Trump shrugs off billions made through meme coin launch

President Trump shrugged off the news that he made billions of dollars through the launch of his new meme crypto coin.

During a press conference Tuesday, his first full day back in the White House, Trump was asked by a reporter if he intends to continue products that benefit himself, like the $TRUMP coin.

“Well, I don’t know if it benefited. I don’t know where it is,” Trump said in comments highlighted by Mediaite. “I don’t know much about it other than I launched it. I heard it was very successful. I haven’t checked it, where is it today?”

“You made a lot of money sir,” the reporter replied.

“How much?” Trump questioned.

“Several billion dollars it seems like in the last several days,” the reporter said.

The president shrugged off the comment, saying several billion is “peanuts” for the people he’s spent the last few days with.

Seated in front of his Cabinet nominees at the Inauguration on Monday were tech’s wealthiest people: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has been appointed to lead Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.

Trump announced his first official cryptocurrency last week and over his inauguration weekend it shot up in value quickly. The price rose to nearly $30 by midday on Saturday and the market value of the coin was $30 billion on paper since the launch.

The tech entrepreneurs attending Trump’s events in Washington this week unscored the months-long effort by the industry to mend its relationship with Trump, who had previously bashed the companies and Silicon Valley.

Concerns have been raised about what influence, if any, they will have over Trump during his second term.

Topics

Trump's embrace of meme coin sours mood in crypto industry

President Donald Trump’s goodwill in the cryptocurrency industry has taken a hit after he and his wife launched meme coins — a move critics say looks like an unseemly cash grab that undermines an ...
ABC News - 2h
A Trump meme coin ETF is already in the works

The filing comes on the first business day after last Friday's launch of the Trump crypto coin, which quickly grew into a notional value in the billions of dollars.
CNBC - 11h
What to know about Donald and Melania Trump's new meme coins

Donald and Melania Trump launched new cryptocurrencies over the weekend. Some experts are advising investors to be cautious.
CBS News - 1d
Melania Trump launches meme coin as crypto rallies on Donald’s return

President-elect’s $Trump coin more than halved in value before steadily recovering on Sunday. Business live – latest updates The incoming US first lady, Melania Trump, has followed her ...
The Guardian - 1d
Trump launches surprise meme coin just before inauguration, and its price soars

President-elect Donald Trump launched his own meme coin early Saturday morning, creating excitement in the cryptocurrency world as the price and market capitalization of the coin immediately soared.
MarketWatch - 2d
Melania meme coin launches following Trump's new cryptocurrency

Melania Trump has launched her own meme coin, $MELANIA, following her husband’s new cryptocurrency. “The Official Melania Meme is live! You can buy $MELANIA now,” Melania Trump posted on the social ...
The Hill - 2d
Price of new Trump crypto meme coin soars ahead of inauguration

Asset triples in price from $20 per token to more than $70, with at least $24bn in trading as of Sunday morning. Donald Trump has launched a cryptocurrency “meme coin” ahead of his inauguration for ...
The Guardian - 2d
Solana surges 12% on launch of Trump-themed meme coin, ether falls

Solana's SOL token rocketed after a meme coin linked to President-elect Donald Trump launched on the popular blockchain network.
CNBC - 3d
Trump launches his own $TRUMP meme coin, price soars overnight

Trump unveiled the so-called meme coin, which is designed to capitalize on the popularity of a certain personality, movement or viral internet trend, on social media.
CBS News - 3d