Donald and Melania Trump debuted meme coins, $Trump and $Melania. Here's what to know.
CBSN
President Trump, who has vowed to turn the U.S. into the cryptocurrency capital of the world, got a head start on those plans by debuting new his-and-her meme coins — the $Trump and $Melania coins — over the weekend. As of Monday afternoon, the day of Mr. Trump's inauguration, the two digital currencies were worth a combined $9.5 billion.
Meme coins, which have no economic or transactional value, are cryptocurrencies linked to internet trends, such as Dogecoin, which was inspired by the image of a shiba inu dog. Dogecoin became a favored cryptocurrency of billionaire Elon Musk, who even named his federal cost-cutting group, the Department of Government Efficiency, after it.
Mr. Trump announced his cryptocurrency on Friday night, writing on social media that the coin celebrates "everything we stand for: WINNING!" The meme coin is being marketed with a picture of Trump holding a fist up superimposed over the words "FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT," a reference to Trump's response to an assassination attempt at a political rally in July.
