Donald Trump's fast-changing plans for tariffs not only upended markets around the globe — they also affected the meme coin industry he and his family have joined.
The digital coins plummeted in value last weekend, according to CNBC, as Trump signed executive orders for tariffs on American's three largest trading partners. The market rebounded later Monday as tariffs on Canada and Mexico were delayed by 30 days. Tariffs of 10% on China began on Tuesday.
Trump’s meme coin, $TRUMP, and Melania Trump’s coin, $MELANIA, plunged as the news agitated markets worldwide, according to Axios. $TRUMP — unveiled days before his inauguration — saw its value drop by 18% just over the last day. It's now down to $17.50 per token, compared to a peak of $72.62 the day before his swearing-in.
Even older, more popular meme coins, such as dogecoin and Shiba Inu, lost around 14% each. According to CNBC, the meme coin sector lost 17% of its original value over the weekend.
“Every coin that recently rallied through January, including memes like [dogecoin], have essentially handed back most of their gains,” James Davies, CEO and co-founder at trading platform Crypto Valley Exchange, told CNBC.
Meme coins carry no inherent value, are highly volatile and began as a joke. They're based on internet humor, celebrity trends and can be a fun hobby or a dangerous gamble, depending on your view.
Trump's coin gained billions of dollars the night he launched it — at least on paper. Entities behind the coin have accumulated close to $100 million in trading fees, while many small traders have lost money, Reuters reported.
Fartcoin, a meme coin that began last October, peaked in market cap the day before Trump's inauguration at $2.1 billion, according to cryptocurrency watch site CoinGecko. After the dust settled from the tariff fallout, Fartcoin’s market cap now rests at $732 million.
“Crypto is fundamentally about freedom to make and conduct trades, which runs counter to the global political narrative of the last week,” Davies explained. “As a community, we are pro free-trade … when that is being restricted, many investors are risk-off in terms of their holdings. This massively impacts the alt coin market.”
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