter) about the most dangerous points of Trumpcoin for the nation. Now, anyone in the world can virtually deposit money into the US president's bank account with just a few clicks. Geopolitical, corporate, or personal benefits are all openly available now.

memecoin criticism as a bad move

The decision to launch memecoin has also sparked wider criticism within the cryptocurrency industry. While memecoin stands out for its exceptional use case of blockchain technology, many developers argue that it reinforces the image of making a fortune overnight and undermines the industry's credibility.

Gabor Gurbacs, the founder of digital asset company Pointsville, said on X, 'Trump needs to fire his Cryptocurrency advisor from top to bottom.'

Nick Carter, a General Partner at a cryptocurrency investment firm and a staunch supporter of Trump, also harshly criticized it. 'It's completely ridiculous for Trump to do something like this,' he told Politico. 'By launching a memecoin, they're stepping deeper into foolishness.'

Concerns have been raised specifically about the circulation of the same coin. 80% of the TRUMP tokens are concentrated in a few blockchain addresses managed by CNC Digital, the company that launched the same coin. Such concentration presents the potential characteristics of a 'pump-and-dump' scheme, where insiders inflate the value of the tokens and then sell their holdings, leaving other investors with losses.

There is no evidence that the Trump campaign plans to 'dump' tokens. Nicolas Vaiman, CEO of blockchain analytics company Bubblemaps, told CoinDesk that the distribution of TRUMP tokens is consistent with at least the content outlined on the official website. In addition, tokens held by insiders may be secured for holders of the former president's NFTs, as with previously distributed NFT trading cards for Trump managed by CNC Digital.

On the other hand, MELANIA has a different kind of transparency. According to Bubblemaps, about 89% of MELANIA tokens are managed by internal parties. The on-chain supply does not match the official breakdown on the token's website, which allocates 35% of the tokens to 'general distribution' and 'community'.

Is it a new way to make money?

Mr. Byman said that the first lady's memecoin is casting a shadow over the original Trump coin. "The Trump coin may have been a statement of President Trump's 'I support cryptoassets,'" Mr. Byman said, "but it feels like the issuance of tokens by First Lady Melania is just for them to make as much money as possible and then leave it to fate. This gives a different impression."

It is not the first time that the cryptocurrency community has questioned Trump's entry into the industry. In August, Trump and his sons launched World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a platform that offers lending products. The project came under criticism for preselling tokens before providing concrete value, and it was quickly pointed out that former dating coach and memecoin promoter were involved in the WLFI team, and that a portion of the proceeds from presales were directly allocated to companies managed by Trump.

The possibility of conflicting interests became immediately apparent. Justin Sun, the founder of the Tron blockchain, recently became the largest investor in WLFI, purchasing the project's tokens for $30 million (about 4.7 billion yen). In a post on January 22nd, Donald Trump Jr. announced that World Liberty Financial had purchased Tron's TRX tokens.

Based in Hong Kong, Mr. Sun, a billionaire in the cryptocurrency industry, has been previously charged with fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which is currently under the jurisdiction of the Trump administration.