Crypto traders bag millions as Trump’s Solana memecoin sparks frenzy

8 hours ago 11

Crypto traders are raking in millions following the launch of Official Trump (TRUMP), a Solana-based memecoin introduced by US President-elect Donald Trump.

Announced on Jan. 17, just days ahead of his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States, TRUMP reached a market cap of nearly $9 billion within hours, surpassing memecoins like Pepe (PEPE) and Bonk (BONK).

“My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE! It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump Community. GET YOUR TRUMP NOW,” Trump posted on Truth Social and X.

While parts of the crypto community speculated that the announcement could result from a hack, sources close to Trump’s family confirmed to Cointelegraph that the project is legitimate and linked to his non-fungible token (NFT) ventures.

Traders reap profits in hours

A wave of high-profile trades highlighted the token’s meteoric rise.

Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain reported that a wallet named “LeBron” turned a $1 million USD Coin (USDC) investment into over $2 million by acquiring 4.52 million TRUMP tokens just minutes after the launch.

Another trader transformed a $1.1 million investment into $70 million in under four hours. The individual sold 1.35 million TRUMP for 3.65 million USDC while retaining 4.62 million tokens valued at $67.5 million.

Meanwhile, pseudonymous crypto trader 0xsun purchased nearly 1 million TRUMP tokens with 3,000 Solana (SOL), worth $653,000. By selling part of their holding for $812,000, they netted over $3.7 million in profit.

Whales join the action

Large investors, or “whales,” also jumped in. One whale withdrew 61,205 SOL — worth over $14.3 million — from crypto exchange OKX to buy 1.27 million TRUMP tokens. Another spent 8.5 million USDC to purchase 1.03 million tokens at an average price of $8.28.

TRUMP traded at $18.82 at the time of writing, with a market cap of $4.28 billion, up 10,222% since launch and generating $1.71 billion in trading volume across 227,625 transactions, according to Dexscreener.

The project’s website outlines a total supply of 1 billion tokens, set to be released over three years. At launch, 200 million tokens, about 20% of which were unlocked, with the remaining 800 million gradually distributed over 36 months.

Tied to Trump’s NFT ventures, CIC Digital will receive 80% of the total supply in six allocations. These will unlock linearly over 24 months following an initial lock-up period of three to 12 months. The remaining tokens include 10% reserved for liquidity and 10% for public distribution, fully unlocked at launch.

Solana’s DEX volumes hit record highs

The launch of TRUMP propelled Solana’s decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes to a record $12.9 billion within 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.

Among the DEXs trading TRUMP, Meteora led with over $4 billion in 24-hour volume, followed by Orca and Raydium.

Centralized exchanges, including Bybit, HTX, Gate and Bitget, have listed the token.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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