‘That’s peanuts:’ Trump says about billions of returns on $TRUMP memecoin

President Donald Trump largely brushed off questions about adding billions of dollars to his personal wealth through the launch of the $TRUMP memecoin before his inauguration. 

Responding to questions from a reporter about the memecoin, Trump confirmed that he had launched the memecoin, but claimed to not have too much knowledge over having personally benefited from its performance.

“I don’t know about benefited, I don’t where it is, I don’t know much about it other than I launched it, I heard it was very successful,” Trump said in a White House event on Tuesday. 

When responding to a reporter telling him that he had made “several billion dollars” from the memecoin, Trump said “several billion? That’s peanuts for these guys,” although it was not immediately clear who he was referring to. 

$TRUMP launched to trader fanfare last week, coming just days before Trump’s inauguration on Monday. The token surged to a market capitalization of over $14 billion at its peak, netting Trump, who is a major holder, billions in paper gains.

But the memcoin swung wildly in volatile trade, raising some questions of potential price manipulation, especially amid rumors that Trump had sold some of his holdings.  

$TRUMP steadied at $41 after racing to a peak of nearly $80 after its launch. 

But the memecoin’s success, and the subsequent, less positively received launch of $MELANIA, spurred trader concerns over the ethical issue of Trump using his influence to sway speculative markets to his favor.

Trump also made scant mention of crypto policy in his first two days in office, denting hopes that he would immediately dole out pro-crypto policies through presidential decrees. 

Bitcoin - which had surged to record highs over $109,000 ahead of Trump’s inauguration- tumbled from these peaks in volatile trade. Broader crypto markets also saw increased volatility after the launch of $TRUMP.

Source: Investing.com